The sight and sound of approaching tanks has the ability to either strike fear into the hearts of an opposing force or deliver unprecedented confidence to friendly infantry.

The former is what Army’s 3rd Brigade practised during the North Queensland Warfighting Exercise.

Commander 3rd Brigade, Brigadier Ben McLennan, is spearheading its development as the Army’s masters of ‘shock action’.

“3rd Brigade is Army’s armoured brigade, and it packs a punch,” he said.

“Our ambition and our potential is to be the world’s most lethal armoured brigade.”

He said the exercise was an opportunity to test it for the first time.

“Practice, practice, practice. That is our mantra. That is how we will realise our potential,” Brigadier McLennan said.

He said exercises such as Warfighter provided the opportunity to employ Australian armour in real-world scenarios against near-peer enemies, where armour could mean the difference between victory and defeat in the land domain. 

“3rd Brigade offers our nation and our Army their highest insurance policy. 3rd Brigade is what our nation and Army will commit when we are confronting the most terrifying and threatening circumstances, when you need the lethality of an armoured brigade to fight and to win,” Brigadier McLennan said.

'In the Indo-Pacific, operating and fighting alongside our allies and partners, 3rd Brigade is unmatched in terms of its firepower, mobility and protection.'

The star of the show was the new M1A2 Abrams main battle tank.

Troop Sergeant Rob Mackie said the combat advantage the new tank offered was immediately apparent.

“I’m very impressed with this new tank, especially the new sighting systems and the computer systems that support it,” he said.

“Basically, we can identify targets sooner and shoot further. As the Troop Sergeant, this gives me great confidence regarding the team’s lethality and survivability in the most demanding combat scenarios.”

The tanks rumbled into action alongside the AS4 armoured personnel carriers, soon to be replaced by the Redback infantry fighting vehicles and Boxer combat reconnaissance vehicles.

The men and women commanding these platforms, like 2nd Cavalry Regiment’s Lieutenant Thomas Herron, are aware of the influence and impact they have when deployed.

“On this activity I had four M1A2 main battle tanks, which provide the brigade its firepower and manoeuvre advantage – an advantage allowing it to dislodge and dislocate the enemy, allowing us to strike deeper behind enemy lines, when required,” Lieutenant Herron said.

Brigadier McLennan said the development of 3rd Brigade’s capability would have a significant impact on future combined operations throughout the region.

“In the Indo-Pacific, operating and fighting alongside our allies and partners, 3rd Brigade is unmatched in terms of its firepower, mobility and protection,” Brigadier McLennan said.

“We are unique, and for that reason, of enormous value to the coalition team when deployed in the Indo-Pacific, or beyond.”