Beaten Zone Venture Partners

Wars aren't won by wonder weapons in weeks. Our military and industrial base needs to be prepared for the long war. ⬇️ Time and time again, the human race forgets the lessons of history and expects conflict to result in a short, sharp and decisive battle. Instead, great power conflict is likely to result in a long war of attrition, where economic might and industrial capacity can often eclipse the importance of tactical success. War on the Rocks has a good read (see the comments for the link) focusing on planning for the next protracted war from a US perspective: "Each side might be pursuing rapid decisive battle, or something very close to it, but both sides cannot achieve rapid decisive battle... Indeed, the historical record suggests that although many militaries plan to win big and win quickly, great-power conflicts are often protracted affairs characterized by gradual attrition. Seemingly decisive battles that do occur, moreover, can turn out to be just the first round of prolonged hostilities, not the precursor to a durable peace." Earlier this year Royal United Services Institute published a report drawing lessons from the unfolding war in Ukraine. It is a longer read (we'll post in the comments) but is ruthless in pointing out the fallacy in the Western way of War that evolved in the absence of near-peer conflict. Some of the key conclusions of the report included that the West needs to increase industrial capacity, revisit and improve mobilisation capability and plan for a War that lasts for years, not months. "Wars between near-peer powers are likely to be attritional, thanks to a large pool of resources available to replace initial losses. The attritional nature of combat, including the erosion of professionalism due to casualties, levels the battlefield no matter which army started with better-trained forces. As conflict drags on, the war is won by economies, not armies." Plenty of food for thought for the Australian Government and the Australian Defence Force as we embark on our next iteration of the National Defence Strategy and Integrated Investment Plan. Are we any ready for the most dangerous geopolitical circumstances since World War II? 📷 via The Sunday Guardian Ben Dullroy Steve Baxter Jake Bostock Keirin Joyce Mick Ryan, AM Sean Singleton

This is an excellent opportunity to hear from our GM, Peta Ellis, on how to craft the most impactful Pitch Deck for capital raising. RSVP details are below.

Can you build a nation's preparedness and resilience for conflict by ignoring it? ⬇️ "We live in uncertain times. Armed conflicts are currently being waged in our corner of the world. Terrorism, cyber attacks, and disinformation campaigns are being used to undermine and influence us. To resist these threats, we must stand united. If Australia is attacked, everyone must do their part to defend Australia's independence – and our democracy." Now that was actually a quote from the newly released Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency brochure (link in the comments) but we think this level of candor and preparedness is just as applicable to Australia. Australia wasn't always so reluctant to prepare for war to protect the peace. Why don't we prepare for conflict in a similar way to how we prepare for Natural Disasters? As it became clear that peace had given way to a Cold War in the 1950's, the Australian Government at the time focused on ensuring Australia was prepared should the worst case scenario occur. The Government invested in the Australian Defence Force including a universal national service scheme and importantly updated the Commonwealth War Book. ⬇️ "The purpose of the Commonwealth War Book (1956) was to facilitate the transition from peace to war, by setting down the administrative actions that will be taken in the early stages of a war emergency; indicating which Department or other Authority is responsible for action laid down in each field; and so enabling preparations to be made in advance of war" Take a read of the now unclassified Commonwealth War Book (see link in the comments) and you'll find a well considered, clearly communicated plan to mobilise the nation. Compare and contrast the approach other nations are taking to preparedness and fostering national resilience. Australia can certainly leverage international best practice and lessons from our own history to ensure our strategy of Deterrence is credible and our society can quickly move from strategic shock to protecting our way of life and the rules based global order. 🖼️ via Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency Ben Dullroy Jake Bostock Steve Baxter Keirin Joyce Mick Ryan, AM Sean Singleton

Great to have you on the panel Christopher Capon

Monday community shout out to a long-time supporter of Beaten Zone Ken Macken and an event he is co-hosting this week for anyone interested in understanding a bit more about how Additive Manufacturing is changing the Manufacturing Industry. Key Details of the event are Key Highlights: *Learn how to leverage 3D printing to design and manufacture custom jigs and workholding tools quickly and affordably. *See live demonstrations of CNC and Additive Manufacturing working together to optimize workflow. *Explore the benefits of using Markforged FX10 metal 3D printing to produce durable, high-strength parts in your workshop. *Discover laser marking solutions from Lotus and Epilog Laser to customize 3D printed parts. *Get hands-on insights into machining and modifying 3D printed parts using Haas CNC machines. Whether you are a seasoned CNC machinist or new to additive manufacturing, this event is tailored to provide you with the knowledge and tools to elevate your workshop to the next level. Date: 27th November 2024 Location: 46 Nashos Pl Wacol, QLD 4076 RSVP BELOW: https://lnkd.in/gEp-s3Ph

Such a good panel on Innovation in Defence and Space Tech at TEN13 Runway. Vu Tran Peta Ellis William Crowe Christopher Capon Keirin Joyce

Is the US-Australian Alliance ready to fight the next war? ⬇️   Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has released a research project that examines whether our Alliance is future-ready that we’ll post in the comments. ‘Alliance Future: Rewiring Australia and the United States’ calls for Australia and the USA to better align resources, coordinate regional relationships and invest in resilience. “Washington and Canberra have a storied history of sending their forces into combat and then fighting shoulder to shoulder…. But they have very little history divvying up roles and missions in the manner that will be required for deterrence, defense, and ultimately warfighting in the context of high-intensity conflict in the Indo-Pacific.” Much of our recent experience in fighting alongside the US is that of boutique contributions to wars of choice against insurgents. There is no living memory within either military of fighting in a large scale combat operation against a peer adversary together. There are plenty of lessons to learn from history - World War II in the Pacific in particular. There are also opportunities to learn from conflicts of the present  - Ukraine and the Middle East. The project has papers on Regional Defence Strategy, Force Posture and Structure, Alliance Roles and Missions and Defence Industrial Cooperation. Jennifer Jacket's paper on Defence Industrial Cooperation (we'll post a link in the comments) is well worth a read. There are two recommendations that particularly caught our attention: 1️⃣ Establish a Future Warfare Strategy Team involving strategists, war fighters, technologists, researchers, innovators, and investors 2️⃣ Mobilise a group of venture capitalists from the United States and Australia to independently scope a new dual-use technology fund in Australia. 📷 via Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Ben Dullroy Steve Baxter Jake Bostock Mick Ryan, AM Keirin Joyce Sean Singleton

Join us to deep dive into Australia’s defence export controls. Understand key aspects of the AUKUS license free environment, new permit types and how to maintain compliance with the Defence Trade Controls Act. Register now: https://lnkd.in/gNxVSr8h

Making space transparent.

Great to see the NRF getting amongst it and making an investment sovereign industry capability. Industry is important, mining is important, this is wonderful news. https://lnkd.in/ge7TGGUY Russell Mineral Equipment National Reconstruction Fund Corporation