Building fighting depth has many meanings. 

At its heart, it is about ensuring the Royal Australian Air Force can continue to give Australia more options, in more places, more often - even as the strategic environment becomes more contested and uncertain. 

It is an approach the Air Force is advancing for itself, for the Australian Defence Force, for government, and for the nation as a whole.

More than 2,800 military leaders, aviators, industry partners and academics gathered at this year’s Air and Space Power Conference and Aviator Symposium, where building fighting depth underpinned many discussions about the future of air power.

Opening the conference, Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, described building fighting depth as a guiding idea for how the Air Force thinks, prepares and operates.

“Building Fighting Depth is an idea to guide the way people are thinking and operating,” Air Marshal Chappell said. 

“It’s part mindset, part ensuring we have the right capability, the right systems, and the right culture.”

He explained that fighting depth is about growing what the Air Force can do, how much it can do, and the circumstances in which it can do it across the dimensions of posture, space and time.

In practical terms, this means strengthening the Air Force’s ability to operate from more locations, to reach further across the region, and to respond more rapidly and more often. 

It also means building the resilience to sustain and scale operations over time, not just succeed in the opening moments of a crisis.

While elements of fighting depth already exist across the Air Force, Air Marshal Chappell emphasised the need to accelerate and embed the concept in everyday activity.

Speaking at the conference, Air Commander Australia, Air Vice-Marshal Glen Braz, highlighted the importance of focussing on the right effects at the right time to generate agility and depth. 

“This is so we can fight not just the way we want to, but the way we have to,” Air Vice-Marshal Braz said.

“We need to be prepared, trained and educated in a way that generates depth and maximises agility. That requires us to think differently and discard old notions we cling to as measures of air power.”

Across the conference, a consistent message emerged: people are central to building fighting depth. 

Technology, platforms and partnerships matter, but it is the adaptability, creativity and relationships of Air Force personnel and those they work with across Defence, industry and the region that ultimately generate resilience and choice.

Reinforcing this point, Air Marshal Chappell encouraged aviators to apply the concept in everything they do.

“It is the people, both inside and outside the Air Force, and the willingness to think, behave and operate differently, that will strengthen our tier one Air Force by building fighting depth.”

Through this approach, the Royal Australian Air Force is positioning itself to remain ready  and not just to respond tonight, but to endure and prevail tomorrow.