Mil News Australia, NZ, Oceania Military News

[BravoZulu]

Kangaroo step-up and Kiwi reset in the South Pacific
Australia and New Zealand are reaching for fresh thoughts about the South Pacific.

Canberra offers the Islands economic and security ‘integration’ and a ‘step-up’ in engagement. The new government in Wellington promises to ‘shift the dial’ to get a ‘reset of New Zealand’s foreign policy direction in the Pacific’.

It was striking but appropriate that New Zealand’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, flew to Sydney to deliver his Pacific ‘reset’ speech.

Australia and New Zealand understand the demand to do more—and do some things differently. And the need to do it together. That was the closing note of Peters’ Sydney speech: ‘There has never been a time since 1945 when Australia and New Zealand need to work together more closely in the Pacific.’

Even the traditional elbow jab in any Kiwi speech about Oz was more appeal than shove:

It is not a matter of the country cousin or the senior soldier anymore. We are in a serious struggle to get on top of the problem we have in the Pacific, and we need best efforts from both of our countries.

Along with the ‘dizzying array’ of economic, social and environmental challenges facing the Islands, Peters noted, the region is attracting more external actors and interests. ‘So much is changing in the Pacific, and sometimes it is not for the best. Need and temptation often leads to greater risk than prudence would suggest.’

In its budget this month, New Zealand put money into its reset, lifting aid funding by 30% (an extra NZ$714.22 million over the four-year budget cycle). Most of the aid will go to the South Pacific, which Peters described as ‘an increasingly contested strategic space’.

Australia’s May budget also announced more aid for the Islands—at $1.3 billion, ‘our highest ever contribution to the region’—even while squeezing development assistance elsewhere. As the previous column noted, Oz aid policy is now the South Pacific.

Australia’s view of its Indo-Pacific future was symbolically expressed via the announcement of two new diplomatic posts: a consulate-general in Kolkata, India (population: 15 million), and our 14th post in the South Pacific, a High Commission in the micro-state of Tuvalu (population: 11,277).

Another bit of symbolic substance was the promise to increase ‘berthing infrastructure in Sydney’ to send even more cruise liners into the South Pacific (an industry worth $2.7 billion to the Australian economy and plenty to the Islands).

As an expression of strategic intent and economic contest, Australia elbowed aside China to build an undersea telecommunications cable with Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. In budget-speak with a strategic flavour, the cable project will create ‘a secure communication asset’. Get that emphasis: communication (tick), secure (tick).

Promising to step up ‘our support for a more secure and prosperous Pacific’, the aid budget showcased Australia’s plans to:

offer economic opportunities for Pacific workers in Oz with expanded labour mobility
establish an Australia Pacific Security College for leadership training in security and law enforcement
begin the pilot phase of the Australia-Pacific BRIDGE School Partnerships Program, starting with schools in Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Nauru, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu.
The Foreign Policy White Paper in November announced the integration policy: ‘helping to integrate Pacific countries into the Australian and New Zealand economies and our security institutions’.

The aid program puts together the parts, stating:

Given the immutable issues of small size, dispersed populations and fragile economies, the approach of the Australian aid program in the Pacific is to expand opportunities for our neighbours through greater integration. Our Pacific development program is working to enable economic cooperation, including through labour mobility, tackling security challenges, and strengthening people-to-people links.

Australia can draw on a lot of history and its central role in the region to imagine a most ambitious integrated future. Integration must be a discussion about what the Islands want, but also about how Canberra orders its priorities. As Nic Maclellan points out, there’s lots of potential clash between Australia’s global strategic interests and our regional obligations.

Enter New Zealand. Australia is the absent-minded Islands hegemon that isn’t always benign—we have form as a selfish bully. When the Kangaroo is hopping away or going too hard, it’s always useful to have the Kiwi working the other side of the street.

The ‘come together’ call for the South Pacific will have several dimensions. Not least will be what Canberra and Wellington can agree on and then deliver. This should be the easy bit; it seldom is. There’s always a bit of elbow in the Kangaroo–Kiwi hug and huddle.

Then there’s the complex interactions with a range of extraordinarily diverse South Pacific states, from the relative giant in Papua New Guinea to the minnow-sized Tuvalu.

Add in a vital dimension that’s central, especially to Australia’s integration proposal. The Islands have to reach a minimum level of agreement among themselves. If Canberra–Wellington consensus is harder than it should be, real agreement among the Islands to make real change is rare.

One of the biggest integration questions is how much the Islands are prepared to integrate with each other. What will the Islands give up or share with neighbours to change the terms of the catch‑22 of their slow development? And what agreement can the Islands reach on the ‘increasingly contested strategic space’ described by Winston Peters.

The Kangaroo and Kiwi need to agree. Just as importantly, the Islands need to decide and choose.
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/k...o step-up and Kiwi reset in the South Pacific

 

[BravoZulu]

Royal Australian Navy starting Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2018
The Royal Australian Navy is starting the second iteration of the large-scale regional engagement Indo-Pacific Endeavour (IPE 18), Australian defense minister Marise Payne has announced.

A Task Group that will deploy as part of IPE 18 is scheduled to depart Townsville on June 2.

Minister Payne said Indo-Pacific Endeavour is one of the ADF’s most important annual activities and represents a major contribution to regional security and stability.

The centerpiece of the IPE 18 Joint Task Group will be the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock ship, HMAS Adelaide. Frigates Melbourne, Toowoomba, and tanker Success will be the other members of the group enhancing relationships, building partner capacity and improving military interoperability throughout the Southwest Pacific.

The last year’s edition of the deployment was also spearheaded by HMAS Adelaide.

“Our ability to respond rapidly to regional humanitarian and security challenges is based on strong and enduring relationships with regional militaries, governments and local communities,” minister Payne said.

“These relationships are forged through disaster planning, exercises and other military activities that enhance our ability to operate seamlessly with our partners in the Southwest Pacific.

“Indo-Pacific Endeavour provides the ADF with all of those opportunities.”

ADF personnel will carry out a series of engagement activities and military training exercises during port visits in Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

The first port call for Adelaide and Melbourne will be Fiji, while Toowoomba and Success will visit Vanuatu.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/06/01/r...tarting-indo-pacific-endeavour-2018/?uid=5430

 

[BravoZulu]

Comprehensive coercion: China’s ‘political warfare’ campaign against Australia
Some strange things have been said about the Australia–China relationship during recent weeks.

Some commentators have blamed the Turnbull government for mishandling relations with Beijing and for making too much of a fuss about China’s militarisation of the South China Sea.

John Howard has suggested that, while there will always be differences between the two countries, current tensions could be remedied by face-to-face meetings between the national leaders. Bob Carr has said that critics of Beijing’s influence operations in Australia want to spark a new Cold War.

The reality is that all of these perceptions are flawed. The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) in Washington released a new report, Countering comprehensive coercion, which makes clear that China has been conducting political warfare–type operations against Australia for over a decade. So it’s time for Australians to understand that it’s not a question of whether we want to fight such battles. The communist regime in Beijing is already doing so against us. The most important question is how we can best defend ourselves.

There’s a great deal of evidence on the public record for all to see. Senior officials have told parliamentary committees that subversion and influence operations are now more intense than at the height of the Cold War in the early 1980s. There are reports of Chinese students being tasked to suppress anti-Beijing views; the Chinese Communist Party’s funding of business people, politicians, trade unionists and others who then argue Beijing’s case; large-scale media operations including Beijing-produced monthly supplements in major Australian newspapers; extensive cyber operations against Australian governments, corporations and research institutions; aggressive attempts to recruit spies and agents of influence; and operations by an increasingly powerful Chinese military to establish footholds in important locations in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Some Australians assume that the Chinese regime’s operations in Australia are simply a succession of isolated or random incidents. The reality is that the Chinese agencies conducting these operations are tightly controlled by the Communist Party leadership. The primary organisations of relevance—the United Front Work Department, the Propaganda Department, the Ministry of State Security, and the political warfare and propaganda divisions of the People’s Liberation Army—are all directly controlled by the Politburo Standing Committee, chaired by Xi Jinping.

The Chinese regime is highly motivated. It’s driven by a powerful narrative that seeks to overcome what the Communist Party sees as China’s ‘century of humiliation’ or subservience to the West and delivers the ‘China dream’ of restoring the nation’s international pre-eminence. At last October’s National People’s Congress, President Xi emphasised his determination ‘to restore China as a global leader in terms of comprehensive national power and international influence’.

The regime in Beijing is committed to building China’s international power to rival and then surpass that of the United States. China’s leaders of the 1980s and 1990s who spoke of ‘a peaceful rise’ and of Beijing ‘biding its time’ are long gone.

A feature of Beijing’s operations against Australia and its allies is that they’re a reflection of the regime’s oppressive surveillance operations and police-state behaviour at home. Within China there’s no independent rule of law, little respect for human rights and no tolerance of dissenting behaviour. Many thousands of citizens are arbitrarily detained in ‘re-education camps’. The same culture of aggressive intrusion, heavy-handed interference and disrespect for international law characterises many Chinese agency operations in Australia and throughout our region.

The CSBA report tracks the development of these Chinese operations and includes a revealing discussion of translated papers from a United Front Work Department conference that was conducted in 2015. In these and other documents, the Chinese have no hesitation in describing their operations against Australia and other allied countries as ‘political warfare’. Indeed, Xi has talked openly about these political warfare operations being one of his ‘magic weapons’.

This Chinese campaign is a major challenge for the Australian national security community and, indeed, for Australian society at large. The communist regime has been actively exploiting the openness and freedoms that are part of our DNA. What’s more, all indications are that these hostile operations are likely to be intensified in the period ahead and will be sustained for many years.

The CSBA report starts a discussion about what we need to do.

First, more Australians need to do their homework. While these developments are well understood by our national security officials, many people in business, education, the media and elsewhere have yet to appreciate the nature and scale of the challenge, and quite a few are in a state of denial. These regime operations present a serious threat to our sovereignty and to the freedoms most of us cherish.

Second, we need to appreciate that in the face of this political warfare campaign, it cannot be business as usual. The Turnbull government’s tightening of counterespionage legislation will help, but it’s not enough. We need to work hard with our allies and partners to devise means of defending ourselves against these political warfare operations. We also need to deter Chinese escalation and impose costs on Beijing for continuing its coercive operations.

Perhaps the biggest challenge of all will be to properly brief Australians and organise citizens to play their part in defending our democracy. Beijing is leveraging trade, investment, financial, political, diplomatic, news media, social media, educational, social, cyber, espionage, military and paramilitary and other instruments to coerce Australian compliance. Australia’s heavy reliance on diplomacy and military instruments, with modest economic and aid activity, is clearly being overwhelmed. Developing an effective national response will require national leadership and sharpened priorities for relevant government agencies.

Australia needs to lift its game. There’s a great deal to do.

https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/c... political warfare campaign against Australia

 

[AAR Galileo]

Australia:

ADF helicopter unit grounded amid 'cocaine ring' allegations.

An Australian Defence Force Chinook helicopter unit has been grounded, with up to 10 staff accused of running a cocaine ring.
9NEWS has confirmed the personnel from the Townsville base - including officers, aircrew, maintenance workers and a civilian employee - were busted in a targeted operation that started with a tip-off.
It is believed the drug tests confirmed the alleged offenders had traces of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamines in their systems while they were on duty.
Military police were there for the raid at the regiment's headquarters.
A second crew, already on exercise in Queensland with American marines and Kiwi soldiers, was also grounded until each of them could be interviewed and supply samples to drug testers.
Under the Army's discipline system, commanders have asked those who tested positive to explain why they shouldn’t be immediately kicked out of the Defence Force.
https://www.9news.com.au/national/2...inook-helicopter-unit-cocaine-ring-drug-tests

 

[AAR Galileo]

Australia:

The Hunter Class - Defending Australia and Securing Our Shipbuilding Sovereignty

The Turnbull Government will deliver one of the world’s most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates, create 4,000 Australian jobs and secure a local naval shipbuilding industry for decades to come.
The frigates, to be designed by BAE Systems and built by ASC Shipbuilding, are central to our plan to secure our nation, our naval shipbuilding sovereignty and create Australian jobs.
BAE’s Global Combat Ship – Australia will provide our nation with one of the most advanced anti-submarine warships in the world - a maritime combat capability that will underpin our security for decades to come.
The Future Frigates, named the Hunter class, will be built in Australia, by Australians, using Australian steel.
This $35 billion program will create 4,000 Australian jobs right around the country and create unprecedented local and global opportunities for businesses large and small.
The Hunter class will begin entering service in the late 2020s replacing the eight Anzac Frigates, which have been in service since 1996.
The Turnbull Government is committed to give our military the potent naval capability it needs.

http://www.defense-aerospace.com/ar...derer-for-a$35-bn-future-frigate-program.html

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:

Chief Petty Officer Troy Eather was one nine Australians recognised for their involvement in the Thailand cave rescue by the Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove in the presence of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and other national leaders at Government House in Canberra today.

Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Michael Noonan takes a selfie with Chief Petty Officer Troy Eather at Government House, Canberra, after the presentation of bravery medals and awards for Australian Thai cave rescuers. Photo by Lieutenant Tony Martin.

The medals and awards for nine Australians involved in the cave rescue were officially gazetted today…

The Governor-General is pleased to announce the following Australian Honours in connection with the Tham Luang cave rescue operation in Northern Thailand, from 30 June 2018 to 10 July 2018.

AUSTRALIAN BRAVERY DECORATIONS:

STAR OF COURAGE (SC)
For acts of conspicuous courage in circumstances of great peril

Dr Craig Challen, Gnangara WA 6077
Dr Richard Harris, Toorak Gardans SA 5065

BRAVERY MEDAL (BM)
For acts of bravery in hazardous circumstances

Senior Constable Justin John Bateman, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group
Leading Senior Constable Kelly Craig Boers, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group
Detective Leading Senior Constable Benjamin Walter Cox, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group
Chief Petty Officer Troy Matthew Eather, Royal Australian Navy, Specialist Liaison Officer, Clearance Diving Team
First Constable Matthew Peter Fitzgerald, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group
Acting Station Sergeant Robert Michael James, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group
Detective Leading Senior Constable Christopher John Markcrow, Australian Federal Police Special Response Group

ORDER OF AUSTRALIA

Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM)
For service to the international community through specialist response roles during the Tham Luang cave rescue in Thailand in 2018.

Senior Constable Justin John Bateman
Leading Senior Constable Kelly Craig Boers
Dr Craig Challen
Detective Leading Senior Constable Benjamin Walter Cox
Chief Petty Officer Troy Matthew Eather
First Constable Matthew Peter Fitzgerald
Dr Richard Harris
Acting Station Sergeant Robert Michael James
Detective Leading Senior Constable Christopher John Markcrow
http://www.contactairlandandsea.com/2018/07/24/medals-and-awards-for-thai-cave-rescuers/

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
Australian Minister for Defence Industry, announced on August 22, 2018, the selection of Rafael Advanced Defence System's SPIKE LR2 as the Anti-Tank Guided Weapon (ATGW) for the Australian Defence Force's (ADF) Boxer 8x8 armored Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV). The SPIKE LR2 will be delivered by Varley Rafael Australia (VRA Systems), the joint venture between Rafael and the Varley Group.

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia Orders More Rheinmetall Military Trucks Worth $430M
The Duesseldorf, Germany-based tech enterprise has been selected to supply the Australian Defence Force with more than a thousand additional military trucks and modules, worth €430 million.

The Commonwealth of Australia has thus acted on a procurement decision already announced in July 2018. Delivery is scheduled to commence in 2019 and be complete in 2024.

The latest purchase forms part of Australia’s Land 121 Phase 5B project. Rheinmetall has already proved its mettle in earlier phase of the project, 3B, under which it is currently supplying Australia with 2,500 medium- and heavyweight military trucks worth a total of €1.2 billion. The trucks ship out from the Group’s plant in Brisbane, where final integration and acceptance testing takes place before delivery to the Commonwealth.

http://www.defenseworld.net/news/23...tall_Military_Trucks_Worth__430M#.W5j7uPluaUk

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
The Royal Australian Air Force’s 3 Sqn has received its first Lockheed Martin F-35A: the service's first example not earmarked for use at the Luke AFB International Pilot Training Centre.

This is the RAAF’s ninth F-35A, with the others being used to training at Luke, says Australia’s Department of Defence.

"It is an exciting time for Air Combat Group as we transition to F-35A operations over the next few years,” says Air Commodore Michael Kitcher. “While there are challenges ahead, particularly as we prepare for the conduct of Australian-based operations next year, I am confident we are well placed to manage the transition."

The RAAF accepted the jet, A35-009, at Luke AFB in early September. No. 3 Squadron operates the Boeing F/A-18 A/B “Classic” Hornet, which the RAAF will retire.

It follows the first dropping of ordinance from another RAAF F-35A, A35-006, on 20 July. The activity took place at the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona, and saw the F-35 drop two inert GBU-31v3 JDAM GPS-guided bomb which scored direct hits on their targets.

The RAAF aims to achieve initial operating capability with the type in December 2020. IOC will include weapons such as the Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range missile, AIM-9X Sidewinder missile, JDAMs, small diameter bombs, and the internal 25mm cannon.

Australia operates 55 single seat F/A-18As and 16 two-seat F/A-18Bs that were acquired in the 1980s. This fleet will be retired by 2022 in favour of the F-35A, of which Canberra has committed to acquiring 72 examples.

Canada will obtain up to 25 surplus RAAF F/A-18 A/Bs, of which 18 will be used to fill a capability gap while Ottawa decides on its next fighter aircraft. Seven will be used for non-flying activities such as software testing, static training, and spares.

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/raaf-combat-squadron-receives-first-f-35a-452011/

 

[AAR Galileo]

Australia : Crew shortage could leave Australia's new submarines high and dry – report

Australia’s new multi-billion-dollar fleet of submarines may not be able to be taken out to sea unless the Department of Defence addresses a looming crew shortage, a new report warns.

The paper from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has raised concerns that workforce recruitment will be a huge future challenge when the navy transitions to a new fleet of 12 French-designed vessels from the six Collins class submarines......

https://www.theguardian.com/austral...australias-new-submarines-high-and-dry-report

It's not new, Australia always had a shortage of submarine crew, they didn't think about it before ordering 12 Shortfin?

 

[BravoZulu]

^^The Shortfin isn't even what the navy wanted, it's what the government has decided on, against all advice and wishes from the navy. The sub doesn't even exist yet and projections are that they will cost upwards of $200 billion when completed, 4 times the cost of other designs that were dumped.

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
Spain's Indra has been awarded an AUD36 million (USD25.4 million) contract by the Australian government to design and manufacture a deployable forensic laboratory that will facilitate the rapid collection, analysis, and documentation of evidence from any incident involving an improvised explosive device (IED).

The capability, which is being acquired by Canberra under Project Land 154 Phase 2, will be used primarily by the Australian Army and can be used for a range of roles, including counter-IED operations, said the IT and defence electronics company in a statement on 9 October.

According to the company, over 90% of the contract will be carried out by Australian equipment manufacturers and distributors.
https://www.janes.com/article/83664...lia-with-mobile-forensic-lab-for-ied-analysis

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
The Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) final Hawk Mk127 advanced trainer aircraft is set to be upgraded and modernised at BAE Systems’ Williamtown maintenance facility.

Since 2016, the upgrade project has been carried out for the overhaul of a total fleet of 33 Mk127 aircraft.

Due to be carried out next year, the modernisation of the last aircraft will conclude the RAAF’s strategically important lead-in fighter capability assurance programme.

BAE Systems Australia chief executive Gabby Costigan said: “The upgraded BAE Systems Hawk aircraft provides the RAAF with a similar capability as the most modern Hawk aircraft around the world.

“It’s been a benchmark programme in terms of how BAE Systems Australia and UK engineering teams, together with industry partners and RAAF technicians, have collaborated to deliver this enhanced capability ahead of schedule.

“The upgrade programme has been delivered without adversely impacting the training of the RAAF’s fast jet aircrew, which is a significant achievement.”
“It’s also testament to all involved that the upgrade programme has been delivered without adversely impacting the training of the RAAF’s fast jet aircrew, which is a significant achievement.”

The Hawk Mk127 has served as a major part of the RAAF’s fast jet training system since 2001 for highly trained aircrew members in the cockpits of different fighter aircraft, including F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornets, F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers.

The Hawk lead-in fighter jet is prepared to deliver high calibre pilots for the F-35A joint strike fighter fleet.

Upgraded Hawk trainers provide RAAF pilots with new training capabilities, including simulated radar, electronic warfare, digital mapping, ground proximity warning system and traffic collision avoidance.

In addition, the project includes the replacement of two legacy synthetic training devices with three full mission simulators provided by CAE.

First launched by BAE Systems in September 1998, the Hawk Mk127 lead-in fighter trainer features a fully digital cockpit, open architecture computers and airborne simulation systems.

https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/raaf-final-hawk-mk127-undergo-upgrade/

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has taken another step towards bolstering its multi-layered system of at-sea defences against aircraft and missiles by commissioning its second Hobart-class air warfare destroyer (AWD).

The vessel, HMAS Brisbane (41), was officially inducted on 27 October in a commissioning ceremony at Garden Island Naval Base, Sydney.

Brisbane is part of a three-ship programme to replace the RAN's fleet of Adelaide-class (US Oliver Hazard Perry design) guided-missile frigates that have been in service since the early 1990s. First-of-class AWD, HMAS Hobart (39), was commissioned in September 2017.

The Hobart class is derived from Navantia's F-100 Alvaro de Bazan-class frigate design, and incorporates the Aegis combat system. The vessel's suite of sensors includes the Lockheed Martin and Raytheon AN/SPY 1D(V) phased array radar, and the Northrop Grumman AN/SPQ-9B surface search radar.

The 6,350-tonne class has an overall length of 146.7 m, an overall beam of 18.6 m, and a hull draught of 4.9 m. It is powered by two General Electric LM2500 gas turbine, and two Caterpillar diesel engines in a combined diesel or gas (CODOG) configuration, and can attain a top speed of 28 kt, and a standard range of 5,000 n miles at 18 kt.

The vessel is armed with the 48-cell MK 41 vertical launch system (VLS) that can deploy Standard Missile-2 medium-range Block IIIA (SM-2MR Block IIIA), and SM-2MR Block IIIB long-range surface-to-air missiles. This VLS can also launch the Raytheon RIM-162B Evolved Seasparrow Missile (ESSM), which has a maximum range of about 30 n miles, further augmenting the class' fleet-area air defence capabilities.

https://www.janes.com/article/84097/australia-commissions-second-hobart-class-destroyer

 

[BravoZulu]

Australia:
The US and Australian navies have for the first time jointly tested the Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) real-time sensor netting system.

During training and trials conducted off the coast of Hawaii, the Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) first Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD), HMAS Hobart , established secure data links with US Navy (USN) Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS John Finn , after which the vessels shared tracking and fire control data, Australian Defence Minister Christopher Pyne announced in a 5 November statement, pointing out that the trials marked "a significant milestone in the testing and qualifying of Hobart' s combat and weapons systems".

"These trials are the culmination of 12 months of preparations and demonstrate Hobart's formidable capability," said Pyne without specifying when the latest tests took place.

The RAN's Hobart-class destroyers are the first warships outside the USN to be equipped with the CEC system, meaning this test marked the first time the capability was proven between two navies.

Hobart 's commanding officer, Captain John Stavridis, was quoted by the Australian Department of Defence as saying that the AWD's visit to the US showed how closely the Australian and US navies can work together. "Connecting and sharing data with the US Navy like this is an important step in increasing our interoperability with them, especially during linked task group operations at sea," he said.

Supplier, Raytheon describes the CEC system as one that brings together radar data from geographically dispersed naval ships, aircraft, and ground-based units into a common and integrated air picture.

This means that a ship "can detect and, if needed, engage a threat identified by another ship or aircraft, creating greater flexibility and better protection for all the ships involved", explained Capt Stavridis.

https://www.janes.com/article/84274...ointly-test-cooperative-engagement-capability

 

[BravoZulu]

Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Melbourne has wrapped up six months of operations in the Pacific and Nort East Asian regions and has returned to her homeport at Garden Island Sydney.
According to the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Marcus Buttler, the deployment was a great success as the ship fulfilled all of its assigned tasks and responsibilities.
“Ship’s company were outstanding, and we wouldn’t have completed our mission without the hard work and dedication of the 220 men and women who make up the heart and soul of HMAS Melbourne,” CMDR Buttler said.
During the deployment, Melbourne participated in Indo-Pacific Endeavour 18, exercises RIMPAC 18 and KAKADU 18; visited Fiji, Tonga, the United States, China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam; and traveled more than 33,000 nautical miles.
“It’s a great testament to the capability of this guided missile frigate that we were able to undertake such a wide range of tasks, in different maritime environments, and with many different navies,” said CMDR Buttler.
Early next year HMAS Melbourne will depart Fleet Base East for a new round of operations and exercises including Indo-Pacific Endeavour 19, before being decommissioned in September after 27 years of service to the Royal Australian Navy.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/11/16/a...-melbourne-returns-from-six-month-deployment/

 

[BravoZulu]

A new class of Royal Australian Navy offshore patrol vessels (OPV) officially started construction in a ceremony in Adelaide on November 15.
Deputy Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond, joined staff from Navy’s Construction Branch in Adelaide today to see the welding of the first two component blocks which will form part of the first vessel off the production line.
The event included the announcement that the new class of OPVs will be known as the Arafura-class, with the first vessel to be commissioned HMAS Arafura when she enters service in 2022.
RADM Hammond said calling the vessels Arafura-class reflected the significance of Navy’s lasting operations to protect Australia’s interests in the Arafura Sea between Cape York and Cape Don.
“This name encapsulates the significant role our maritime regions have in the nation’s security and economic prosperity, importantly the littoral regions around the Australian continent,” he said.
The Arafura-class will be delivered by German shipbuilder Lürssen and Australia’s ASC. They will measure 80 meters in length and displace around 1,700 tonnes.
The Arafura-class will replace the Armidale-class and Cape-class patrol boats, Huon-class coastal minehunters and Leeuwin-class survey ships and will primarily be used for constabulary missions, maritime patrol and response duties.
The design includes two changeable, containerized mission systems, supporting secondary roles such as mine hunting, unmanned aerial system missions, and hydrographic surveying.
The first two Arafura-class vessels will be built at Osborne with the following ten to be built at Henderson in Western Australia.
Six of the vessels will be based at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin, four at HMAS Cairns in north Queensland and two at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

https://navaltoday.com/2018/11/15/c...n-navy-arafura-class-offshore-patrol-vessels/

 

[BravoZulu]

RAAF Receives First Two F-35As at its Williamtown Air Base

Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets fly in formation with a pair of F-35A Joint Strike Fighters over Stockton Beach, NSW. (Before landing at Williamtown AFB)


On December 9, 2018, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) received its first two Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft at RAAF Williamtown air base to be part of its first operational squadron. Australia becomes the 7th nation with F-35 aircraft based locally on their home soil, joining the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, Norway, Israel and Japan.

Till date, Australia has received 10 aircraft, the remainder of which are stationed at USAF Luke Air Force Base in Arizona

where they are part of the international cooperative F-35 training operations. The country will spend an estimated AUD$ 17 billion in procuring 72 of these type of aircraft (forming three operational squadrons) to replace the RAAF's current inventory of F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft.

Acquisition of an additional operational squadron – bringing the total number of F-35's to around 100 – will be considered at a later date in conjunction with a decision on the withdrawal of the F/A-18F Super Hornet expected early in the 2020's.

The 5th Generation F-35 is the most advanced fighter jet ever built which comes with a high degree of lethality, survivability, and battlespace inter-connectivity. It is the outcome of US-led Joint Strike Fighter program (16 years in the making) aiming to develop a global fleet of 1000 advanced jets. The aircraft utilizes an array of advance sensors and low observability features in "contested airspace" and uses a picture of the battlespace for other military assets which includes air, land, and sea.

"The arrival of the first F-35 aircraft to be permanently based in Australia is a historic occasion and we are proud of our role as the 5th Generation design pioneer and F-35 original equipment manufacturer," said Chief Executive of Lockheed Martin Australia, Vince Di Pietro AM, CSC.

 

[BravoZulu]

Hunter Frigate gets the go ahead

With the award and signing of the contract to begin the formal design and build work of the Hunter-class frigates destined for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), the programme can now move forward in earnest as it looks to meet a 2022 deadline for the first steel cutting.

The contract was awarded to BAE Systems Australia’s new subsidiary ASC Shipbuilding which was structurally separated from ASC Pty and acquired on 14 December.

As reported earlier this month, BAE Systems were making preparations for the expected contracts, although would not gain access to ASC shipbuilding facilities for the Hunter programme due to other commitments at the yard.

Prototyping is scheduled to begin in 2020, the same year that access will be freed up at ASC.

BAE Systems Australia chief executive Gabby Costigan stated: ‘We are extremely proud to have been chosen to design and manufacture a formidable fleet of frigates that will give the Royal Australian Navy an essential next generation capability that will be critical in helping protect the nation for decades to come.’

The Hunter-class frigate is based on BAE Systems’ Type 26 frigate, which will be built for the Royal Navy in the eight-strong City class. Meanwhile, the design was recently selected by Canada for the Royal Canadian Navy.

 

[BravoZulu]

New Zealand’s China reset?
In February, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced a revised approach to the Pacific islands. Central to the coalition government’s ‘Pacific reset’ was a pledge to increase New Zealand’s diplomatic and development footprint in the region. This included a NZ$714 million boost to aid and development spending, as well NZ$180 million for a new strategic international development fund.
Since then, there has been a raft of developments. The government’s May budget provided New Zealand’s foreign service with a significant boost in funding. The government’s strategic defence policy statement, released in July, was noteworthy for its unusually frank language about China’s actions. And last month, Peters announced the creation of a $10 million Pacific fund that will operate beyond the parameters of formal aid arrangements and an increase in the number of staff posted offshore in the Pacific.
New Zealand’s relationship with China, and the rewards it has brought, are well known. The country is now NZ’s largest trading partner in goods, and second largest when services are included. The dairy sector, especially, has profited immensely; it currently supplies over 80% of China’s butter imports and over 50% of its cheese imports.
The government’s hike in aid funding, change of tone and upgrade of maritime patrol capabilities are soft-power responses to a mounting dilemma: how to counter China’s escalation of influence in the South Pacific.
The Belt and Road Initiative, which was first unveiled in 2013, is at the heart of Beijing’s growing presence. In its simplest form, the initiative is President Xi Jinping’s grand plan to boost China’s trade links across Eurasia. China has deployed hundreds of billions of dollars—often through loans or financial guarantees—to other countries for big infrastructure projects. The ambition of the BRI is enormous: it targets, by one estimate, about two-thirds of the world’s population, a third of global GDP and a quarter of all trade.
New Zealand signed a non-binding memorandum of arrangement with China on the BRI in 2017—one of the first Western countries to do so. However, looking at what was signed, it’s hard to find anything out of the ordinary. Collaboration in mutually beneficial areas such as education and tourism has been going on for many years.
Stephen Jacobi, the executive director of the New Zealand China Council, is arguably most vocal advocate of BRI involvement in New Zealand. According to Jacobi, trade flows, not infrastructure, are ‘the real play’ in the region. Yet some believe that Jacobi is too optimistic and he very rarely offers a critical word on the strategic goals the BRI is seeking to achieve.
Sri Lanka’s BRI experience shows how things can go wrong. In December 2017, having failed to pay accumulated debts to China, the country handed over its strategically located Hambantota Port in a debt-for-equity swap. Given that the economic rationale for the port is weak, there’s been a great deal of speculation that it could become a Chinese naval facility.
China’s aid investments in the Pacific, which lag well behind Australia’s, stand out because they often involve high-profile projects. Through the BRI, for example, China has pledged an eye-watering US$3.5 billion to build a new road network in Papua New Guinea. On the other hand, Australia and New Zealand have historically invested in areas such as education and training for better governance. Similar to what happened in Sri Lanka, Canberra and Wellington fear that countries in the region will be snared in ‘debt traps’ which will be exploited by China.
Closer to home, Peters’ cash injection hasn’t deterred Beijing. In fact, China has responded by simply upping its own involvement. In recent months, Niue and the Cook Islands—whose citizens carry New Zealand passports—have made commitments to join the BRI. While both have a degree of autonomy, Wellington has tended to lead when it comes to foreign policy.
At the APEC conference in PNG, New Zealand’s ‘soft power’ push was on show. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that New Zealand would join the US, Japan and Australia to expand access to electricity in PNG. There was also an announcement, by Peters and his Australian counterpart Marise Payne, of a joint cybersecurity project with Pacific island countries.
If Trade Minister David Parker’s comments at APEC are anything to go by, New Zealand’s strategy is to act as an ‘honest broker’ between China and the US. But the geopolitical tensions that bubbled up at the summit—mainly over who would be the better investment partner for the region—underline how that spot might be difficult to maintain. Xi’s meeting with eight Pacific leaders and Tonga’s signing up to the BRI indicate that China is upping the ante.
On her return from PNG, Ardern reiterated Parker’s comments, saying that New Zealand’s approach was based on principles and not aligned with any one country.
Last month, the government turned down Spark Telecom’s proposed use of Huawei equipment in New Zealand’s 5G network on the advice of its main intelligence agency. Andrew Little, the minister responsible for the Government Communications Security Bureau, is yet to go into any detail on why the company’s involvement would create a national security risk.
With an upgrade of the NZ–China free trade agreement on the cards, this was a tough call for the government—though the language in China’s 2017 national intelligence law probably made the decision easier. Article 7 of the law makes it clear that Chinese organisations are expected to collaborate in national intelligence work. More generally, the government’s caution is understandable, especially given the scale of cyber theft undertaken by groups linked to the Chinese state.
In the past year, New Zealand’s foreign policy has become more cautious towards China. To counterbalance the Chinese thrust into the South Pacific, Wellington appears to be shifting back to its traditional ANZUS partners. The Huawei decision looks to be an indicator of the government’s willingness to speak out against China, even if it is the line that Beijing doesn’t want to hear. It will be interesting to watch how this shift in policy plays out, especially given the fluctuations that could come with the unusual nature of the coalition government in Wellington.
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/n...aignMonitor&utm_term=New Zealands China reset