US,Australia Launch Major Exercise at a Time Of Heightened Regional Tension

Even as North Korea was launching its first ICBM experts deem capable of striking the US mainland and Canada on Independence Day,4 July 2017,the US and Australia were getting their largest joint exercise,Talisman Sabre 2017,off the proverbial launch pad.The drills,a major effort to train their forces in planning and conducting Combined Joint Task Force operations to improve the combat readiness and interoperability between the respective forces,are held every two years,the Australian Department of Defence said.*
TS17 is focused on mid-intensity high-end warfighting.This seventh iteration of the event will involve more than 33,000 US and Australian troops.It will consist of force preparation activities;amphibious landings;parachuting;land force manoeuvres;urban operations;air operations;maritime operations;and coordinated firing of live ammunition and explosive ordnance from both small arms and artillery,as well as naval vessels and aircraft,ADOD continued.*
Most of TS17's field training will occur in Shoalwater Bay Training Area,near Rockhampton,Central Queensland.Other sites include Mt.Bundy Training Area south of Darwin,Northern Territory,as well as Darwin itself,Townsville,Brisbane and Canberra in Australia;and Hawaii,Indiana,Virginia and Washington in the US.The drills began in late June and run through late July.*
Admiral Harry B. Harris,Commander,US Pacific Command,recently noted at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Brisbane that the North Korean threat covers the entire Indo-Asia-Pacific Region since its missiles point in every direction:
North Korea made this clear when it threatened Australia with a nuclear strike just a couple of months ago.*
Other APAC regional threats concerning the US and Australia that were cited by ADM Harris are China's growing militarisation of the South China Sea and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant's  alarming expansion into the Philippines.ADM Harris summarised  the current exercise thusly:
TS17 is a realistic,high-end and challenging exercise that provides endless opportunities for our nations to innovatively prepare for our shared regional and global security challenges.*
New Zealand is also sending a contingent to the drills.

Exercise Pitch Black 16:Air Combat in Australia's Northern Territory - some NATO countries invited

The Royal Australian Air Force's massive,biannual air combat exercise Pitch Black 16 continues on this week.The multinational drills are focusing on offensive and defensive air combat in a simulated war environment.With up to 115 aircraft and more than 2500 personnel,Pitch Black is running from 29 July to 19 August in the vast open skies of the sparsely populated Northern Territory,based at RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal about 300 kilometers to the south,and utilising both the Delamere Range Facility and Bradshaw Field Training Area.*
Participating besides the host nation are the US,Canada,Germany,Singapore,Indonesia,New Zealand,Caledonia,Thailand,France and the Netherlands.It was Germany's first participation in Australia's largest air exercise.The UK is not participating this time because of other obligations at the Farnborough Air Show.*
Besides several US Air Force,Thai and Indonesian F-16 and Singaporean F-15 fighters,as well as Australian F-18 Hornets and Superhornets,many transport aircraft and tankers are involved in the war games as well,such as the US Marine Corps KC-130 tanker and the Australian KC-30A tanker/transport.In the Pitch Black scenario,the Red Force from Tindal is the aggressor against the Darwin Blue force with increasing complexity as the drills progress.Air defence systems will be tested and allied forces will develop how they operate together.Air to air combat;air to ground attack;command and control;and tactical air transport will be tested by large formations of aircraft practising challenging air operations.In today's air war,it's more about integrating into a complex and joint environment than achieving mission goals as an individual,providing immediate and responsive military options across the spectrum of operations.Air-land integration is also a new emphasis,as the US Army's 5th Battlefield Coordination Detachment works with Australian Army counterparts to develop a joint approach to enable ground forces to communicate in real time with aircraft.
Troop transport and forward air controller drills are also being incorporated in Pitch Black 16 as part of the air-ground integration package.*
Such mutually beneficial tactics and procedures will build an effective coalition,as a larger team needs to operate cohesively in order to achieve success as well as stabilise and secure the Asia-Pacific region.

Australia Beefs Up Bases for US Marines

The Australian Ministry of Defence is upgrading facilities at two Darwin bases to accomodate a marked increase in US Marine Corps numbers in 2014.Parliamentary Secretary of Defence Darren Chester announced that an 11 million dollar contract has been awarded to Sitzler to build new facilities at both Robertson Barracks and Royal Australian Air Force Darwin in the remote Northern Territory.
While the US Marines will mostly use existing facilities,as they have in previous rotations,some modest facilities works are required to meet additional requirements.The facilities will ensure that appropriate living and working accomodation is available for the US Marine Corps,Mr.Chester said.The construction project begins later this month and is slated for completion by the end of February 2014.*
Some 200 US Marines rotated through Australia in 2012 and 2013,but next year this will surge to about 1150.Most of the Marines will live at Robertson Barracks;while an aviation support contingent of about 130 troops-plus four heavy lift helicopters- will be based at RAAF Darwin.*
The Marine Corps rotation is in line both with Australian defence strategy and America's plan to augment its military presence in the Pacific.Australia is a key partner in combined or joint task force operations in the region,so such opportunities for training for interoperability,shared tactics,techniques and procedures are highly valued by the Marines.*
Reflecting the increased defence activity in Darwin,the inaugural Northern Australia Defence Summit will take place from 29-30 October at Darwin Convention Centre,supported by the Northern Territory Government.The event will bring together key Government,military and industry representatives to discuss current and new Government initiatives,and what industry can bring to the table in support of Defence's strategic objectives.*
Sitzler Pty Ltd. is one of the largest privately held construction companies in Northern Australia.Besides the new Marine Corps facilities,its projects include the Australian Federal Police Building in Darwin and the Darwin Convention Centre&Wave Pool.