20 May 2024
In welcoming everyone to the 2024 Air and Space Power Conference, Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman said it provided an excellent platform to further strengthen ties with Australia’s defence partners.
He said it was also about promoting the ADF’s reputation as a valuable, professional and capable partner in the Indo-Pacific to regional and domestic audiences.
“Following the Australian Government’s decision to transfer Defence Space Command from Air Force to the Joint Capabilities Group, as recommended by the Defence Strategic Review, the Air and Space conference was a timely opportunity to discuss how we are taking advantage of rapid developments in the air and space domains,” Air Marshal Chipman said.
“Attendees, both in person and online around the globe, were able to engage in dynamic discussion over both days around innovative and resilient approaches to achieve Australia’s national and regional advantage in air and space.”
Held from May 8-9 in Canberra, the conference included speeches by the UK Prime Minister's Special Envoy to the Western Balkans, Air Chief Marshal The Lord Stuart Peach, and Chairman of the Middle East Institute Bilahari Kausikan, which Air Marshal Chipman said made it clear that stability in the Indo-Pacific and Australia’s contribution to that was vitally important.
“For a middle power like Australia, this means maintaining a stable balance of power as well as ensuring that a state of competition is preserved rather than allowed to drift into crisis or conflict,” he said.
“We know that conflict would be catastrophic for the Indo-Pacific region and ultimately the entire world.”
In his keynote address, the Chief of Space Operations, US Space Force, General Chance Saltzman, emphasised the importance of what he described as ‘deterrence down under’, whereby Australia was playing an increasingly important role in helping deter tension in the Indo-Pacific through the air and space domains.
“General Saltzman’s comments, and those of other senior defence leaders at [the conference], made it clear that space is a vital element of the integrated force for every ADF operation – from satellite communications, to precision-guided weapons, situational awareness in battlespace, and position, navigation and timing,” Air Marshal Chipman said.
Air Marshal Chipman said the conference’s central themes of readiness and resilience ultimately stemmed from valuing the Air and Space Force’s greatest capability: its people.
“We need to ensure we create an inclusive, engaged and empowering environment where all people want to be an active part of our organisation. This is essential to achieve our mission and will help with the challenges of recruitment and retention also,” he said.
“Together we are changing our approach to generating, sustaining and employing aerospace power.
“We’re building our readiness and resilience in order to achieve deterrence, and our integration as a joint force is key to that.
“[The Air and Space Power Conference] 2024 was a fabulous and productive two days and I am immensely grateful and proud of what we have been able to achieve.”
