Per Ardua Ad Astra

In 1996, the Royal Australian Air Force celebrated its 75th anniversary of service to the Australian nation. During most of those 75 years, a global security environment developed which was known and understood and thus, the nation's defense force could be tailored to counter specific threats from within financial guidance. As the world enters the post-Cold War era, the hard questions have become; what is the threat, how should the new generation military be developed and what should be its purpose in peacetime? Although Australia continues to be a strong supporter of the Western Alliance, the emerging post-Cold War world promises new challenges to those previously well known conditions. The aim of this paper is to examine how evolving international, domestic and air power trends will affect Australia s force structure and the application of air power post-2010 in Australia s region of interest. As the world and more importantly the region changes, so too must government policy and military strategy evolve. Leading the thrust for change are the global, regional and national trends which act as signposts to the future. Globally, trends include the rise of uncertainty and instability, the growth of economic trading blocs and their concomitant effect on nations, population growth, diminishing defense budgets and the ceaseless technological revolution. Regionally, the indicators are for high economic growth, a nationalistic struggle for autonomy and a rising awareness of trans-national threats. These nations now seek a greater say in regional affairs and have commenced armed forces xi modernization to give backing to their political dialogue and rhetoric. Nationally, Australia's outlook is not so clear.