Australian Army puts new capabilities to the test.

The Australian Army has been testing its latest range of capabilities during a land trial exercise in Townville over the last month. The Land Trial involved over 200 people from Army’s 3rd Brigade, 6th Brigade and 17th Brigade, Defence Science and Technology, Defence Industry Division and the Capability Acquisition and Sustainment Group.

Thales Australia's Hawkei Protected Mobility Vehicle - Light, now in service in the Australian Defence Force (Picture source: Australian MoD)

The Army’s Head of Land Capability, Major General Kath Toohey, AM CSC, said the trial demonstrated the modernisation of Army and its technology. “This is an exciting time for the Army as it transitions from testing and evaluating individual pieces of equipment to testing and evaluating its capabilities as part of a complete system,” Major General Toohey said. “This process of continually testing and evaluating is important as it ensures that Army personnel are always ready and prepared now and into the future.”

During the trial further testing was conducted through a range of Combat Team scenarios with some of Army’s newest capabilities including the Protected Mobility Vehicle – Light Hawkei and Bushmaster.

Major General Toohey said soldiers had the opportunity to test and provide feedback on these capabilities as well as the Soldier Combat Ensemble, enhanced Night Fighting Equipment and the Black Hornet 3 Nano Unmanned Aerial System and Battle Management System. “Their input combined with the feedback from key Defence capability experts informs final adjustments and decisions prior to the roll-out of equipment to units. This trial is an important final step to ensure some of the Army’s latest capabilities are ready for introduction to units,” Major General Toohey said.