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INSIGHT: Chief of Air Force on shaping the RAAF to meet an evolving strategic environment

Mel Hupfeld

At the start of July, the federal government announced a $270 billion commitment to defence spending for the coming decade, and a new holistic strategy for dealing with an increasingly uncertain world in the Indo-Pacific.

At the start of July, the federal government announced a $270 billion commitment to defence spending for the coming decade, and a new holistic strategy for dealing with an increasingly uncertain world in the Indo-Pacific.

In this exclusive interview, the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, AO, DSC, gives host Phil Tarrant the inside story on how his team is rethinking what a modern air force should look like – and how it can better collaborate with other elements of the ADF and government to drive change.

AIRMSHL Hupfeld lifts the lid on working with artificial intelligence on the Loyal Wingman platform, “robust” conversations with his counterparts in the Navy and Army on an integrated military, the drive towards a fifth-gen fighting force and how the lesson from COVID-19 must be to shore up global supply chains.

He also talks candidly about his love of flying, his journey into the top job in the RAAF, and how he can’t wait to get out in his Airtourer and P-51 Mustang in the near future.

Enjoy the podcast,

The Defence Connect team

Listen to previous episodes of the Defence Connect podcast:

Episode 11: PODCAST: No escaping it, China is trying to coerce us, with Mike Pezzullo
Episode 10: SPOTLIGHT: The role of test and evaluation in securing AI’s role in defence and national security, with Graeme Bick, Ray Bright and Chris White
Episode 9: CONTESTED GROUND: Alliance abandonment and realpolitik in global affairs
Episode 8: PODCAST: A taste of things to come, with shadow minister for defence Andrew Hastie
Episode 7: PODCAST: Getting our naval force structure right, with Jennifer Parker
Episode 6: CONTESTED GROUND: The expanding world of state-sponsored cyber warfare
Episode 5: SPOTLIGHT: Training – key to the National Defence Strategy, with CAE’s James Digges
Episode 4: PODCAST: Unpacking the impacts of a disruptive new US Defense secretary
Episode 3: PODCAST: Threats, theatre and tariffs in Trump’s world, with the Defence Connect team
Episode 2: CONTESTED GROUND: Regaining the qualitative advantage

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