Combined artillery barrage builds trust

As M777 howitzers blasted 155mm rounds down range during Exercise Southern Jackaroo, Australian, Japanese and US observers coordinated their strikes.

They identified the targets, pulled coordinates and adjusted the heavy fire onto targets.

Meanwhile, the Japanese deployed their own heavy artillery to maximize firepower, with gunners firing their FH-70 field howitzer.

This allowed the three nations to test how smoothly they could share digital fire-control data and coordinate different artillery systems under one command.

CO 4 Regt RAA LTCOL Simon Frewin said the collaboration built trust between nations.

“For artillery to blast down range, it relies on the ultimate trust to ensure bombs land on time, on target and safe,” LTCOL Frewin said.

“When we are out here integrating our systems under live-fire conditions, we aren't just practising tactics, we are proving that we can operate seamlessly as one unified team.

“This level of integration is exactly how we ensure our combined forces are ready to respond to any complex challenge in the region, knowing we have full confidence in each other’s capabilities.”

The goal was to ensure regional partners could deploy side by side at a moment's notice should a real-world regional crisis or conflict emerge.

US Marine Corps' First Lieutenant Lucas Schatz, of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, said it was a great opportunity to work with partner forces and share ideas.

“Observing impacts and working to get those rounds on target – that’s the strength, and that’s where the learning is,” First Lieutenant Schatz said.

He said learning new camouflage techniques and working on new terrain was exciting.

“My team and I are super grateful for it, to share practices with one another, to bounce ideas off of each other, and we've all definitely become better for it,” First Lieutenant Schatz said.

See more images from Exercise Southern Jackaroo.