Information operations (IO) was included at Exercise Bersama Shield for the first time this year.

The annual training exercise conducted by nations of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) – Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom – enhances interoperability.

An IO team from the Tactical Adversary Cell at Army’s Battle Lab integrated an IO network (ION) simulation platform for participants.

Mark Murray, assistant director at the Battle Lab, who led the ION team in Malaysia, said they supported the exercise planners before arriving at Royal Malaysian Air Force Base Butterworth.

“We supported the exercise planners with the development of some multimedia product – a road to crisis, a fictitious country study, and we also developed a number of breaking news articles to further enhance the exercise with some realism,” Mr Murray said.

To demonstrate ION, the Battle Lab team used its ‘ION fly away kit’.

“It is an unclassified system of computers that allows us to project a false or fake internet,” Mr Murray said.

Chief exercise controller at Bersama Shield, Royal Air Force Wing Commander Mark Taylor, said the introduction of ION provided capacity to develop and grow IO on future exercises.

“It adds a level of real multi-domain operability, which we’ve been missing on our FPDA exercises until now,” Wing Commander Taylor said.

“It’s exciting and gives us an opportunity to challenge our commanders in the future.”