Royal Australian and US Air Forces strengthen partnership

The future of the longstanding relationship between the Royal Australian Air Force and the US Air Force was further strengthened recently in Washington, DC, with the signing of a joint vision statement by Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman and Chief of Staff of the US Air Force General Charles Q. Brown, Jr.

CAPTION: Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman and Chief of Staff of the US Air Force, General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. sign the Joint Vision Statement in Washington, DC. Photo by Andy Morataya.

The statement builds on the Australian and US strategic partnership, and conveys the two countries’ intent to work together to direct and support the development and operations of their air forces.

Air Marshal Chipman said that in today’s rapidly evolving, competitive environment, Australia and the US must be ready to meet any challenges that come up, and to do so with friends and international partners around the world.

“Our increasing levels of interoperability are based on a rich history of operating together,” he said.

“We will continue to design our forces to survive and succeed by rapidly building the capacity, concepts and capabilities necessary for tomorrow’s emerging threats, while enhancing combined operations expertise for today’s challenges.”

The objective, included in the statement, is to generate air power that supports mutual national security approaches to deter aggression and confront threats to a free, stable and open international system.

This will be accomplished through regional engagement, effective information sharing, shared approaches to security challenges, and credible, sustainable and interoperable air forces across the Indo-Pacific region.

“The relationship between the US and Australia dates back more than 100 years,” General Brown said.

“Signing the joint vision statement represents another step in the long-term, enduring commitment we have to the future and to the security of our two countries.”

The collaboration is supported by the Air Senior National Representative (ASNR) forum.

Established in 2000, and co-chaired by Australia’s Deputy Chief of Air Force and the US Air Force’s Vice Chief of Staff, the forum manages an open, agile, and frank dialogue between the two air forces, to support collaboration on an effective mix of warfighting capabilities and concepts.

“ASNR works because our countries share a mutual understanding of the challenges we face in the air domain and the need to address them,” General Brown said.

“Building on our ability to operate together and collaborate is critical to our warfighting advantage.”

The following principles will be used to guide the bilateral relationship and set the priorities to ensure engagements are targeted and productive: mutual understanding, interoperability by design, purposeful collaboration, organising for action, urgency, and future alignment.

The ASNR principals will keep both air forces informed of opportunities, risks, and challenges on a regular basis, as they continue to shape, deter and respond to the changing world.

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