The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. The Chief of Navy is also jointly responsible to the Minister for Defence (MINDEF) and the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The Department of Defence, which is a part of the Australian Public Service, administers the ADF, and ergo, the Royal Australian Navy. In 2023, the Surface Fleet Review was introduced to outline the future of the Navy.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-General of Australia is the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The Royal Australian Air Force is commanded by the Chief of Air Force (CAF), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The CAF is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Air Force.
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The ADF has a strength of just over 89,000 personnel and is supported by the Department of Defence alongside other civilian entities.
Air Marshal Geoffrey David Shepherd is a retired senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), who served as Chief of Air Force from 2005 until 2008.
The United Kingdom's Strategic Command (StratCom), previously known as Joint Forces Command (JFC), manages allocated joint capabilities from the three armed services.
The Australian Defence College (ADC) comprises three joint education and training organisations operated by the Australian Defence Force in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory:
A space command is a military organization with responsibility for space operations and warfare. A space command is typically a joint organization or organized within a larger military branch and is distinct from a fully independent space force. The world's first space command, the United States' Air Force Space Command was established in 1982 and later became the United States Space Force in 2019.
Air Command is the operational arm of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is headed by the Air Commander Australia, whose role is to manage and command the RAAF's Force Element Groups (FEGs), which contain the operational capability of the Air Force. Headquarters Air Command is located at RAAF Base Glenbrook.
The Royal Australian Air Force's Air Combat Group (ACG) is the group which administers the RAAF's fighter and bomber aircraft. ACG was formed on 7 February 2002 by merging the RAAF's Tactical Fighter Group and Strike Reconnaissance Group in an attempt to improve the speed with which the RAAF can deploy its combat aircraft.
Force Element Groups (FEGs) are the operational capabilities of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) as organised into component groups.
Capabilities are formed into Force Elements (FE), which in turn are aggregated into Force Element Groups (FEG). Each capability is assigned a level of operational readiness. The level of capability maintained by an FE or FEG should be consistent with its assigned readiness notice and depends on the availability of trained personnel, the availability of major platforms, combat systems and supplies, and the standard of collective training.
The planning for the future of the Royal Air Force involves supporting ongoing British military operations and the introduction of new aircraft types including unmanned aerial vehicles and the BAE Systems Tempest sixth-generation fighter in the 2030s. Priorities include greater focus on network enabled capability and mixing crewed fighter jets with UAVs and swarming drones. The new initiative will focus on increasing interoperability with members of NATO and becoming carbon net-zero, with strategies such as using sustainable aviation fuels in aircraft.
General Sir John Gordon Noel Wilton, was a senior commander in the Australian Army. He served as Chief of the General Staff (CGS), the Army's professional head, from 1963 until 1966, and as Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (CCOSC), forerunner of the role of Australia's Chief of the Defence Force, from 1966 until 1970. His eight-year tenure as senior officer of first the Army and then the Australian military spanned almost the entire period of the nation's involvement in the Vietnam War.
The Australian Defence Organisation (ADO) is composed of the armed forces of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF), and the Australian Public Service government department, the Department of Defence which is composed of a range of civilian support organisations.
Air Marshal John William "Jake" Newham, AC was a senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1985 until 1987. Joining the RAAF in 1951, he flew Gloster Meteor jets with No. 77 Squadron in the Korean War in 1953, and subsequently de Havilland Vampires with No. 78 Wing on garrison duty in Malta. From 1958 to 1960, he served with No. 3 Squadron, operating CAC Sabres during the Malayan Emergency. He took charge of No. 3 Squadron in 1967, when it re-equipped with the Dassault Mirage III supersonic fighter. His commands in the early 1970s included the Aircraft Research and Development Unit, RAAF Base Laverton, and No. 82 Wing, the last-mentioned during its first years operating the long-delayed General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber. He was appointed Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in March 1984, and CAS in May the following year. His tenure as CAS coincided with the release of the Dibb Report on Australia's defence capabilities, and the controversial transfer of the RAAF's battlefield helicopters to the Australian Army. Newham retired from the Air Force in July 1987 and became a company director.
Air Vice Marshal Margaret Mary Staib, is a former Chief Executive Officer of Airservices Australia and a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF-AF) is the senior Warrant Officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is a singular appointment, being it is only held by one person at any time. The special insignia for the WOFF-AF is the Australian Coat of Arms encircled by a wreath of Australian native flora. The current Warrant Officer of the Air Force is Ralph Clifton.
The Chief of Joint Capabilities (CJC) is the head of the Joint Capabilities Group (JCG) in the Australian Department of Defence. The Joint Capabilities Group was raised on 1 July 2017 with the position created as a result, with the inaugural CJC being Air Marshal Warren McDonald. The current chief is Lieutenant General Susan Coyle, who was appointed to the position in July 2024.
Air Marshal Robert Timothy Chipman, is a senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He joined the RAAF as an aeronautical engineer in 1989 and gained his pilot's wings in 1994. He has commanded No. 75 Squadron RAAF (2006–09), the Air and Space Operations Centre (2010–12), No. 81 Wing RAAF (2013–14) and Air Task Unit 630.1 (2014), and deployed to the Middle East on Operations Slipper and Okra. He served as the Australian Military Representative to NATO and the European Union from 2019 to 2021, Head Military Strategic Commitments from 2021 to 2022 and Chief of Air Force from 2022 to 2024. Chipman assumed his current appointment as the Vice Chief of the Defence Force on 9 July 2024.
Air Vice-Marshal Vincent Joseph Iervasi, is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He joined the RAAF in 1985 and gained his pilot's wings in 1989. He deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Operation Deny Flight in 1995, Qatar in support of Operation Slipper in 2014, and to Al Minhad Air Base in support of Operations Okra and Highroad in 2019. He commanded No. 3 Squadron RAAF (2005–08), No. 81 Wing RAAF (2011–12), the 609th Combined Air Operations Centre (2014) and the Air Warfare Centre (2017–18). He was Commander Joint Task Force 633 from January to June 2019 and served as Air Commander Australia from 2019 to 2022.
The Joint Capabilities Group (JCG) is a war-fighting domain of the Australian Defence Force responsible for space, cyber, and logistics capabilities. The group was formed in July 2017. It is currently led by the Chief of Joint Capabilities Lieutenant General Susan Coyle.
