Pacific Perspective:AUSMIN 24 Focused on Containing China,Part 2

In the AUSMIN 24 statement,the Parties briefly mentioned some upgrades to facilities in Australia's Northern Territory that the U.S. and Australia were making.An article in The Washington Post went into this in more detail.The article pointed out that Australia was offering the U.S. a vast launching pad in the event of conflict with China.Across Australia,it says,many old bases were being cleaned up or upgraded,some of them dating back to the World War II era,to prepare for another global conflict.Said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles:This is about deterrence.We're working together to deter future conflict and to provide for the collective security of the region in which we live.*Australia joined AUKUS,the Australia/UK/U.S. defence Alliance,under which Australia,the U.S. and UK will provide Australia with nuclear-powered attack submarines with sensitive technology.Of the cleaning and upgrades,Representative Michael McCaul,R-Texas,chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Commitee:This provides a central base of operations from which to project power.*A comprehensive upgrade of RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory is underway with Australia spending nearly a billion dollars so far on the project.Part of the project is a new parking apron for four of Australia's largest military aircraft,the KC-30 refueling tanker that will facilitate refueling fighter aircraft such as the RAAF Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter for distant missions.The RAAF Lightning IIs are based at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory and RAAF Williamstown in New South Wales.The U.S. also intends to build a parking apron at the base for six Boeing B-52 H/J Stratofortress strategic bombers that can reach mainland China.These would be deployed to Australia much more frequently,according to U.S. Secretary of Defense GEN Lloyd F. Austin III U.S. Army ret.Noted Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles:increasing U.S. force posture in Australia.We see that as very much in Australia's national interest.People understand that we are living through challenging times,when the global rules-based order is under pressure.*At RAAF Darwin in Australia's Northern Territory,the U.S. Marines have built a new fuel depot for their Bell Boeing MV-22 Ospreys,an aircraft that can vertically take off and land like a helicopter,but fly straight ahead like an airplane.Refueling the Ospreys could extend their range into the South China Sea;the Philippine Sea and to the Solomon Islands.Said Rep. McCaul:As Chairman Xi (Xinping) is looking out at all of this,he's feeling more deterrence.Our capabilities to respond are getting stronger.*According to BGEN Michael Say,head of Australia's Force Posture Initiative,even more upgrades are being contemplated for three skeleton facilities in remote Western Australia state and Quennsland state to accomodate heavier U.S. and Australian aircraft.In the Cocos Islands,Canberra will soon be upgrading the airstrip to accomodate heavier aircraft such as the Boeing P-8A Maritime Surveillance Aircraft,which also has anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.*Lockheed Martin (LMT),Boeing (BA), Bell Helicopter (TXT)

U.S. Marines. M3E1 MAAWS multi-role grenade launcher. Training in Australia. - YouTube - MIL 3010

U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine Divison,the oldest Marine Corps Division,Marine Rotational Force-Darwin,and Australian troops practise with the M3E1 (MAAWS) Multi-Role Anti-Armor Anti-Personnel Weapons System in the Northern Territory,Australia.Also there are automatic weapons practise and dismounted patrols.*Text by MIL 3010 and edited by Andrew Taylor

Pacific Perspective - Combat Power,Part 2:US to Expand Military Presence in Australia

An investigation by the Australian Broadcast Corporation reveals that the United States is in the process of expanding its military presence in the Northern Territory of Australia.For example,up to six Boeing B-52H Stratofortress strategic nuclear-capable bombers are to be deployed to RAAF Tindal south of Darwin.A squadron operations facility and an adjacent maintenance centre,plus a parking area for the huge aircraft are also in work.According to Becca Wasser of the Centre for a New American Security think tank:Having bombers that could range and potentially attack mainland China could be very important in sending a signal to China that any of its actions over Taiwan could also expand further.*According to the US Air Force:The ability to deploy US Air Force bombers to Australia sends a strong message to our adversaries about our ability to project lethal air power.*The Australian Ministry of Defence declined to comment on just when the B-52s would begin their deployment.According to defence academic Oriana Skylar Mastro of Stanford University:The time frame for an assault on Taiwan I would put it at 2025-2027.*Added Ms.Wasser:For 15 years I would ask the Chinese military if they coud do this and the answer was 'no'.So the fact at the end of 2020 they're starting to say 'yes'.I think that's a significant message we should pay attention to.*The US plans to spend more than a billion dollars upgrading its military presence across the Northern Territory.The US Air Force says the parking area for the B-52s will be finished in late 2026:The RAAF's ability to host the USAF bombers as well as to train alongside them,demonstrates how integrated our two air forces are.*According to the US DOD:The facility is required to support strategic operations and to run multiple 15-day training exercises during the Northern Territory dry season for deployed B-52 squadrons.*Other DOD plans include building its own jet fuel storage tanks in RAAF Darwin and an ammunition bunker at RAAF Tindal.*During the 2021 annual mimisterial meetings called AUSMIN,it was decided that under an enhanced air cooperation policy,there will be:rotational deployment US aircraft of all types in Australia.*Said US Defense Secretary GEN Lloyd Austin III,U.S. Army ret.:Today we endorse major force posture initiatives that will expand our access and presence in Australia.*Significantly,there is construction of 11-giant fuel storage tanks in RAAF Darwin.Said Mr.Ashley Townshend of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:We will see much greater numbers of US military personnel forward located in Australia.That will include personnel for all three services:Navy,Air Force and Army,as well as the Darwin Marines,which are likely to be expanded.*The AUSMIN communique spoke of 'efforts to advance force posture cooperation to deter our adversaries'.*Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap,near the town of Alice Springs in the outback,has been undergoing a major expansion of its giant antennae over the past decade.It is a SIGINT base with detachments from the CIA,NSA and DOD National Reconnaissance Office onsite.The base is staffed jointly by civilian and military personnel.A joint US/Australian committee meets there every morning to decide on the intelligence targets for the day.*Boeing (BA)

Pacific Perspective:1st MARDIV Certifies for Australia Deployment

Marines and Sailors of 1st Marine Division and Expeditionary Strike Group 3 recently concluded Exercise Steel Knight 23.It certified the participants for deployment with the upcoming Marine Rotational Force-Darwin (MRF-D) in Australia's Northern Territory as I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF).Thousands of Marines and Sailors enhanced naval integration,joint planning and expeditionary advanced base operations.The drills took place in two phases:a command post exercise (CPX) and a mission rehearsal exercise (MRX).In the CRX,each subordinate command was tested to collect intelligence on enemy forces;coordinate joint fires;and simulate strikes while sustaining the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) with supplies across dispersed locations.CPX also enabled all-domain operations including cyber,space and information operations to complement kinetic operations in the operational environment.* MRX involved manoeuvring warships,Marine aviation squadrons and staging amphibious landings.Marines and Sailors responded to simulated crises and contingency scenarios in a contested environment.Said USN Rear Admiral James Kirk,commander,Expeditionary Strike Group 3:Simulated combat operations are ongoing to execute sea denial operations so that the joint force can then control and have freedom of movement,and can manoeuvre in a combat scenario to refine operational capabilities and tactics,techniques and procedures (TTPs).* Marines and Sailors also rehearsed the EABO (Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations),meaning employing forces in isolated environments and contested maritime areas.They tested their ability to plan,communicate and operate on small island chains;sea lanes;and aboard ships scattered across vast areas while still synchronised with one another.This took place across multiple locales in Southern and Central California.It's about working together to gain an advantage over a very challenging adversary (such as China,Russia or North Korea) while outpacing an enemy and achieving sea control,according to USMC Major General Benjamin Watson,commanding general of 1st MARDIV,I MEF and Rear Admiral Kirk.* In the course of the exercise,America-class Amphibious Assault Ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) played a significant role,as did Marine Aircraft Group 3,3rd Marine Aircraft Wing,which conducted an air assault on San Clemente island,California.A US Navy landing craft air cushion with Assault Craft Unit 5 carried an AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task-Oriented Radar.* The Tripoli allows the operation of both the MV-22 Osprey and F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.The warship is armed with 2 Rolling Airframe Missile launchers;2 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile launchers;2x20mm Phalanx CIWS mounts;and 7 x twin .50 BMG machine guns.It also carries electronic warfare devices such as 2 Mk53 Nulka decoy launchers.The Tripoli's complement is 102 officers;1102 enlisted;and 1687 Marines (plus 184 surge).It is the second America-class AAS,commissioned in July 2020.Its homeport is San Diego.*

Pacific Perspective:Meet Pine Gap,the Crucial Joint Intelligence Base in the Australian Outback

Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap (JDFPG) is an ultra-secret intelligence base near the town of Alice Springs in Australia's Northern Territory.Its existence is not acknowledged,but over the years academics,photographers and a few former staff members have uncovered and/or shared a fair amount of information about one of the most critical national security facilities in the Indo-Pacific Region.US tenants at the facility nestled in a desert ecosystem with jagged hills include the CIA,National Security Agency (NSA),National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) and National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).NSA's signals intelligence (SIGINT) work here is code-named RAINFALL;while NRO operates the Australian Mission Ground Station (AMGS). Among the assets at JDFPG are 38 radomes covering dish antennae and a vast computer complex in the operations centre,which is staffed 24/7/365.The total base staff,including US servicemembers,numbers at least 800.JDFPG is,among other missions,a control station for geosynchronous US spy satellites which pass over China,Eastern Russia,and the Middle East.It is a ground control and processing station for SIGINT satellites,to include those intercepting advanced weapons telemetry;anti-missile and anti-aircraft radar signals;communications satellite traffic;and microwave transmission (for instance,long-distance telephone calls).The base's departments include a Satellite Station Keeping Sector;Signals Processing Station;and Signals Analysis Station.* Every morning,the US-Australian Joint Reconnaissance Schedule Committee chooses the spy satellite tasking for a 24-hour period.Formerly the US Air Force,but now possibly the US Space Force,maintains the control station for missile heat and emission-detecting satellites.JDFPG monitors Chinese and North Korean weapons and communications.It also plays a key role in gathering geolocation data and supports military operations such as air strikes.It was involved in the Afghan War.Additionally,Pine Gap controls spy satellites that gather intelligence over Eurasia,Africa,Southeast Asia,Eastern Europe and Atlantic Ocean nations.With an elevation of 589 m/1932 ft,the facility plays a role in US missile defence,early warning and drone strikes.It is a Commonwealth of Australia Restricted Area under the Defence (Special Undertaking) Act 1952.No Trespassing,No Photography,No Firearms.Maximum Penalty Imprisonment Seven Years,a sign proclaims.Security personnel patrol the base every ten minutes.* Pine Gap has about twenty support buildings and what appears to this blog to be a tunnel entrance.An unconfirmed report mentions nine underground levels built to withstand three simultaneous nuclear strikes.The Australian Government believes it derives a lot of useful intelligence from the joint operation conducted in 20,000 square meters of operations space.Most of the Chiefs of Facility were senior CIA officials,but,in recent years,the NSA has had its share of COFs.The Deputy COF is always an Australian Government official.* In 2015,there were 55 US civilian operations personnel and 105 US military operations personnel at Pine Gap.The Australian Government had 50 operations personnel and there were 45 contractor personnel,bringing the total of operations centre staff to 255.The remaining two-thirds of the base staff were engaged in support and maintenance activities.This information was garnered by Australian academics Desmond Ball,Bill Robinson and Richard Tanter in their report "Management of Operations at Pine Gap (2015)".* The NGA manages imagery (IMINT) and geospatial intelligence functions involving foreign satellite/communications satellite interception systems,missile launch detection and tracking data.The Mission Ground Center (MGC) of the NRO at Pine Gap is an integrated data centre where IMINT and SIGINT is fused in a format providing ready integration of intel collected by other air and ground systems,as well as human intelligence (HUMINT).* America supports you,our military men and women and Intelligence Community.*

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.

US Marines Add More Combat Aircraft to Their Rotation in Australia

Having brought their personnel numbers in Australia up from an initial 200 in 2012 to 1250 in 2016,and planning to double this to 2500 by 2020,the US Marines are now more than tripling the number of combat aircraft accompanying their troops from four in 2016 up to 13 in 2017.This year,the complement of aircraft will include:
four MV-22 Ospreys,whose long range and speed make them ideal for Asia-Pacific island-hopping;
five AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters;
and four UH-1Y Venom helicopters.
This Aviation Combat Element will be hosted at RAAF Darwin.It is being described by the Marines as being more diverse and capable than previous deployments.All of the aircraft will be drawn from units in Hawaii.The next six-month rotation begins in April 2017,with most of the Marines coming from 3rd Battalion,4th Marine Regiment,out of Camp Pendleton,California. *
The US has used Australia as a base for many decades and in many different respects,explains Australian Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne,whether it's cyber security information gathering,the Marines in Darwin and the Air Force.Australia has real capability in maintaining and sustaining our aircraft and American aircraft.The Americans know that if they send their aircraft to Australia and they need to be maintained or sustained in some particular way,it can be done here.*
In October,the US and Australia reached a cost-sharing agreement for the 25-year long pact that will improve the Northern Territory infrastructure and pay for ongoing costs,settling a squabble over just how the Marine Corps rotations will be funded.The rotational programme furthers the US aim of rebalancing its forces to the Asia-Pacific,while bolstering Australia's defence against a growing menace from China and North Korea.*
When the Marines reach 2500 troops,they will have a full Marine Air-Ground Task Force with all of its aircraft,vehicles and other equipment in Australia's remote Northern Territory.The pact for this rotational force was signed in 2011 by former Prime Minister Julia Gillard and former President Barack Obama.*
Overall,the Marines are in the process of redistributing their forces to four major Forward Areas of Operation:Japan;Guam;Hawaii;and Australia.This is their part of the new US strategy of rebalancing the military to the Asia-Pacific region.

Outback Wargames Concluded in the Northern Territory by US Marines and Allies

US Marines with 1st Battalion,1st Marine Regiment,Marine Rotational Force-Darwin recently concluded Exercise Koolendong 16 in Australia's Northern Territory along with small contingents of their Australian and French allies.The two-week drills included live fire events;close air support;and capstone defensive live fire under chemical,biological,radiological and nuclear conditions,firing downrange while wearing protective suits and conducting a decontamination,representing an extremely austere geographical and warfighting environment.*
We are focusing on our core mission essential tasks,offense and defence,in a live fire environment and some of the harshest conditions,said Lieutenant Colonel Steven M. Sutey,company commander of MRF-D.*
HMLA-367 fulfilled the Air Combat Element of the exercise with their U1-1Y Huey helicopters.They executed several close air support evolutions;aerial command and control;armed reconnaissance;and forward air controller support for Marines on the ground.This provided MRF-D with full Marine Air-Ground Task Force assets.*
The closing drill of Koolendong 16 involved holding a battalion-size defensive position while working with the Air Combat Element for close air,and,in an extremely rare evolution,having to don gas masks as about 30 cans of CS gas were dropped into their fighting holes,adding a CBRN touch to the live fire environment,responding to CBRN conditions being one of these Marines' designated missions.*
Participating in Koolendong 16 were around 1300 US Marines and Sailors from MRF-D and 4th Marine Regiment Okinawa,Japan;100 Australian Defence Force troops from 8th/12th Australian Artillery Regiment,adding a capability the US Marines don't have in a MAGTF;and,in their first Exercise Koolagong,50 soldiers from the French Armed Forces New Caledonia infantry.

Stretching Together:Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 Tests ANZUS Alliance plus Japan

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 has concluded after two weeks of high-end warfighting training by the US,Australia,New Zealand and Japan.It was the first time in the history of the biennial event that had featured the participation of the New Zealand and Japanese forces.New Zealand contributed 500 troops,as well as aircraft and ships.The Kiwis were embedded with the Australian Defence Forces;while the 40 Japanese personnel were embedded with the American troops.*
Another innovative aspect of the exercise was the staging of drills in two separate locations within Australia:the Northern Territory and Central Queensland.This presented a test of the Australia-New Zealand-US alliance's command and control capability and,in general,the ability to carry out two significant military operations simultaneously in the Asia-Pacific theatre.*
The US was represented by the USS George Washington aircraft carrier strike group and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit,both out of their forward basing in Japan.As well,2 US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress bombers flew a 44-hour round trip from Barksdale Air Force Base,Louisiana to target areas in the Northern Territory.This mission demonstrated the ability to project US Strategic Command's flexible,long-range global strike capability,and to synchronise strategic activities with a key ally in the US Pacific Command.
Massive amphibious operations were staged in Fog Bay,Northern Territory.These were the largest amphibious operations Australia has taken part in since World War II as the country endeavours to develop an independent amphibious warfare capacity.The operations included both seaborne landings and airborne assaults.Australia contributed 250 embarked troops from the 2nd Battalion Royal Australian Regiment and the HMAS Choules amphibious ship.
Special Operations Forces from the US,Australia and New Zealand staged a night raid near Darwin,Northern Territory.
The total number of forces participating was more than 30,000 personnel;21 ships;3 submarines;and 200 aircraft.*
In the Fog Bay amphibious exercise on 11 July,the Battalion Landing Team,2nd Battalion,5th Marines,31st MEU took part.The landing was integrated down to the company level with the Royal Australian Regiment and saw the Marines and Aussies sharing the same vehicles,being supported by the same aircraft and working for the same objectives.
We must integrate down to the lowest tactical level,said 31st MEU commander Colonel Romin Dasmalchi.Planning together is not enough.If we are going to endure chaos together,we have to drill together and practice as often as we can.The only way to learn each other's tactics is to have the Marines and ADF personnel confront tactical tasks together.
The Fog Bay landing involved a three-pronged assault at Native Beach and Stingray Beach,plus an aerial insertion farther inland.For the Battalion Landing Team specifically,applying combat power across multiple frontages has a massive dislocating effect on the enemy.Not only does it isolate the enemy and reduce his ability to muntually support;it allows us to rapidly generate tempo and momentum,added Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Fiscus,commanding officer of BLT 2nd Bn,5th Marines.
Once the beachhead was secured,the forces pressed inland to secure secondary objectives.That done,they assumed defensive positions for the night.For the Marines,it was a dynamic,multifaceted amphibious assault and sustained, combined arms live fire exercise and maneuver ashore with their Australian partners.

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.