Schloss Velden Capella

Main Menu

  • Australia News
  • Australian Open
  • England Rugby
  • New Zealand
  • News industry

Schloss Velden Capella

Header Banner

Schloss Velden Capella

  • Australia News
  • Australian Open
  • England Rugby
  • New Zealand
  • News industry
Australia News
Home›Australia News›Amphibious war games prepare Australia to fight rapid change and constant threats

Amphibious war games prepare Australia to fight rapid change and constant threats

By Lisa Wilkerson
June 19, 2021
0
0



How to float a 60 ton tank? This is a problem that the Australian Defense Force (ADF) has just solved after years of effort.

Key points:

  • Instability in the Indo-Pacific causes rapid escalation of maritime warfare training
  • There are calls for more agile personal watercraft so that Australian troops can fight between islands and along rivers
  • Automation and new long-range weapons present benefits and challenges for the Australian Defense Force

But the bigger question is: why would you want him to do it?

Getting Australia’s main battle tank, the M1A1 Abrams, from ship to shore has been one of the most difficult pieces of a much larger puzzle.

How can the Australian military prepare for war on and around the Pacific Islands and Asia?

If you think this sounds like something from WWII you would be right.

This is the last time Australia had the need and the capability to launch large-scale amphibious operations.

Landing craft carry tanks and other armored vehicles ashore as part of an amphibious warfare exercise in North Queensland. (

Provided: CPL Daniel Strutt, ADF

)

But 70 years ago tanks were much lighter, communications much simpler, and warfare was fought in the air, on land, and at sea, without the added complications of cyberwarfare, autonomous systems and even warfare. spatial.

Black and white image of Australian War Memorial landing craft delivering jeeps and troops ashore during World War II
Jeeps and Australian troops land at Balikpapan in Japanese-controlled Borneo in 1945.(

Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial

)

But the Pacific and Asian islands are once again at the forefront of Australia’s national security interests.

Once again this week, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia was “perhaps at the forefront and at the center of the geostrategic challenge in the Indo-Pacific”.

Which brings us back to the floating tank.

Australian warships and army helicopters as well as landing craft can be seen making a coordinated landing from sea to beach.
Australian warship HMAS Canberra, HMAS Choules, landing craft carrying Abrams tanks, attack helicopter and Chinook carrying howitzer heading for shore.(

ABC News: Siobhan Heanue

)

The ADF’s amphibious warfare exercises consist of quickly landing troops, weapons and supplies, without being annihilated by the enemy.

However, as combat vehicles get heavier – to better protect soldiers and carry better weapons – it becomes more and more difficult to move them to combat positions.

Efforts to install Army tanks on Navy landing craft in 2016 were scrapped due to security concerns.

While these latter efforts were successful, they took place in relatively calm seas and the tanks were transferred from large warships within sight of the shore – they did not have to travel far.

Army tank travels to beach after being unloaded from a Navy landing craft during military exercise
The tests saw Australia’s 60-ton main battle tanks disembarked from the landing craft for the first time.(

ADF: LACW Jaqueline Forrester

)

Investment in maritime strategy

Major General Jake Ellwood is the Commander of the Royal Australian Army’s 1st Division, which oversees the country’s amphibious military operations.

“If you are conducting an operation against a capable enemy, I would like to make sure I have a tank by my side,” he said.

“No matter where we are, we have to make sure we can put tanks there to support our people in our operations.”

A portrait of Australian Army Officer Major General Jake Ellwood
Major General Jake Ellwood, 1st Division Commander, Royal Australian Army.(

ABC News: Siobhan Heanue

)

However, he noted, rapid technological change would force constant adaptation.

“The minute you stop, you actually start to decline,” he said.

“We have to make sure that we have considered space, cyber, air, land and sea.

“The threats – and the opportunities – lie in several areas.

“There isn’t a single ability that is the one thing that fixes everything.”

Mix of new and old technologies

The prospect of fighting a capable enemy in this region led to the purchase of more and better landing craft.

It also means retraining an army that spent 20 years mired in conflict in landlocked Afghanistan and dusty Iraq.

This army would face a style of maritime warfare not seen since World War II, said Professor Peter Dean, director of the University of Western Australia’s Defense and Security Institute.

“Amphibious operations are among the most difficult operations the military can undertake,” said Professor Dean.

“We have to be able to project the force and we have to be able to move our forces around the region.”

Australian Army M1A1 main battle tank camouflaged in the bush of North Queensland as part of a training exercise
An M1A1 Abrams tank camouflaged in the bush during an amphibious warfare training exercise in North Queensland. (

ABC News: Siobhan Heanue

)

Professor Dean said new technologies could both hamper and help Australia’s amphibious ambitions.

“The impact of artificial intelligence, robotics, automation [and] cyber warfare is really crucial, ”he said.

“Autonomous submarine systems are already well advanced and well under development.”

He said the development of precise, long-range weapons that can be fired from autonomous trucks on land could be a game-changer.

They would allow the military to control the ocean space that an adversary is trying to dominate – just as long-range bombers gave armies protection and control during World War II.

A smiling dark haired man wearing a black jacket and a red, white and blue plaid shirt
Director of the UWA Defense Institute and expert in amphibious warfare, Professor Peter Dean.(

ABC News: Dominic Egan

)

Automation is useful but won’t win wars

But there is no need for pilots in the cockpit, or even people on a boat, if everything can be done independently.

“There are a lot of developments that are starting to happen in future systems and capabilities where you could have either small fully automated landing craft or considerably larger amphibious ships that have a very small crew on board because most systems on them are automated, ”said Dean.

While automated transport could prove useful for logistics and troop resupply, he said, Australia is far from going to war without boots on the ground.

Soldiers in riot gear and camouflage markings take a knee while on patrol as part of a training exercise in Queensland.
Infantry troops from the 3rd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, patrolling during a training exercise.(

ABC News: Siobhan Heanue

)

“The issue is around communications, the ability to control these unmanned systems and, of course, there are ethical issues as well,” Professor Dean said.

“Wherever we see the ability to advance technology in warfare, there is always a counterpoint – someone developing a defensive system or a way to undermine that system. “

What about small boats?

While the ADF must seek to acquire – and defend against – advanced weapons, the capabilities of past decades may also require reconsideration.

“At the moment we have a larger, high performing force delivered by Navy helicopter landing ships, but what we are largely missing is a large number of better and smaller craft than the military can use it once they are operational. area, ”Professor Dean said.

“In an environment like the islands in northern Australia, there is more water than land.

“[We need] machine which can go up rivers, machine which can operate near the shore to move a small number of forces.

Armored personnel carriers that can cross waterways have been phased out over the past decades, replaced by heavier versions that can carry more troops and supplies.

An infantry soldier in riot gear and camouflage looks at the camera as he holds his weapon while on patrol.
While his predecessors fought in landlocked countries, young soldiers like Private Phillip Korby of 3RAR are training in sea warfare.(

ABC News: Siobhan Heanue

)

Earlier this year, the ADF announced plans to update its amphibious fleet with larger landing craft.

The $ 800 million program also includes the acquisition of lighter amphibious cargo vehicles that can travel both on land and on water.

“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Has it taken too long to come and will it be enough? “,” Said Professor Dean.

“This is what makes the development of military capabilities so complex and so difficult – we really don’t know if we have the right balance until we actually have to clash and use those forces.”



Related posts:

  1. Australia pressured to behave to avert ‘disaster’
  2. Name to boycott a “ luxurious ” client merchandise after a secret investigation
  3. Fb and Information Corp signal funds settlement for Australian content material
  4. Scott Morrison’s ‘bullets’ remark to protesters stuns Australian UN consultant

Recent Posts

  • New Zealand hit by ‘machine gun’ tornado
  • Tennis: Australian Jason Kubler a victory after qualifying for the first Roland-Garros
  • Admit it already in New Zealand we have capital gains tax
  • Worcester’s thrilling comeback seals Premiership Rugby Cup final win over London Irish after extra time
  • Four carpet pythons spotted in the home of an Australian family. Watch the video

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021

Categories

  • Australia News
  • Australian Open
  • England Rugby
  • New Zealand
  • News industry
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy