Australia’s new chief of army has warned the prospect of nuclear war in Europe must be taken "very seriously", with the world now entering a strategic era different to the past 80 years.
In a wide-ranging interview with the ABC, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said the Ukraine war was providing valuable lessons for armies, including the crucial need for modern vehicles and proper logistics.
With Ukrainian forces continuing to enjoy battlefield success against the much larger invading Russian military, their tactics and innovative use of equipment is being closely studied by defence leaders across the world.
General Stuart said it was "still relatively early" in the current phase of the Ukrainian war but the conflict had highlighted that "deterrence can fail — and when it does we need to be prepared to respond".
"I think the value of an aligned and unified global community against those that seek to use force to impose their will I think has been brought to the fore and is in all of our interests," he observed.
Asked whether Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent threat to use nuclear weapons was a real possibility the army chief warned: "I think we have to take it very seriously".
"[That] we live in an era of strategic competition where the great powers are nuclear-armed is something that we need to understand, because it is different to the strategic environment we've been living in for the past 80 years."
"At the sort of operational level it's very clear that logistics and mission command are key requisites and at the tactical level if you employ old equipment and vehicles and aeroplanes, and you employ them poorly, you will lose on the battlefield."
General Stuart, who enlisted as a soldier in 1987, is overseeing the continuing modernisation of army's combined arms fighting system, which includes its most expensive acquisition on record — plans for up to 450 new infantry fighting vehicles.
Earlier this week the ABC revealed the government had again delayed a final decision on the multi-billion-dollar LAND 400 Phase 3 project, but General Stuart would not be drawn on when an announcement would be made, or if he was preparing for its scope to be reduced.
"It's a lethal environment, and my job is to make sure that my soldiers have what they need to be successful in the mission that is required of them and to survive and to come home," he said.
"The combined arms fighting system, that is the only part of the ADF that can engage in close combat on the land and that gives our soldiers the best chance of mission success, survival and returning home, is absolutely as necessary today as it has been in the past."
Restoring public trust is a top priority following inquiries
Speaking during this week's Land Forces conference in Brisbane, the newly appointed chief also outlined his immediate priorities, which include restoring trust in the army following the damaging findings of the Brereton inquiry into the Afghanistan war.
"I think the outcomes of the Inspector-General Australian Defence Force Afghanistan inquiry, the royal commission [into Defence and Veteran Suicide] that is currently underway are all challenges for us and at the centre and the foundation of everything we do is trust," General Stuart told the ABC.
"So I'm very keen to make sure that we build and maintain the trust of our people, our community and our government."
He also suggested he would refocus his soldiers on combat "readiness" following years of high-tempo domestic operations to help with natural disasters such as bushfires and floods, as well as assistance for the COVID-19 response.
"We're in our third year of significant contribution to domestic operations, we will always be there in our community's time of need, but that time and effort comes at an opportunity cost so we're working hard every day to maintain our readiness in our primary function which is to be able to operate and ultimately to conduct combat operations," he said.
