The exercise also saw one of the Army’s newest capabilities – the armoured Bushmaster vehicle – successfully work alongside combat support units to move infantry and other personnel efficiently and effectively around the battlefield.
“This was the first real opportunity for us to test the Bushmaster in a large live fire activity, in partnership with other combat and supporting units. The vehicles and their crews performed incredibly well,” Colonel van Welie said.
“There’s no question that the nature of warfare has evolved in recent years, but one thing that hasn’t is the need to still have highly skilled and highly trained soldiers on the frontline – that’s where the Bushmaster is proving invaluable, offering protection to those units.”
Over the course of the exercise more than 20,000 small arms rounds were fired, along with 7,350 25mm rounds, more than 600 artillery and mortar rounds, as well as three Javelin anti-tank guided missiles. Combat Engineers also utilised around 300kg of explosives and more than half a kilometre of detonation cord.
Supporting the exercise were a number of personnel from across both 2nd Combat Services Support Battalion and 3rd Combat Services Support Battalion who delivered more than 6,000 meals, 34 pallets of ammunition and 28,000 litres of diesel to support the frontline troops.