MEDIA RELEASE

DPAO 167/98

Monday, August 24, 1998

TOP END EXERCISE TO SHAPE THE BATTLE OF THE FUTURE

More than 2500 soldiers and 500 vehicles from the Army's Darwin-based 1st Brigade are preparing to take part in the Australian Defence Force's largest exercise in the Top End since Kangaroo 95 three years ago.

Exercise Phoenix, which runs to the end of September, is an important test for the Army and will trial new equipment in the field and new structures to determine its make-up to fight on the 21st Century battlefield.

The 1st Brigade will form an independent task force, a more mobile formation equipped with integral precision firepower and sophisticated communications, as part of the Restructuring of the Army (RTA) program.

Troops from Army units around Australia, including those from Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Townsville, Perth and Hobart, will be joined by RAAF personnel and aircraft from Newcastle, Brisbane, Townsville and Katherine for Exercise Phoenix.

The ADF will be fighting against military forces from Musoria, a fictitious nation which is provoking a territorial dispute with Australia. The 1st Brigade will deploy against the Musorians at the beginning of September.

The exercise scenario revolves around tensions between Australia and Musoria escalating in recent weeks following the expulsion of Australian diplomatic personnel and the encroachment into our economic exclusion zone and airspace by Musorian Naval vessels and aircraft. It is believed that Musorian 'special forces' have been inserted into the north and are conducting covert reconnaissance operations prior to the landing of a larger force.

The initial area of operation covers approximately 200,000 square kilometres extending from Katherine to Dunmarra in the south, to Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria and west to Auvergne.

The 1st Brigade is one of the Army's most potent combat formations and during Exercise Phoenix it has been equipped with nearly 100 armoured vehicles and 30 helicopters. A number of new weapons will also be trailed, including the US Army M109 Paladin self-propelled gun, the Dragon Drone unmanned aerial vehicle, and three new variants of the LAV armoured vehicle, fitted for anti-tank, surveillance and mortars.

Despite this awesome military capability, the Army is asking for public assistance. As part of the exercise senario, members of the public in the exercise area are asked to help locate and defeat the Musorian threat by staying alert and reporting any suspicious individuals.