As Australia prepares its 2026 National Defence Strategy, the nation must recognise that a window of strategic risk exists now and will do so into the early 2030s. This paper explores asymmetric methods of deterrence, as offered by todays' technologies, and asks whether they might be appropriate for Australia.

Executive summary Recent operational experience, operating ‘through, by and with’ security partners in Afghanistan and Iraq, has yet to be codified into Australian doctrine. To develop such doctrine, the Australian Army requires a conversation, drawing on analysis of best practice, personal observation and lessons captured from over a decade of recent deployments. The clear conclusion...