Aussie C-130s Support Force Insertion

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
09/23/2015

09/23/2015: A Company of Army Commandos have parachuted out of three Air Force C-130 Hercules aircraft and dropped into the waters of Exmouth, Western Australia to fight and defeat a simulated enemy during the inaugural Australian Defence Force Exercise Northern Shield.

The Special Forces contingent descended into Exmouth against the setting sun, loaded into zodiac watercraft and moved to a beach landing site, before conducting a late night raid to clear role player combatants occupying several buildings near a defense facility.

 Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence:9/20/15

Exercise Northern Shield 2015

Exercise Northern Shield is an Australian Defence Force (ADF) training activity where high-readiness forces deploy quickly to North Western Australia in response to a simulated security threat.

It incorporates force preparation activities, Special Forces activities, land force maneuver, air mobile operations and maritime activities.

This is the first time Exercise Northern Shield will be held.

The exercise will entail deploying land forces by air as well as establishing an enhanced air presence in the region, specifically in Learmonth and Exmouth, and simulating support to maritime security operations.

Approximately 1000 Army and Air Force personnel will directly participate in the exercise.

 

Aviation Support to Ready Combat Team in Exercise Northern Shield

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

09/23/2015: Brisbane based soldiers from the Ready Combat Team have been bolstered by significant aviation support during Exercise Northern Shield.

Hawk 127 jets and Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) have been providing notional combat and close air support against a simulated enemy threat in Exmouth, Western Australia.

During one exercise scenario, soldiers and local police secured a suspect King Air aircraft notionally carrying prohibited cargo.

The aircraft was inspected, secured and the persons of interest were arrested at RAAF Learmonth.

The Brisbane based soldiers arrived in Exmouth via Air Force C-17 Globemaster, C-130J Hercules and KC-30 Multi-Role Tanker Transport aircraft on Sunday and Monday.

Exercise Northern Shield is being run from 19th – 24th of September and involves over 1000 troops from the Army and Air Force.

Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence:9/22/15

Exercise Northern Shield 2015

Exercise Northern Shield is an Australian Defence Force (ADF) training activity where high-readiness forces deploy quickly to North Western Australia in response to a simulated security threat.

It incorporates force preparation activities, Special Forces activities, land force maneuver, air mobile operations and maritime activities.

This is the first time Exercise Northern Shield will be held.

The exercise will entail deploying land forces by air as well as establishing an enhanced air presence in the region, specifically in Learmonth and Exmouth, and simulating support to maritime security operations.

Approximately 1000 Army and Air Force personnel will directly participate in the exercise.

 

 

 

 

First Australian-Indian Bilateral Naval Exercise

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

09/23/2015: The inaugural bilateral maritime exercise between India and Australia, AUSINDEX15, was held in Visakhapatnam, India between 12 – 20 Sep 2015.

Three Royal Australian Navy platforms and a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C made the passage to India for the exercise.

HMA Ships Sirius and Arunta and submarine Sheean exercised with Indian Navy Ships Shivalik, Ranvijayi and Shakti, along with a P-8I Maritime Patrol Aircraft during the week-long activity.

The exercise commenced with a harbor phase involving briefings and practical demonstrations ashore, before progressing to sea for various surface, anti-submarine and air warfare exercises. As recently announced by respective Defence Ministers, AUSINDEX will now be held every two years.

Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence:9/21/15

According to an article published in The Diplomat on September 1, 2015 by Prashanth Parameswaran:

AUSINDEX should also be seen more broadly as one sign of growing defense ties between Australia and India. While Canberra and New Delhi have participated in multilateral exercises before, including Malabar exercises in 2007 and Milan exercises in 2012, AUSINDEX is the first bilateral maritime exercise between the two nations.

Australia’s defense minister, Kevin Andrews, is also in India for a series of high-level meetings this week in a boost for the relationship. This is the first meeting between the two countries’ defense ministers since the release of a new framework for security cooperation inked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart following the former’s visit to Australia in November 2014. Regarding his visit to India, Andrewssaid that he looked forward to “identifying a range of new ideas to increase our existing defense cooperation.”

 Speaking more specifically about AUSINDEX, Andrews described it as “a strong signal of both countries’ commitment to building defense relations.”

 AUSINDEX will be followed by Exercise MALABAR in October, which originally began as a U.S.-India bilateral exercise back in 1992. As I have written before, Malabar has been at the center of an ongoing conversation about expanding arrangements in the Asia-Pacific, amid growing trilateral cooperation of various sorts including between India, Australia, and Japan

 

HMAS Canberra Sea Series Exercise

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

09/23/2015: Australia’s newest military capability, the Amphibious Ready Element, commanded by the Amphibious Task Group Headquarters and comprising HMAS Canberra, Air Force assets and supported by the Army’s 2nd Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment and other Army units, has been conducting Exercise SEA EXPLORER, which is the second of the ‘Sea Series’ of exercises.

The focus of the exercises is on training and assessing the Amphibious Ready Element in a permissive environment scenario which is currently taking place in waters off the North Queensland coast from August through to October.

Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence:9/8/15

According to a September 2, 2015 story by Australian Aviation:

The Royal Australian Navy’s amphibious assault ship HMAS Canberra has completed a graduated operational test and trials program, thereby achieving a key milestone on the path to initial operational capability (IOC).

The program included integration of landing craft, as well as trials for the crew and ship and aviation systems, Defence stated. The S-70B-2 Seahawk, Black Hawk and MRH 90 helicopters have now all been evaluated for operations from the Canberra class Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships.

Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Tim Barrett stated that reaching this milestone means HMAS Canberrahas completed the training and evaluation activities required to undertake specific operations as directed by the federal government.

“Canberra now has another two months of more complex, joint collective training and exercises to integrate other elements of the Australian Defence Force amphibious capability,” he said.

“Certification of the Amphibious Ready Element later this year is the final tick to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster relief support. I will then be able to declare the initial operating capability for the Canberra class amphibious ships.”

The second LHD, NUSHIP Adelaide, is expected to enter service later this year, and will commence a similar program to HMAS Canberra early next year. Defence said it is anticipated that Chief of Navy will be in a position to declare final operational capability (FOC) for the ships in late 2017.

NUSHIP Adelaide has completed her final sea trials and returned to the Williamstown shipyard in Melbourne to be prepared for delivery. Prime contractor BAE Systems stated that the main focus of the trials was on testing the combat and communications systems over a 10-day period during the journey from Williamstown to Jervis Bay and back.

 

 

At Sea in Dawn Blitz 2015

Posted on | by Caroline Teames
09/21/2015

09/21/2015: In this video, the US, Mexican and Japanese ships involved in Dawn Blitz 2015 are highlighted.

Dawn Blitz 2015 (DB15) is a multinational amphibious exercise designed to train the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps in operations expected of an amphibious task force while also building U.S. and partner nation operational capabilities and interoperability.

DB15 also tested military forces in the planning and execution of amphibious operations in a series of live training events at sea and ashore.

Credit:Defense Media Activity – Navy:9/4/15

Inaugural F-22 European Training Deployment

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

09/21/2015: 3rd Air Force, 17th Expeditionary Air Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray, hosted a media event at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, September 3rd, 2015, to announce the F-22 Raptor’s first ever European training deployment.

The purpose of the event was to highlight the importance of forward based infrastructure and the ability of the USAF to operate 5th generation aircraft in these environments.

Credit:52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs:9/3/15

 

 

Exercise Dawn Blitz 2015

Posted on | by Caroline Teames

09/21/2015: Dawn Blitz is a multinational training exercise designed to enhance Expeditionary Strike Group Three and 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade’s ability to conduct sea-basing operations, amphibious landings, and command and control capabilities alongside Japan, Mexico and New Zealand.

Credit: Defense Media Activity – Marines:8/31/15