Strengthening Ties with Fiji and Vanuatu

Admiral David Johnston’s First International Visit as Chief of the Defence Force

Chief of the Defence Force Admiral David Johnston AC RAN visited Fiji and Vanuatu from July 26 to 29. This marked his inaugural international trip in his new role, highlighting the significance the Defence Force places on relationships with Pacific partners.

“I was proud to visit two of our key Pacific partners for my first overseas visit as Chief of the Defence Force,” said Admiral Johnston. “I looked forward to engaging with leaders in Fiji and Vanuatu to discuss our strong bilateral relationships and deepen our cooperation.”

In Fiji, Admiral Johnston oversaw the formal handover of 14 Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles purchased by the Fijian government and delivered by HMAS Choules in June. “Australian Bushmasters provide world-class protection and adaptability. They will support the development of Fiji’s peacekeeping capabilities and demonstrate our commitment to closer ties under the enhanced Vuvale partnership,” he said.

During his time in Vanuatu, Admiral Johnston participated in the commissioning ceremony of RVS Sokomanu, Vanuatu’s new landing craft. This vessel’s delivery underscored Australia’s dedication to enhancing Vanuatu’s sovereign humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities.

“Australia and Vanuatu’s bilateral relationship is founded on our shared values and vision for a secure and prosperous Blue Pacific,” Admiral Johnston remarked. “We recognise the impact of natural disasters across the Pacific and are committed to working with Pacific partners to respond when disasters occur, build disaster resilience, and support communities in recovery. Australia continues to work with Pacific partners to maintain a peaceful, stable, and prosperous region.”

A New Generation of Affordable Air-to-Surface Cruise Missiles

An artist’s rendering of IAI’s Wind Demon missile, unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show on July 23, 2024. (IAI)

FARNBOROUGH AIR SHOW 2024

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has introduced the Wind Demon, a new lightweight and cost-effective air-to-surface cruise missile designed to meet the increasing market demand for mass-attack capabilities.

Guy Bar Lev, Executive Vice President and General Manager of IAI’s Systems Missiles and Space Group, emphasized the significance of affordability in modern warfare. “We see a growing market demand for effective and affordable systems that will offer attacks in mass,” Bar Lev stated.

Describing the Wind Demon as a new generation missile, Bar Lev highlighted its advanced capabilities, which are a culmination of years of experience in missile and loitering munition development. The missile is intended to provide an accurate and economical response to the evolving nature of warfare.

The Wind Demon weighs 140 kilograms (308 pounds) and has a range exceeding 200 kilometres (124 miles). It can be launched from various aerial platforms, including helicopters and warplanes. The system is equipped with laser-homing seekers and electro-optics, enabling day or night operations, as well as automatic target recognition.

IAI also pointed out the missile’s enhanced connectivity features, which include real-time video transmission, person-in-the-loop control, and low altitude hold throughout the mission. Its selectable fast/slow/fast speed profile allows for rapid reactions and controlled slow approaches at critical points.

The missile’s warhead, weighing over 20 kilograms (44 pounds), is versatile and can be adapted for blast, fragmentation, and penetration effects. Despite being smaller than other notable Israeli missiles such as the Popeye and Gabriel systems, the Wind Demon stands out for its affordability and capability to be deployed in large numbers.

IAI underscored the importance of affordable mass munitions, referencing the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, which have demonstrated the necessity for large quantities of diverse munitions. The Wind Demon aims to offer a cost-effective solution to this need, capable of targeting air defence systems, radars, and moving targets on the ground.

In conclusion, the Wind Demon represents a significant advancement in affordable and effective air-to-surface cruise missile technology, promising to reshape the landscape of modern warfare with its mass deployment capabilities.

 

Ukrainian Drones Take Deadly Toll on Russian Soldiers

By David White –  Titular News

In the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, armed drones have become a significant force multiplier for Ukrainian forces, causing most Russian casualties. Unlike the Russians, who continue to rely on large bombs and missiles to target Ukrainian positions, the Ukrainians employ reusable quadcopters to devastating effect against Russian infantry.

These drones, often commercial DJI models modified to carry small explosive payloads equivalent to hand grenades, are used with lethal precision. Dropping explosives from above, these drones inflict fatal damage on Russian soldiers, who have become increasingly terrified of their presence. The mere sound of a DJI drone sends Russian troops scrambling for cover, knowing that evasion is their best chance of survival.

The small size of these quadcopters makes them difficult to shoot down, adding to their menace.

Veteran soldiers warn their comrades to remain vigilant for these drones and to seek immediate shelter if one is detected. These drones pose a threat not only to infantry but also to armoured vehicles, as they can drop explosives into open hatches or onto vulnerable engine compartments without risking the lives of their operators.

In response, Russia has deployed electronic jammers to disrupt the control signals between Ukrainian operators and their drones. However, the Ukrainians quickly adapted by equipping their drones with home-on-jammer capabilities and fire-and-forget technology, allowing drones to home in on targets even if the target moves, ensuring a lethal strike. The few tank crews that survive such attacks are left deeply traumatized.

The shift towards drones and missiles signifies a transformation in modern warfare, rendering large, expensive platforms like planes, tanks, and surface ships increasingly obsolete. Instead, the future of defence lies in the mass production of a diverse array of drones and missiles, with a focus on domestic manufacturing to ensure sustainability during extended conflicts or blockades.

In this new era, engineers are the vanguards of military strategy, while traditional air force generals and admirals, clinging to outdated paradigms, may hinder progress. The dominance of drones and missiles, potentially deployed in swarms, underscores the need for innovative and adaptive defence strategies.

 

New Light Landing Craft for the Royal Australian Navy

A computer-generated rendering of the Australian-designed Landing Craft Light to be built by The Whiskey Project Group for the Royal Australian Navy. Credit: The Whiskey Project Group

Naval News – Ben Felton

Sydney-based The Whiskey Project Group will build two new Light Landing Craft, known officially as Landing Craft Lights (LCL), for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

The two craft, which will start construction next month in Yamba, south of Brisbane, will equip the RAN’s Pacific Support Vessel ADV Reliant from next year.

Reliant is formally based at HMAS Moreton in Brisbane, Queensland and regularly deploys to the South Pacific for regional presence, logistics support, and transport missions. In 2023, its combined crew of commercial seafarers from Teekay Shipping, as well as Australian Army and RAN personnel spent more than 200 days deployed to the region.

 

After acquiring it in 2022, the RAN quickly equipped ADV Reliant with two Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVP) taken from reserve. These will be replaced by the two new Whiskey Project LCLs next year.

 

In total, the RAN has four LCVPS which were originally built in the 1990s for operations from the Navy’s now-retired amphibious ship HMAS Tobruk (L 50). They’ve also seen service from HMAS Choules (L 100).

While the order from The Whiskey Project Group won’t replace the remaining two LCVPs, the contractual way that they were ordered keeps the door open to that happening in the future.

Naval News understands that the new vessels were ordered through the first contract of a new panel set up by Australia’s Department of Defence called the Defence Marine Support Services Assurance Program (DMAP) Panel.

A panel is a group of companies selected by an Australian government entity, such as Defence, from which products or services can be acquired more directly and faster than through an open tender.

The new LCLs will be 15.4 metres long compared to 13.2 metres for the legacy LCVP. The LCL also has improved seakeeping and is also significantly faster than the LCVP, being capable of 26 knots in a fully loaded configuration. It can carry 4.5 tonnes of cargo, including a light vehicle, containerised stores or up to 30 personnel.

The LCL design is from The Whiskey Project Group’s proven ‘Pioneer’ family of multi-purpose utility craft which is in service with various Australian state government agencies.

The order for LCLs is separate from the Army’s much larger Landing Craft Medium program.

 

Thoughts from Larry Pickering

Lawrence Pickering

18/10/1942 – 19/11/2018

Pickering was awarded two Walkley Awards with The Canberra Times for his work, one in 1971 and a second the following year in 1972. Pickering went on to win the award a further two times, in 1973 with The National Times, and in 1974 with The Sydney Morning Herald.

ED: From my inbox

Many of us came from convict backgrounds, sent into exile for stealing a coat or a loaf of bread or a silver spoon.

Some came for murder and robbery or prostitution. Tough people.

Many came from China to work on the Gold Fields.

Some came from Italy to work on the Snowy Mountains Hydro-Electricity scheme.

Some came from Hungary during the Revolution.

Some came from Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

But they came for a chance to work and start a new life.

And they worked hard!!

The Greeks, Poles, Ukrainians, Italians, Russians, Latvians, Dutch, Serbs and Irish, so many more that it would be impossible to name.

There were no hand-outs, no privileges offered.

These people were given a chance to start a new life, in Australia, to become Australians. And Australians they became.

They learned English and embraced our country while offering the gift of their food and culture and music.

We accepted that gift and sat together at the same table and laughed and drank their wine, ate their food, danced to their music and married and loved their people.

As they did us.

I have spoken with friends from Hungarian, Italian etc., backgrounds and while they embrace and celebrate their roots, they consider themselves Australian.

The common denominator with this terrible situation that we find ourselves in is that our current immigrant population do not want to embrace our culture but to destroy it.

They do not want to learn our language, but to annihilate it. They do not want to work but to get us to work for them.

When our feminists ignore the genital mutilation, oppression of women, rape of little children of both sexes, we have a problem.

When our Politicians condemn an elected member of the Dutch Parliament for coming to Australia to speak his views, we have a problem.

When Australians are callously murdered in cold blood by immigrants of any Nationality, Religion or Race and our Government offers sympathy to the family of the perpetrator of the crime before offering sympathy to the family of the victim, then we have a problem.

When Australians are living below the poverty line and have nowhere to live while immigrants of any Nationality, Religion or Race are prioritised, then we have a problem.

When 16,000 English-speaking skilled-professional workers are refused visas and 12,000 uneducated, non-English speaking refugees are accepted, then guess what, we have a problem!

When Australians are called racists and bigots for speaking out about their concerns about the above, then again, we as a Nation have a problem.

When people prefer to debate the best bachelor or best contestant on X Factor to debating our Nation’s future, our children’s future and our grandchildren’s future, well you got it, we have a problem.

When our news is censored and we have to delve in to the internet to find out what is happening in the world and in our own country, dare I say, we have a problem.

The one thing that sets Australia apart from almost any other Nation on Earth is the Aussie spirit. It can be seen as a ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude that suggests apathy; or ‘she’ll be right mate’ because we will take care of it.

I went and saw “Bridge of Lies” yesterday and it is well worth the watch.

The Berlin Wall was put up to separate two different Political views. It was a physical wall.

Today, we have a wall being built in Australia. It is not made of bricks and mortar. It is made of censorship, Political Correctness and insidious manipulation through media control, Acts of Parliament and Social media trolls. There is no razor wire, no watch towers. Just the ability to call someone a racist.

I am reminded of the words in the old childhood saying: “Sticks and Stones may break my bones – but words will never hurt me.”

Well today, apparently words can hurt you, but only if you live on the side of the wall that our Government and Politicians have elected as the ‘right’ side of the wall.

No longer are people in Australia even able to scale a wall. Bullets are not needed. To shoot us down, all that is needed is to call us racists or bigots.

I am hoping that the Aussie ‘she’ll be right mate’ translates to ‘don’t worry, we will take care of it’ and rise up and say that this is our country.

Friends, this is not a Refugee crisis.  This is an Australia Crisis.

I fear that it will be too late if something does not happen while we still have enough Aussies left.

 

 

‘Right thing to do’: New documentary sheds light on real SAS experience

Former SAS soldier Vando says releasing the new documentary on the SAS experience is the “right thing to do” in changing perceptions of soldiers. “We are doing this really for two reasons; first of all it’s the right thing to do, secondly it’s the right time to do it,” he told Sky News host Erin Molan. “The story of the SAS and our experience in Afghanistan has not been told in its entirety, and it certainly has not been told by us.”

Australian Defence Force Joins Pacific Partnership 2024 to Strengthen Regional Cooperation

ADF Media

From July to September, Australian Defence Force (ADF) members and civilian personnel are participating in Pacific Partnership 2024, deploying across four countries in the Indo-Pacific region. This initiative, led by the United States, is the largest annual multilateral mission for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) preparedness in the region.

Australian Defence personnel have already contributed to activities in Vanuatu and are set to extend their support to Vietnam, the Philippines, and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia.

Vice Admiral Justin Jones, Chief of Joint Operations, emphasized the importance of this commitment, stating, “The ADF is proud to support this annual activity, which followed the multinational HADR response to the Banda Aceh tsunami of 2004.”

Around 20 ADF and civilian personnel are involved, providing medical, dental, and engineering support, along with expertise in HADR. An Australian officer is serving as the deputy commander for this year’s mission, and ADF personnel will participate in medical workshops in Southeast Asia and the Federated States of Micronesia.

“Pacific Partnership enhances our cooperation and interoperability with regional partners, improves regional crisis responses, and benefits local communities,” VADM Jones added.

Australian participation in Pacific Partnership 2024 commenced on July 18 in Vanuatu with a humanitarian and disaster relief workshop, supported by the Australian Civil-Military Centre. This year marks the 20th iteration of the Pacific Partnership.

MEDIA RELEASE

Conflict in Burma (Myanmar) Escalates: Urgent Call for Change from Foreign Minister Penny Wong

Vientiane, Laos — Foreign Minister Penny Wong has issued a direct plea to Burma’s military rulers amidst escalating violence, urging them to adopt a different path. Speaking on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional gathering, Senator Wong expressed deep concern over the worsening situation in the country.

Since the military seized control from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in 2021, Burma, a nation of over 50 million people, has been engulfed in conflict. Senator Wong highlighted the dire economic conditions, rampant violence, and mounting casualties as evidence of an unsustainable situation.

“This is not sustainable,” Senator Wong told reporters in Vientiane on Saturday. “We see the increase in illegal narcotics, the economic trajectory is very poor for the people, and the security situation is declining. My message from Australia to the regime is that it is not sustainable for you or for your people, and we urge them to take a different path.”

The ongoing conflict pits Burma’s well-equipped military against a loose alliance of ethnic minority rebel groups and an armed resistance movement, which has been gaining ground and challenging the junta’s governance. An estimated 2.6 million people have been displaced by the fighting.

The junta has faced international condemnation for excessive force in its air strikes on civilian areas and allegations of atrocities, which it dismisses as Western disinformation.

Senator Wong reaffirmed Australia’s support for ASEAN’s efforts to stabilize Burma, including the implementation of a “five-point consensus” for peace.

In addition to the conflict in Burma, tensions in the South China Sea were a key topic during the three days of high-level talks. Senator Wong expressed concern over “very disturbing incidents” involving the disputed territory of Second Thomas Shoal.

“We continue to support international law and are very concerned about any actions that are destabilizing,” she said.

COWRA BREAKOUT – THE REAL CASUALTY

1104 Japanese POW armed with knives, baseball bats, club studded with nails and hooks and garrotting wires raided the garrison wire. 231 were killed 108 wounded, 339 made it out into the country side where a further 25 died. All POW’s were recaptured or accounted for after 9 days 5 Australians died as a result of the breakout:-

  1. a) Hardy and Jones on the Vickers gun 2
  2. b) Sgt Thomas Roy Hancock died as a result friendly fire (outside the camp)
  3. c) Private Charles Henry Shepard, stabbed to death at the guard’s living quarters.
  4. d) Lieutenant Henry Doncaster, beaten to death searching for prisoners.

When the POW’s escaped the government and people of Australia were just getting brief reports on how the Japanese treated our POW so the government decided that any search party for the escaped Japanese POW were not to be armed with firearms in case the soldiers retaliated against their POW.

Some search parties took bayonets when they searched, others armed with nothing.

Doncaster was in charge of a group of very young soldiers searching for the POW and when they came upon a group of POW hiding in rocks the young soldiers ran off leaving Doncaster to fight the group by himself. He was last seen picking up a rock off the ground and using his fists and rocks on the POWs that were attacking him. He was overpowered eventually and killed.

Unless you were on duty the firearms in the camp were under lock and key.

On the night of the breakout Shepard was not armed and had just been woken from his sleep. He would have heard the commotion and would have seen the guards, Hardy and Jones being overpowered but fought off the POW at the entrance to his guard house. He was stabbed a number of times and killed by a POW that had escaped over the wire. Shepard was a labourer when he joined. He was not from a well to do family.

The POW camp had three rings of barbed wire. Anywhere within that barbed wire zone was by military standards (and Geneva Convention) a “war Zone”. The guard houses and administration officers were outside the barbed wire enclosure so were not considered to be within the war zone.

When the enquiry was convened it justified a war pension to the family of Hardy and Jones as they classed as being killed within in a “war Zone”. Shepard on the other hand was killed outside the “war Zone” and his family were denied any military pension.

Linda Irene Shepard, his wife, eventually had to sell her possessions (and it is believed adopted her children out) to survive. It is believed she died a homeless pauper.

Makes you proud to serve your country, knowing the Canberra ‘Desk-bound suits’ have your back.

Nothing has changed.

Alistair Pope, psc, CM