Page 162 - Australian Defence Magazine June 2021

160 FROM THE SOURCE MAJOR GENERAL SIMON STUART
JUNE 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 106
ADM: You mentioned the system of systems. My under- standing is that this approach is system agnostic – us- ing different platforms to achieve the same outcome,
fantry fighting vehicle and the tank as part of the team, particularly in complex environments where engagement distances occur at short range and you need to be able to absorb a hit and then fight back. It is all about assuring mission success.
The tank, of course, is the most protected vehicle that we have but it’s used in combination with infantry fight- ing vehicles, with offensive support from self-propelled Howitzers, potentially from rocket artillery, from attack aviation, supported by effects in the electromagnetic spectrum and from the Joint Force. It also provides di- rect lethal fires with a degree of precision with a human in the loop when you are operating in those complex en- vironments and in and among populations. I think that’s really important.
We’ve not had an Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) be- fore. It is different to an armoured personnel carrier. The IFV delivers soldiers onto an objective, so that they can fight mounted or dismounted. All of these systems work together for a combined effect. They all have strengths, they all have weaknesses and the whole idea of combined arms teams is that they cover off each oth- er’s strengths and weaknesses to optimise the chance of mission success. ■
ABOVE: Boxer is just one part of the combined arms fighting system approach.
“WE’VE NOT HAD AN IFV BEFORE. IT’S DIFFERENT TO AN ARMOURED PERSONNEL CARRIER. THE IFV DELIVERS SOLDIERS ONTO AN OBJECTIVE, SO THAT THEY CAN FIGHT MOUNTED OR DISMOUNTED.”
which can by extension make some platforms irrelevant. Is that the case for the Boxer, the IFV or the tank? What is the unique operational justifi ation for each of those platforms? How do they interact with each other? STUART: That’s the concept of the combined arms fighting system. Each of those components play a role. They are distinct in that the combat reconnaissance vehicle is at the heart of a ISR network that the ground commander, whether that’s at combat team, battle group
or brigade level is able to use exclusively for their mission requirements. It has sensors and communications and is the hub for a range of increasingly robotic systems, both air and ground based, in the future. It needs to be able to move at different speeds, faster often, than other parts of that combined arms fighting system and obviously have the requisite levels of protection. You then have the in-
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