Dr Kopp (I know, I know, I know ) has written a piece in "Defence Today - Dec 2012 on the ADF's maritime role in the APAC region.
The general thrust of the article is that the "seismic shift in Asia in peer competitor capabilities" (mainly modern SSG's and SSNG's and anti ship missile delivery systems) should be causing the ADF to change strategic direction from "token contributions to alliance deployments and independent operations against lesser regional interventions. In lieu he opines that "while roles such as disaster relief, expeditionary deployments and sustainment of land forces is relevant, none possess the strategic importance of keeping unwanted submarines and aircraft out of Australia's sea lanes and, by default, the sea-air gap.
The paper argues that the capabilities, in particular, ASW capabilities developed during the Cold War were atrophied since the early 1990's however, with the rapid industrialisation of Asian countries and their consequent military modernisations, the lost Cold War capabilities are what is now required.
However, the real quote which caught my eye and prompted me to ask was this;
"The large scale Canberra purge of senior officers during the 2001 - 2002 period is notable in part by the type of officers purged - many of whom were leading advocates of capabilities intended to defeat advanced peer competitors. Their replacements were invariably advocates of no specific planning model at all, or idealogical adherants to the prevailing ideology of the day - distant interventions in developing nations and COIN campaigns."
This sounds like some third world despot scenario where the military is continually purged and de-purged at whim!
Did this really happen in a modern ADF? or rather is it the figment of a fertile and deluded Dr Kopp.
Alternatively, is he correct?
The general thrust of the article is that the "seismic shift in Asia in peer competitor capabilities" (mainly modern SSG's and SSNG's and anti ship missile delivery systems) should be causing the ADF to change strategic direction from "token contributions to alliance deployments and independent operations against lesser regional interventions. In lieu he opines that "while roles such as disaster relief, expeditionary deployments and sustainment of land forces is relevant, none possess the strategic importance of keeping unwanted submarines and aircraft out of Australia's sea lanes and, by default, the sea-air gap.
The paper argues that the capabilities, in particular, ASW capabilities developed during the Cold War were atrophied since the early 1990's however, with the rapid industrialisation of Asian countries and their consequent military modernisations, the lost Cold War capabilities are what is now required.
However, the real quote which caught my eye and prompted me to ask was this;
"The large scale Canberra purge of senior officers during the 2001 - 2002 period is notable in part by the type of officers purged - many of whom were leading advocates of capabilities intended to defeat advanced peer competitors. Their replacements were invariably advocates of no specific planning model at all, or idealogical adherants to the prevailing ideology of the day - distant interventions in developing nations and COIN campaigns."
This sounds like some third world despot scenario where the military is continually purged and de-purged at whim!
Did this really happen in a modern ADF? or rather is it the figment of a fertile and deluded Dr Kopp.
Alternatively, is he correct?
