Missile fired in Australia | August 6, 2023 | Katherine Times
For the first time in history, a missile has been fired between two Defence training areas on Australian soil - fired by the Army tactical missile system (ATACMS).
Transcript
00:00 So yesterday we supported the US in employing the Army Tactical Missile System.
00:17 It is a ballistic missile system that's fired from the HIMARS multi-rocket launch system.
00:24 We deployed the system in a C-130 from the East Coast, Shoalwater Bay Training Area,
00:29 flew it to Delamere where it then rolled out the back of the C-130 and fired from Delamere
00:36 260 kilometres to the north-west into the Bradshaw Field Training Area to demonstrate
00:42 for the first time our ability to undertake what we would call from range to a range long
00:48 range strike.
00:49 Yeah, well there's 200 days of planning for seven minutes of flight for that missile.
00:59 That's the kind of planning evolution that we undertook just to make sure it was done
01:02 safely.
01:03 So we need to make sure that we work with all the other government agencies, the Civil
01:09 Aviation Safety Authority, local, state, territory, just to make sure that we undertake that we
01:16 understand what risk we're applying and we can do so safely.
01:20 And so hundreds of people have been involved in the planning of it to make sure that it
01:24 can be conducted safely and the smallest number of people actually execute it, which the irony
01:29 is not lost on me that you have hundreds of people planning it and very few people executing
01:33 it.
01:34 But that's what the whole long range strike capability is about.
01:38 Well myself and the Chief of Joint Operations are both artillery officers so I think that
01:42 was a giveaway.
01:43 So we're going to be more than proud, very exciting for us to see that capability employed
01:48 in Australia and certainly be able to help our US ally operate the system in a different
01:55 location which comes with different challenges.
01:57 Operating in the southern hemisphere has its own unique challenges but to do so in a manner
02:03 that we did over the last couple of days is really, really pleasing.
02:08 Well from an artillery perspective we've been in partnership with the US for many, many
02:12 years so we've used, we have integrated missile systems already on other platforms in the
02:20 Air Force but as far as land persistent fires we've been using M1 ammunition with our artillery
02:27 for decades.
02:29 We use the US furnished M777 howitzer, we use their C2 system so this is just an evolution
02:36 of that and the ability for us to protect Australia with systems such as this, whether
02:43 it be the distances we're talking about or at least demonstrate that we can defend Australia
02:47 and its national interests is really important for us to do so.
02:50 Talisman Sabre gives us a glimpse of what we might seek to undertake as far as acquisition
02:56 and the types of capabilities that we might consider in the future.
03:01 Yeah it's a pretty ambitious program that we set for ourselves.
03:04 Surprisingly there has been very little issues in the conduct of the exercise to date.
03:11 We've got the Rona Reagan Carrier Strike Group operating now off the north west with our
03:16 Air Force 3 Squadron.
03:18 It's fantastic to have CTF-70 participating in the exercise.
03:22 It really adds some challenging complexity to the activity off there in the north west
03:28 shelf so that's been fantastic and I got to visit RAF Base Curtin yesterday and see the
03:34 600 combined force elements operating and supporting that bare base in operation and
03:41 that's practicing logistics at its very hardest when they moved all the way from the east
03:45 coast of Australia to there so that's been really great.
03:49 We've done the joint petroleum over the shore activity in Weepa where we deployed a pipeline
03:54 and supported the US in that and that's already completed.
03:56 It was highly successful.
03:58 We were able to pipe water about 5.5 kilometres inshore and then the big one is that I know
04:04 our Deputy Prime Minister is pretty excited about is the joint logistics over the shore
04:08 in the Trident Pier 540 metre long wharf that we're supporting the US in building in Bowen
04:16 and North Queensland.
04:17 So there's those things occurring.
04:18 There's a lot of maritime activity in the Coral Sea.
04:22 We're practicing with our Japanese, the Republic of Korea, we've got the Canadians, Royal Marines,
04:30 TNI Marines, a whole mixture of people operating off the Coral Sea and then we have close to
04:38 7,000 people operating in Townsville Field Training Area undertaking really complex land
04:44 combat activities.
04:46 So there's a lot of moving parts going on and the pleasing part is the smiles on people's
04:50 faces, they're loving what they're doing after a couple of years of quite challenging times
04:57 for soldiers, sailors and aviators.
05:00 We're doing the type of training and the type of things that they joined to do, they haven't
05:04 been able to because they've been supporting our nation in other ways.
05:08 Getting back to the basics is really great.
05:12 Not really a game changer, more of a reminder.
05:15 We're a big country.
05:16 We live in an archipelagic, challenging geostrategic environment.
05:22 It's made up of islands and so you have to be able to operate from island to island,
05:27 within islands and around islands.
05:29 Deploying from one side of our country to the other is not that much different.
05:33 There's large swathes of distances where there isn't any logistic support so you have to
05:38 bring everything with you.
05:39 So this is just reminding us of the environment that we live in.
05:42 We can't take anything for granted.
05:44 Okay, so it's Joseph McChrystal, so it's J-O-S-E-P-H McChrystal, M-C-C-H-R-Y-S-T-A-L.
05:54 I'm a first lieutenant and I'm with 1-3-4 with Alpha Battery.
05:59 1-3-4, artillery regiment?
06:01 Roger that.
06:03 We will have the ammunition loaded out to us.
06:06 They'll put it on the ground.
06:08 Our launcher crews will go over with a two-man crew using their crane.
06:12 They'll pick up the proper ammunition for the mission at hand.
06:16 Once that's done and it's loaded up in the HIMARS, HIMARS will roll onto the tarmac waiting
06:21 for the C-130.
06:24 We call it a kneeling process, so that is going to be deflating tires to the proper
06:27 PSI to fit onto the plane.
06:30 Once it's to that pressure, they will load onto the C-130.
06:34 From then, the C-130 will take off and land.
06:36 The HIMARS will then roll off, inflate back to proper PSI.
06:41 They'll roll up to the firing point and they will be awaiting for the fire command from
06:45 higher up.
06:46 I will call up to higher up.
06:48 Once higher up gives me the permission to fire that mission, I will call down to my
06:52 launcher chief.
06:53 He will give it to his gunner and then the gunner will lay on the target and execute
06:57 that mission.
06:59 So it gives us the ability to be fast and accurate so we can provide precision munitions
07:07 on target in a speedy manner.
07:10 Unlike other systems that we have and other countries have, these can be loaded onto our
07:14 smallest bird, the C-130, and get to anywhere as long as the range is capable with the bird.
07:21 We can get down, roll off the bird within a few minutes and be on target and be out
07:27 of there.
07:28 So, the Air Force allows us to load up on their birds, get to where we need to be, and
07:35 to put our HIMARS in a position that we can provide the long-range accurate fires and
07:41 destroy the target.
07:43 So the HIMARS offers you the long-range capability with speed, accuracy, and precision fires.
07:50 The HIMARS is great.
07:51 It has all these capabilities.
07:53 Without the team, without the soldiers that I work with, it wouldn't show any of the capabilities
07:58 that we offer.
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08:15 Hey bro, you want to go any back one?
08:17 One minute, yeah?
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