In its 15th year, The Hunter Defence Conference 2025 on 20 - 21 August 2025 brought with it reminders of the rapidly evolving nature of warfare and security. The theme was, after all, The Changing Nature of Warfare.
Chair of the Hunter Defence Taskforce, retired Air Commodore Tim Owen opened the conference.
“We cannot afford to think that war isn’t possible in our region…that is what the Europeans did in 2021,” Air Commodore Owen (Retd) said.
Early remarks on the first day of the conference spoke of the unique geopolitical circumstances of 2025 and set the general tone of the presentations and talks.
The key sentiments of the conference were: the increasing threat of drones, the pitfalls highlighted in the Defence Strategic Review 2023 (DSR), the Defence budget, Indo-Pacific security and the AUKUS trilateral agreement.
Retired Major General Mike Ryan noted the relevance of the conflicts occurring in the Ukraine and the Middle East, but cautioned against applying the lessons learnt in full to the Pacific theatre.
He gave an overview of what the Australian military needs to do to prepare for the threat of modern warfare in an unstable world.
Major General Ryan (Retd) noted several trends, namely mass mobilisation, the widespread use of drones across all domains, disinformation campaigns, and long-range strike capabilities.
On the topic of drones, he took note of Ukraine’s ability to evolve its long-range strike capabilities. At the outbreak of war in 2021, Ukraine had no such capabilities.
Fast forward to now, its drones can reach 2000 to 3000 kilometres daily and Ukraine can deploy a new long-range strike capability every three to four months.
Such is the pace of adaptation within a conflict environment.
“Distance no longer gives us the protection it used to,” Major General Ryan (retd) affirmed.
Another sentiment echoed throughout the first day was the need for Defence to have more visible leadership of its service personnel to the Australian public. Otherwise, the public will continue to remain unaware of the national security situation.
However, it appears the Australian public already feels something is brewing. According to one of the speakers, the Lowy Institute has found that “five per cent of Australians feel very safe” today compared to “40 per cent” in 2007.
The ADF Capability Roundtable, which featured senior leaders from Navy, Air Force, Army, CASG and Joint Capabilities, spoke about readiness, the challenges of sustaining operations in complex environments, and the need for industry collaboration.
“We are 500 days away from potential conflict… we need to be prepared as there is no new equipment coming,” one panellist cautioned.
One speaker suggested that there were no historical increases to Defence spending, with references to the infamous 3.5 percent increase of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) the US would like to see Australia follow.
Strategic Analysis Australia’s Michael Shoebridge and Dr Marcus Hellyer argued that lifting defence spending to 3% of GDP is essential to restore buying power, fill capability gaps, and align industry with demand.
The DSR 2023 was a hot topic, especially with the next review due in only eight months.
“If you change your strategy every two years, you don’t have a strategy,” a speaker pointed out.
On a lighter note, much praise was given to the government’s decision to choose Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ (MHI) Mogami as the new General Purpose Frigate.
A notable critique of the day, replicated in others words, was the need for better representation in the media.
“We need to tell our stories better,” a speaker said.
The conference concluded with a panel on modern technology trends, from SYPAQ’s drones exported to Ukraine to Bohemia Interactive’s synthetic training platforms and DroneShield’s counter‑UAV innovations.
Speakers emphasised that technology must now be developed and discarded at speed.
“Crewed platforms should be obsolete on the frontline; uncrewed systems should be doing that,” a speaker said.
Disclaimer: The journalist was invited to the Hunter Defence Conference.