JOURNAL OF INDO-PACIFIC AFFAIRS  SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2024 19 FEATURE Australia’s Grand Strategies and the Royal Australian Air Force DR. PETER LAYTON Abstract China’s military build-up and its wolf warrior diplomacy are reshaping Australian foreign and defense policies. In response, Australia has conceived grand strategies of balancing and engage- ment and embraced a new defense approach. However, this rethinking has somewhat neglected air power, focusing instead on land and naval forces. e Royal Australian Air Force is modern and well-trained but limited in scale and with sustainment concerns. ese characteristics pose challenges given that the two grand strategies have different requirements and undertaking both simultaneously creates real issues. ere are multiple implications for the air force’s force structure, basing, readiness, and mobilization Moreover, the new defense approach considers the possibil- ity of major power regional conflict but fails to address that such conflict might be protracted. *** T he world is once again a dangerous place. A very real war is underway in Europe, with Russia using significant armed force and threatening nuclear attacks as it fights to capture Ukraine. Meanwhile, in the Indo-Pacific, China is rapidly building up its arms, its political leaders are making aggressive statements, gray-zone actions are frequent, and some fear a military attack on Taiwan this decade. In response, many governments are doing some hard thinking and crafting grand strategies. Australia is one of these. e term grand strategy may perplex, but many states employ this technique even if not naming it as such. 1 Most—perhaps all—governments seek to build and then apply their national power to establish desired relationships with other states. Such grand strategies are whole-of-government efforts, involving diplomatic, informa- tional, military, and economic power. ey are especially useful for states with limited power that need to focus scarce resources on their most important concerns. 2 Australian foreign and defense policies are currently being reshaped to meet the demands arising from deepening geopolitical tensions. Grand strategies of balanc- ing and engagement have been conceived, and a new defense approach has been embraced. However, this rethinking has arguably neglected airpower, focusing 1 Peter Layton, “Defining Grand Strategy,” Strategy Bridge, 17 August 2020, https://thestrategybridge.org/. 2 Peter Layton, Grand Strategy (Brisbane: self-published, 2018), 9–36.