Download - Royal Australian Navy

supporting power projection from the sea
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The 2009 Defence White Paper further defines a Primary Operational Environment
(POE) that stretches from the Indian Ocean, up through the island states of Polynesia
into the South Pacific, which encompasses all Australian territories. The White
Paper clearly recognises the archipelagic and littoral nature of Australia’s POE and
states that the ADF must have ‘an ability to operate within this environment with
decisive military effect’. 9 The Navy defines the littoral as ‘the areas to seaward of
the coast which are susceptible to influence or support from the land and the areas
inland from the coast which are susceptible to influence or support from the sea’. 10
Although a specific distance is not clearly defined, a range of between 50 to 250nm
is generally understood. 11 The significance of the littoral to ADF operations can be
seen in the following facts:
• 71 per cent of the world’s surface is covered by the ocean making it the
largest manoeuvre area on the planet.
• 95 per cent of the world’s population lives within 500 miles of the ocean
with over half living within 120 miles of the ocean.
• 95 per cent of the population and infrastructure within Australia’s POE
are within 100 miles of the coast. 12
Australia’s overall defence policy remains founded on the principle of self reliance. 13 In
light of where the population and infrastructure are located within the POE, it is clear
that the ADF must be able to conduct and sustain maritime, land and air operations
within this littoral environment. Consequently, concepts such as sea basing, which may
increase the ADF’s ease of deployment, sustainability and operational effectiveness in
the POE, must be investigated seriously. To properly frame the concept of sea basing,
it is necessary to quickly look at the ADF’s current doctrine for operating in the littoral
environment. Since air operations, as conducted by the Royal Australian Air Force,
cannot be conducted from the sea, I will focus on land and maritime doctrine.
Land warfare doctrine
Within the Australian Army, manoeuvre theory shapes contemporary concepts and
doctrine. Manoeuvre theory seeks to shatter the enemy’s morale and physical cohesion
through a series of actions orchestrated to a single purpose: creating a turbulent and
rapidly deteriorating situation with which the enemy cannot cope. In short, the ability
to match one’s own force strengths with an enemy’s weakness at a time and place of
one’s own choosing is a key component of achieving success. Furthermore, littoral land
warfare doctrine developed over the last decade focuses on Manoeuvre Operations in
the Littoral Environment (MOLE) and Entry by Air and Sea (EAS). 14 MOLE explained
how Australia’s land force would exploit the concept of manoeuvre warfare and
project military power in the littoral environment. EAS explained how land elements
would deploy into an operational theatre by parachute, air-land or by an amphibious