How Australia’s strategic review is changing Army acquisition plans

MELBOURNE, Australia — The Australian Army will now receive less Redback infantry fighting vehicles than planned as the government redirects funding for that effort toward long-range strike systems and littoral maneuver craft.

The government’s recent Defence Strategic Review recommended the Army pivot from a “balanced” structure of equally equipped combined arms brigades to a “focused” force able to meet the changing threat in the Asia-Pacific region. The document places an emphasis on long-range strike and littoral maneuver capabilities while retaining the combined arms philosophy.

“The current Australian Defence Force (ADF) force structure is based on a ‘balanced’ force model that reflects a bygone era. It does not adequately address our new strategic environment,” the report stated. “The ADF needs a much more focused force that can respond to the risks we face. It should be informed by net assessment and able to effect a strategy of denial.”

This refocus includes an enhanced long-range strike capability for multiple domains of warfare; a fully enabled and integrated amphibious combined arms land system; and a mobile, joint expeditionary theater logistics system with the ability to supply a force beyond Australia’s shores for an extended period of time.

“This conceptual approach to force structure planning will lead to a force designed to address the nation’s most significant military risks,” the report read. “The capabilities required to address identified threats will also provide latent capability to deal with lower-level contingencies and crises.”

The Defence Strategic Review specifically recommended the accelerated acquisition of additional M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as well as local manufacturing of weapons to ensure stocks are maintained.

For the Australian Army, this has meant a significant reduction in the number of AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles it had planned to acquire.

The service originally sought 450 Redback vehicles from Hanwha Defense Australia, a local branch of the South Korean company Hanwha, under the government’s multibillion-dollar Land 400 Phase 3 program, but the defense review recommended a reduction to 129 units to reflect the new force structure concept.

A Hanwha-made Redback infantry fighting vehicle is seen at a testing ground in Changwon, South Korea, on Sept. 15, 2023. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the accelerated purchase of HIMARS on Aug. 19, highlighting the change in focus. The country is already investing AU$1.6 billion (U.S. $1 billion) in a second tranche of HIMARS launchers and weapons, which takes the number on order to 42 units.

An earlier tranche announced in January committed Australia to 20 HIMARS weapons, with deliveries beginning in the first quarter of 2025 and wrapping up by the end of 2026.

The Defence Strategic Review also axed a planned second regiment of Hanwha Defense Australia-made AS9 Huntsman 155mm self-propelled howitzers as well as AS10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles. That acquisition was part of Phase 2 of the government’s Land 8116 program focused on protected mobile fires.

“We’re currently working through how we will rebalance the Army’s contribution to the integrated force. That system [AS9 and AS10] will still deliver a world-class capability; there will just be less of it,” said Lt. Gen. Simon Stuart, chief of the Army. “I’m focused on the implementation of the direction that we’ve been given, and we’ll continue to deliver the capability that is required by the integrated force within the resource envelope that we have.”

Under Phase 1 of the Land 8116 project, the Army is still set to receive 30 AS9 howitzers and 10 AS10 ammo resupply vehicles beginning in 2025.

Land 400 Phase 3 is a multiyear program that assessed the AS21 and the Germany company Rheinmetall’s KF41 Lynx, with the former declared the contract winner on July 27.

“We will be beginning delivery of these vehicles in early 2027, with the final vehicles to be delivered in late 2028,” Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said. “This is bringing it forward by a number of years.”

That timeline coincides with “the delivery of more landing craft and a very significant investment in long-range strike, both the HIMARS rocket system and land-based maritime strike. So that the Australian Army’s longest-range weapon will go from roughly 40 kilometers to 300 kilometers, then over 500 kilometers,” Conroy added. (That’s about 25 miles to 186 miles, then more than 311 miles.)

Conroy was referring to the initial acquisition of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, Army Tactical Missile Systems and, eventually, the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile for HIMARS. Australia jointed the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile development program in August 2021.

The Australian Army’s longest-range weapon is the M777 towed howitzer, Gen. Angus Campbell, chief of the Defence Force, said in May during a Senate estimates hearing, during which lawmakers scrutinize how the government is spending taxpayers’ money.

Australia is also looking to acquire a long-range maritime strike and coastal artillery system under Project Land 4100 Phase 2.

In response, Kongsberg Defence Australia and Thales Australia have partnered to offer a system based on the utility variant of the Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle, together with Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missile.

The Naval Strike Missile can launch from both land- and sea-based platforms. (Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace)

The Australian Army has fielded the Bushmaster for several years now, and the Royal Australian Navy selected the Naval Strike Missile as its deck-launched Harpoon replacement.

The Kongsberg-Thales pitch, dubbed StrikeMaster, is similar to the American Navy/Marine Corps Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System, which uses the Naval Strike Missile with an unmanned variant of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle dubbed Rogue Fires. However, the StrikeMaster will be a crewed system.

Kongsberg is a Norwegian company, and Thales is based in France.

For its part, the American firm Lockheed Martin is proposing a variant of the M142 HIMARS launcher, integrated with a ground-launched version of the AGM-158C long-range, anti-ship missile. The Australian Army already purchased the former, and the Royal Australian Air Force has ordered the air-launched version of the latter.

However, underpinning these long-range strike enhancements is a requirement to establish a sovereign supply of weapons — an acknowledgment that global supply chains are inevitably disrupted during a conflict.

In response, the government has committed AU$2.5 billion over the course of four years for the Defence Department’s Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance Enterprise, or GWEO.

“The war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of having not just war stocks, but a domestic missile manufacturing industry,” Marles said April 30

GWEO will initially focus on the domestic manufacture of 155mm ammunition, but is also looking to manufacture guided missiles in Australia under the Guided Weapons Production Capability plan.

Australian soldiers fire a round from a 155mm howitzer during a live-fire demonstration showcasing the service's joint combined-arms capabilities in 2019. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

Speaking at the Senate estimate hearing in May, the head of GWEO, Air Marshal Leon Phillips, said an Australian team recently visited the United States to meet with missile manufacturers and federal lawmakers.

“GMLRS [the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System] is a credible option that we are looking to accelerate, and I expect we’ll return to [the Australian] government before quarter two of 2024 with options to make a start on that, to meet what we believe is a credible timeline for a level of missile production in this country in 2025,” Phillips said.

When asked by senators if plans were set for eventually manufacturing the U.S. Army’s Precision Strike Missile, Phillips replied: “Not at this stage. I think GMLRS is a logical start point, and then we might work our way up in terms of our industrial base, our certification, our competencies, and our releasability and ITAR issues with the U.S. government.”

ITAR, or International Traffic in Arms Regulations, is a U.S. government regime that controls the export of defense equipment and other sensitive technology.

The Defence Strategic Review also recommends the government accelerate its multiphase landing craft program Land 8710.

Phase 1 of the program is in an open-tender stage, which should lead to the purchase of medium littoral maneuver vessels to replace the Army’s LCM-8 landing craft, as well as the acquisition of an amphibious vehicle to replace the Vietnam-era LARC vehicles.

Phase 2 is for the acquisition of heavy landing craft to replace the Balikpapan-class vessels retired more than a decade ago.

Phase 3 will seek a fast assault craft.

“We are investing in the capabilities our Defence Force needs to hold our adversaries at risk further from our shores, and keep Australians safe in the complex and uncertain world in which we live today,” Marles said Aug. 21.

Nigel Pittaway is the Australia correspondent for Defense News.

澳大利亚墨尔本——由于政府将用于该项目的资金重新分配给远程打击系统和近岸机动艇，澳大利亚陆军现在将收到比计划中更少的红背蜘蛛步兵战车。

英国政府近期发布的《国防战略评估报告》建议陆军从装备均衡的诸兵种合成旅“平衡”结构，转向能够应对亚太地区不断变化的威胁的“重点”部队。该文件强调远程打击和近岸机动能力，同时保留诸兵种合成作战理念。

报告指出：“澳大利亚国防军目前的兵力结构基于一种‘平衡’兵力模式，这种模式反映的是过去时代的遗留问题，无法充分应对我们新的战略环境。澳大利亚国防军需要一支更加专注的部队，能够应对我们面临的风险。这支部队应该以全面评估为依据，并能够实施拒止战略。”

此次重新调整包括增强多领域作战的远程打击能力；全面具备一体化两栖联合兵种陆地作战系统；以及能够长期向澳大利亚境外部队提供补给的机动联合远征战区后勤系统。

报告指出：“这种以概念为基础的部队结构规划方法将打造一支能够应对国家最重大军事风险的部队。应对已确定威胁所需的能力也将为应对低级别突发事件和危机提供潜在能力。”

国防战略评估报告特别建议加快采购更多 M142 高机动性火箭炮系统，并进行本地武器制造，以确保库存充足。

对于澳大利亚陆军来说，这意味着其计划采购的 AS21 红背蜘蛛步兵战车的数量大幅减少。

该部门最初根据政府数十亿美元的“陆地 400 第三阶段”计划，向韩国韩华集团的澳大利亚分公司韩华防务澳大利亚公司采购 450 辆“红背蜘蛛”装甲车，但国防审查建议减少到 129 辆，以反映新的部队结构概念。

2023年9月15日，一辆韩华制造的“红背蜘蛛”步兵战车在韩国昌原的试验场进行测试。（Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images）

澳大利亚国防部长理查德·马尔斯于8月19日宣布加快采购HIMARS导弹防御系统，凸显了该国战略重点的转变。澳大利亚已斥资16亿澳元（约合10亿美元）采购第二批HIMARS导弹发射装置和武器，使订购数量达到42套。

今年 1 月宣布的早期订单中，澳大利亚承诺购买 20 套 HIMARS 导弹系统，交付工作将于 2025 年第一季度开始，并在 2026 年底完成。

国防战略评估还取消了原计划采购的第二批韩华防务澳大利亚公司制造的AS9“猎人”155毫米自行榴弹炮团以及AS10装甲弹药补给车。该采购项目是政府“陆地8116”计划第二阶段的一部分，该计划旨在发展防护型移动火力。

“我们目前正在研究如何重新平衡陆军对联合部队的贡献。AS9和AS10系统仍将提供世界一流的能力，只是规模会缩小，”陆军司令西蒙·斯图尔特中将表示。“我专注于落实我们已接到的指示，我们将继续在现有资源范围内提供联合部队所需的能力。”

根据 Land 8116 项目的第一阶段，陆军仍计划从 2025 年开始接收 30 门 AS9 榴弹炮和 10 辆 AS10 弹药补给车。

Land 400 第三阶段是一个多年计划，对 AS21 和德国莱茵金属公司的 KF41 Lynx 进行了评估，前者于 7 月 27 日被宣布为合同中标者。

国防工业部长帕特·康罗伊表示：“我们将于2027年初开始交付这些车辆，最后一批车辆将于2028年底交付。这比原计划提前了好几年。”

这一时间表与“更多登陆艇的交付以及对远程打击能力的重大投资相吻合，包括HIMARS火箭系统和陆基海上打击能力。因此，澳大利亚陆军射程最远的武器将从大约40公里提升到300公里，然后超过500公里，”康罗伊补充道。（这大约是25英里到186英里，然后超过311英里。）

康罗伊指的是最初采购制导多管火箭系统、陆军战术导弹系统，以及最终采购美国陆军用于HIMARS的精确打击导弹。澳大利亚于2021年8月加入美国陆军的精确打击导弹研发项目。

澳大利亚国防军总司令安格斯·坎贝尔将军在五月份的参议院预算听证会上表示，澳大利亚陆军射程最远的武器是M777牵引式榴弹炮。在听证会上，议员们会仔细审查政府如何使用纳税人的钱。

澳大利亚还计划根据“陆地 4100 项目第二阶段”采购远程海上打击和海岸炮兵系统。

为此，康斯伯格防务澳大利亚公司和泰雷兹澳大利亚公司合作，推出了一套基于“大毒蛇”防护机动车辆实用型以及康斯伯格海军打击导弹的系统。

海军打击导弹可从陆基和海基平台发射。（康斯伯格防务与航空航天公司）

澳大利亚陆军已经装备“大毒蛇”导弹好几年了，而澳大利亚皇家海军则选择了“海军打击”导弹作为其舰载“鱼叉”导弹的替代品。

康斯伯格-泰雷兹公司提出的“打击大师”（StrikeMaster）系统与美国海军/海军陆战队的远征舰艇拦截系统类似，后者使用海军打击导弹和名为“流氓火力”（Rogue Fires）的联合轻型战术车辆的无人版本。然而，“打击大师”将是一个有人驾驶系统。

Kongsberg是一家挪威公司，而Thales总部位于法国。

美国洛克希德·马丁公司则提出了一种改进型的M142 HIMARS火箭炮，该火箭炮集成了AGM-158C远程反舰导弹的陆基版本。澳大利亚陆军已经采购了前者，而澳大利亚皇家空军则订购了后者的空基版本​​。

然而，这些远程打击能力的提升，其根本在于建立自主武器供应——这承认了全球供应链在冲突期间不可避免地会受到干扰。

作为回应，政府承诺在四年内向国防部的制导武器和爆炸物企业（GWEO）拨款 25 亿澳元。

“乌克兰战争表明，拥有军备储备固然重要，但拥有国内导弹制造工业也同样重要，”马尔斯4月30日表示。

GWEO 最初将专注于国内 155 毫米弹药的生产，但同时也希望根据制导武器生产能力计划在澳大利亚生产制导导弹。

2019年，澳大利亚士兵在一次实弹射击演示中，用155毫米榴弹炮发射炮弹，展示了该军种的联合兵种作战能力。（图片来源：William West/AFP via Getty Images）

全球火力评估办公室 (GWEO) 主任莱昂·菲利普斯空军元帅在 5 月份的参议院预算听证会上表示，一个澳大利亚团队最近访问了美国，与导弹制造商和联邦立法者会面。

菲利普斯说：“GMLRS（制导多管火箭系统）是一个可靠的选择，我们正在寻求加快推进。我预计我们将在 2024 年第二季度之前向（澳大利亚）政府提交相关方案，以便启动该项目，从而实现我们认为在 2025 年在该国达到一定导弹生产水平的可靠时间表。”

当参议员们问及是否已制定最终生产美国陆军精确打击导弹的计划时，菲利普斯回答说：“目前还没有。我认为通用多管火箭炮系统（GMLRS）是一个合理的起点，然后我们可以根据我们的工业基础、认证、能力以及与美国政府的授权和《国际武器贸易条例》（ITAR）问题逐步推进。”

ITAR，即国际武器贸易条例，是美国政府的一项制度，旨在控制国防设备和其他敏感技术的出口。

国防战略评估报告还建议政府加快推进其多阶段登陆艇计划 Land 8710。

该计划的第一阶段处于公开招标阶段，预计将采购中型近岸机动舰艇以取代陆军的 LCM-8 登陆艇，并采购两栖车辆以取代越南战争时期的 LARC 车辆。

第二阶段是采购重型登陆艇，以取代十多年前退役的巴厘巴板级登陆艇。

第三阶段将寻求快速突击艇。

“我们正在投资提升国防军的能力，以使我们的对手在远离我们海岸的地方面临风险，并在我们今天生活的这个复杂多变的世界中保障澳大利亚人的安全，”马尔斯在8月21日表示。

Nigel Pittaway 是《国防新闻》驻澳大利亚记者。