04 Nov 24. Australia, Indonesia conduct Exercise ‘Keris Woomera.‘ The Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Indonesian National Armed Forces (Tentara Nasional Indonesia: TNI) have teamed up for Exercise ‘Keris Woomera’, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 3 November. The drills take place after the two countries signed a key defence agreement in August that enables greater military interoperability. The DoD said in a press release that the exercise is the “largest combined joint activity” by the ADF and TNI in recent history, with approximately 2,000 personnel participating in the drills. The DoD said the exercise features a combined joint live-fire exercise consisting of tanks, artillery, infantry, and attack helicopters. The DoD also said 35 TNI personnel will deploy onboard HMAS Adelaide in Darwin to conduct integration training as part of the drills. It added that the exercise, which started in Indonesia, will feature air, maritime, amphibious, and follow-on land operations along with humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.
However, the DoD had not responded to Janes request for additional information about the exercise at the time of publication. Australia’s Chief of Joint Operations, Vice Admiral Justin Jones, said, “By training together, our forces build upon shared tactics, techniques, and procedures to enhance interoperability and readiness to respond to shared security challenges in the region.” The exercise is also part of Australia’s ‘Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2023′, which is its largest engagement activity in the region. (Source: Janes)
25 Oct 24. The 1st [Estonian] Infantry Brigade’s integration exercise BOLD DRAGOON recently took place at the Defence Forces’ Central Training Ground. From October 14 to October 20, the 1st Infantry Brigade’s exercise BOLD DRAGOON took place at the Defence Forces’ Central Training Ground, the main purpose of which was to train the new Allied Battle Group that started its service with the brigade after unit rotation at the beginning of October, practising together with the 1st Infantry Brigade.
“In order to stand shoulder to shoulder on the battlefield, we need to understand each other well and, of course, be able to cooperate. The exercise gives us an excellent opportunity to practice all of this in order to harmonise the procedures if necessary,” said Major Kristjan Karist, the responsible operator of the exercise from the headquarters of the 1st Infantry Brigade.
The main objectives of Exercise BOLD DRAGOON were to integrate the Allied Battle Group into the 1st Infantry Brigade and to practice mutual cooperation. The exercise started with conducting offensive and defensive battles at company level, where cooperation and manoeuvres of different types of weapon systems were practised, and continued with a tactical exercise, where battalion operations were practised within the framework of a brigade. To create a more realistic situation, laser simulators which were added to the weapons were used to imitate the combat situation as faithfully as possible by recording the hits made; this provides accurate and honest feedback to the participants and ensures better training as a whole. In total, nearly 1,000 defence personnel took part in the exercise.
The exercise, which ended on Sunday, was led by the 1st [Estonian] Infantry Brigade. In addition to the Allies, soldiers from the Scouts Battalion, the Anti-Tank Company of the 1st Infantry Brigade and the Defence Academy Hiking Centre will participate in the exercise . Air support was provided by the Italian and German Air Forces with Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets and the Estonian Air Force with Robinson R44 helicopters. (Source: www.joint-forces.com)