Improved training facilities for South Australian Defence
Senator David Feeney, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence, today toured Cultana Training Area in South Australia.
The expansion of the Cultana Training Area is critical for Joint and Combined Arms training for Defence and for Army’s 1st Brigade. An expanded Cultana Training Area also enables future air to ground, ground to air and ship to shore training activities.
A total commitment of $59.5 million in upgrade works will be particularly important to the 7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR), which was established at Edinburgh earlier this year.
Among Defence’s suite of training areas, the terrain at Cultana most closely resembles that of Afghanistan. The Training Area consists of small arms ranges, a demolition range, field and driver training areas and a mock Afghan village.
Senator David Feeney said: “The expansion at Cultana will bring additional defence jobs to South Australia and make sure we have the best training facilities available for the Australian Defence Force.”
“Cultana is a great example of tri-service training facilities. It’s location close to the coastline and terrain which resembles Afghanistan makes it an important site for major joint military exercises,” Senator Feeney said.
Senator Feeney also met with a number of pastoralists about the expansion.
He said: “I acknowledge that there has been a long process for a range of affected groups. I’ll be honest, I can’t promise that all the issues will be resolved tomorrow. There are complex legal issues to be worked through.”
“But it is really important that we reach agreements with the pastoral leaseholders and finalise the training area expansion as soon as possible. I want to make sure that the ADF have the best training facilities available and more local defence jobs come to South Australia,” Senator Feeney said.
Source: Australian Defence Media Centre
More from Land Warfare
-
US Army chooses Textron Systems and Griffon Aerospace in final showdown for FTUAS
The US Army plans to procure a Future Tactical UAS (FTUAS) to replace the Textron Systems RQ-7Bv2 Shadow tactical UAV currently in service with the US Army's Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs). The FTUAS is being developed under the wider Future UAS (FUAS) programme.
-
British Army’s Challenger 3 undertakes qualification firings in Germany
The Challenger 3 Main Battle Tank (MBT), which will be delivered to the British Army by Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land (RBSL) under an £800 million (US$1 billion) contract, will stay in service beyond 2040.
-
Lockheed Martin signs Australian air and missile defence system deal
Air 6500 Phase 1, worth AU$500 million (US$326 million), will result in a sovereign system that can provide greater situational awareness and help to defend against hostile aircraft and missiles. It will sit at the core of Australia’s Integrated Air and Missile Defence programme.
-
Rheinmetall wins communications deal that could be worth up to €400 million
The systems have been purchased under a special fund which has already been tapped into for the purchase of 60 CH-47F Block II Chinook helicopters worth up to €8 billion (US$8.7 billion) and thousands of Rheinmetall Caracal airmobile special operations vehicles worth €1.9 billion.
-
Italy weighs up the challenge of its tank replacement plans
The Russia–Ukraine war has continued to be the place the world’s militaries have been watching for lessons on both the EW and uncrewed front. Its conventional war aspect, however, has also been catching the attention of leaders.
-
The Philippines looks to Israel for military equipment amid South China Sea tensions
The southeast Asian country has been enhancing its military readiness by procuring advanced Israeli defence platforms and systems.