By
LEUT Ian Lumsden
HEADWAY
2004, the Air Force’s annual experimentation program, is under
way. Twenty officers from the three Services as well as DSTO
researchers are analysing the results of a Limited Objective Experiment
(LOE).
Using seminar wargames, the exercise involved the ADF’s future
networked air, maritime and land systems against a littoral air
threat.
The threat was based on a coastal scenario and included broad
joint issues requiring close Army/Navy cooperation.
According to Gary Kemister, DSTO’s Task Manager for Support to
Air Force Experimentation, the Headway program is important because
it determines how the whole of the ADF’s air defence capability
will work together.
“Headway can examine the strengths and weaknesses of Australia’s
projected air capability and identify areas where further study
will be necessary,” Mr Kemister said.
Headway comprises two phases – the wargames and then their analysis
by DSTO.
Wing Commander Neil Lacey, the LOE coordinator, said the wargames
were just one part of the overall experiment. “We will be building
on what we found out in the wargames during a series of simulation
activities and workshops over the rest of the year,” WGCDR Lacey
said.
He said the wargames had produced some interesting observations
and results that need to be looked at in greater detail. “The
wargames gave us some insights into how the various components
of the future air defence might best fit together and have extracted
the tactical ‘rules of thumb’ of how they might be employed.
“We are currently in the process of going back to the game players
to validate our conclusions. However, these are by-products of
the experimentation process. “What we are really after out of
the analytical phase is an appreciation of the effectiveness of
the planned air defence system and an identification of any chinks
in our armour so that we can fix them,” he said.
