An agile defence strategy: lessons to learn from the front line

Since 9/11, Australian military forces have adapted to a much wider range of threats, embracing the flexibility necessary to be effective in many scenarios, from the Solomon Islands to the Ukraine.

The proliferation and diversity of threats demands a different strategic capability. A new PwC paper — Agile Defence, Sustainable cost reduction on the path to greater agility — outlines how the broader defence establishment and supporting structures can better respond to this different era. The paper draws on insights from defence leaders around the world as well as lessons learned in the digital world, where agility has become a byword for success.

It also shows how the concept of agility helps reframe challenges and opens up new ways to deal with problems, including lower cost approaches — either to meet lower budgets or to enable new investment to enhance mission effectiveness.

The increasing mobility of people, technology and information suggests that the need for speedy, tightly focused responses to threats is growing. This means traditional support capability has to adapt to this new globalised risk.