Frequently Asked Questions on the Joint Combined Training Capability

What is the Joint Combined Training Capability?

  • The Joint Combined Training Capability (JCTC) is a capability, being developed in conjunction with the United States, that will increase the use of simulation in training and to network military exercises so they can be viewed and assessed by commanders in real time. Exercises will also be able to be 'replayed' in debriefs to participating personnel.

  • It will give the Australian and United States defence forces an invaluable state-of-the-art tool to enhance and assess that training to gain maximum benefit.

  • The basis of this capability is advanced information and communications technology.

  • The initial priority of the JCTC has been the upgrading of Shoalwater Bay Training Area to support Exercise Talisman Sabre in 2007. Open in new window This exercise will see many thousands of Australian and US personnel undertake joint combined land, sea and air training.

  • Should the Government decide to proceed to a fully mature JCTC a number of Australian military training facilities would be enhanced, including the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, the Bradshaw Training Area and the Delamere Range Facility in the Northern Territory.

  • In time, these training facilities could be interlinked through instrumentation and simulation, enabling Australian and US forces to train together to the highest possible standard.

  • The training facilities would also be linked to both Australian command headquarters and United States training capabilities to permit joint combined training from the strategic to tactical level.

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What is the purpose of the JCTC and how will it enhance bilateral training with the US?

  • The JCTC will improve Australian-US interoperability by enhancing current bilateral training to enable forces to develop the military skills required to deal with a wider range of contingencies that we might face in the future.

  • The JCTC will enable Australian and US forces to undertake enhanced joint combined training - enabling the ADF to access the expertise of the world's most technologically advanced armed forces.

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Will United States' forces be permanently based in Australia as a result of the JCTC?

  • No, The US is not seeking to establish a permanent base in Australia for its troops. What Australia and the US are seeking is increased opportunities for cooperation in the area of joint combined training.

  • There may be a small number of US personnel posted to Australian units to help with the management of the JCTC and the conduct of training.

  • If this were to occur, these personnel would be managed in the same way as those US personnel already posted to Australia in liaison and exchange positions.

  • It is still to be determined whether or not the US will leave some training equipment in Australia to facilitate the efficient use of time and resources for joint exercises.

  • Singapore's armed forces store training equipment in Australia for the training they conduct here, so we would consider any US request for a similar storage requirement.

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What are the implications for the JCTC of the US announcement on the Global Posture Review?

  • The purpose of the Global Posture Review is to develop a more flexible and mobile US posture to counter emerging threats and contingencies in the post-Cold War world.

  • The collaborative development of a JCTC in Australia is an example of how high-technology initiatives are being employed to support the development of a more agile force and how Australia is able to assist the US in the achievement of the review objectives.

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What infrastructure is required for the JCTC?

  • The first priority for the Joint Combined Training Capability project has been the enhancement of the Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) for our major bilateral training exercise with the United States, Talisman Sabre, in 2007. The enhancements include improved range facilities; advanced integration of maritime, land and air training systems; increased linking of simulation with live training; and an enhanced ability to track and record exercise activity in order to provide high quality feedback.

  • The main aspect of this enhancement has been the construction at Shoalwater Bay Training Area of an Urban Operations Training Facility and an Exercise Control Building. The Urban Operations Training Facility is a small town precinct and has been planned to be built in an environmentally and culturally benign section of the training area. The Exercise Control Building will provide work facilities for more than 50 personnel involved in the commanding, umpiring and overseeing the safety and environmental aspects of exercises.

  • None of the anticipated facilities are visible from adjoining properties, roads or sea outside of the SWBTA.

  • The enhancements to SWBTA have required an investment of around $9 Million with the works providing many opportunities for businesses in the Central Queensland region. This investment has been in addition to the $52.8 Million per annum that Defence injects in to the local Central Queensland economy as announced by the Central Queensland University in a 2004 report.

  • Another $11 Million has been invested around Australia in sophisticated communications equipment to network existing air and maritime platform simulators with land force training systems and operational command systems. This network enables geographically separated forces to experience realistic joint training scenarios. For example, a F/A-18 Hornet simulator in Williamtown, NSW, could provide simulated air support in real time to land forces exercising in SWBTA.

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What is the Urban Operations Training Facility?

  • The UOTF is representational of a complex, non-culturally specific urban environment. The facility will enable combined teams to train for offensive and defensive operations in a variety of terrain and building configurations.

  • For realistic training, it can reproduce the essential elements of any major urban environment, ie:

    • Multi-storey, high density and low density residential areas;
    • Industrial area;
    • Central Business District;
    • A city hall / administrative centre, and;
    • Culturally significant buildings
  • The range of environments in the urban training facility will expose our troops to the types of challenges they will face in present or future, hostile urban environments anywhere in the world, and thus increase their confidence and competence.

  • The facility is made up from over 350 modified shipping containers, in various stacked and joined configurations, and a concrete block building representing a seat of government, place of worship, museum, historical site or other building of importance to the community.

  • The Urban Operations Training Facility is instrumented with internal and external tracking systems. These systems will enhance training outcomes by allowing commanders to observe in real-time the location of all troops involved in the exercise and also enable these troops to participate in higher fidelity after action reviews.

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Could the JCTC facilities be used to train US and Australian military personnel for nation-building and peacekeeping operations?

  • Defence does not wish to preclude training that will assist in the preparation of the ADF for any contingency. The extent to which the JCTC might be used for these types of training is still to be determined.
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Will the JCTC be used to launch military operations in the Asia-Pacific region?

  • No. The purpose of the JCTC is to provide combined training for Australian and US forces, not to facilitate military operations.

  • The training activities conducted at the JCTC will not be designed to develop Australian and US military capabilities for activities in one particular region. Rather, they will develop a broad range of capabilities that would have a global application.

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What types of weapons are proposed for use on training ranges?

  • Only approved in-service weapons are used. Overseas training partners taking part in exercises on Australian military training areas are also bound to use only those weapons approved for in-service use in this country.

  • Current in-service weapons include precision-guided munitions, or "smart bombs". By definition, such weapons are safer in training than unguided bombs.

  • Strict training regulations guide the use in training exercises of these weapons, and is the result of rigorous and detailed planning, risk assessment and management and adherence to strict environmental regulations.

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Will experimental weapons be tested on training ranges?

  • No. The JCTC is for the development and refinement of tactics and military concepts; not weapons Research and Development.

  • Whilst new generation weapons have been tested in the past in Australia, and are expected to be tested in the future, this involves detailed planning, risk assessment and management. Such testing normally occurs at Woomera Range Area.

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How is Defence considering any environmental impacts associated with the JCTC?

  • Defence considers the environmental impacts of its activities in accordance with the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

  • Infrastructure upgrades required for the Joint Combined Training Capability have taken into account any obligations arising under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

  • This includes conducting all necessary environmental studies. A CD-ROM copy of the Public Environment Report on the Urban Operations Training Facility is available from:




Mr Mark Imber,
HLA-Environsciences Pty Ltd Level 1, 5
7 Berwick Street,
FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006
PO Box 720
FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006