Exercise Austral Shield 2024 Underway: Testing Defence Capabilities in Northern Australia

Australian Defence Force elements both Full-time and Reserve have commenced Exercise Austral Shield 2024, evaluating Defence’s capacity for rapid deployment across the nation’s northern regions. The exercise began on 12 July, aiming to assess Defence’s ability to project power and deploy forces to remote locations across northern Australia.

The training operations will occur around Derby in Western Australia, Darwin, Cairns, and Christmas Island. Defence anticipates that this exercise will enhance regional security through a sustained Defence presence in the north, employing assets across land, air, and sea. The Australian Army has alerted local communities to expect increased military activity and not to be alarmed by the presence of Defence personnel.

Exercise Austral Shield will conclude on 28 July 2024. Brigadier Damian Hill AM, the Exercise Director, stated that the exercise will test Defence’s ability to form a Joint Task Force from both full-time and Reserve elements while providing a realistic training scenario. “This will involve security and response forces from the 13th Brigade, 11th Brigade, and Regional Force Surveillance Units, who will deploy as part of an integrated Joint Task Force alongside other air and maritime assets,” BRIG Hill explained.

“The ADF’s contribution to Exercise Austral Shield supports our shared vision of a peaceful region and significantly contributes to collective security,” he added. Due to the nature of Exercise Austral Shield, local residents in the training locations are likely to observe increased military activity, including simulated weapons fire and military vehicle traffic.

Simultaneously, Australia is hosting Exercise Pitch Black, a record-breaking training event testing the use of aircraft and battle management systems in complex scenarios. Aircraft operations are centred at the Northern Territory’s RAAF Base Darwin and Tindal, with additional tanker and transport aircraft operating from Queensland’s RAAF Base Amberley. This marks the first participation of an aircraft carrier, with the Italian flagship Cavour taking part.

Exercise Pitch Black involves 140 aircraft and 4,000 personnel, with participation from the Philippines, Spain, Italy, Papua New Guinea, and embedded personnel from Fiji and Brunei for the first time. Additional participants include France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and embedded personnel from Canada and New Zealand. “Exercise Pitch Black is our premier activity for international engagement, held every two years to build stronger ties with like-minded nations,” stated Exercise Director Air Commodore Peter Robinson.