Page 43 - Williams Foundation Integrated Force Design Seminar

Designing the Integrated Force: How to Define and Meet the Challenge?

This is a major procurement program within MoD for Army modernization. But BG Mills highlighted the
importance of a potential offshoot program to be supported by innovation involving the development of
autonomous vehicles technologies, which could complement the main acquisition project.

“One of the options we could explore is to take legacy vehicles, such as the M113, and install an autonomous
vehicle kit. As a result we could get a vehicle, which could be used, for the dirty and dangerous missions which
are currently being done by our troops. Further more this would be a relatively cheap and value for money
option for the Australian tax payer.”

“For example under this context the M113 could now become an autonomous resupply vehicle. I need the
resupply to go from X to Y. Its protection level is not as high as our manned vehicles, LAND 400, but it doesn't
need to be. There's just bullets, beans, etc. in these vehicles, but they can make their way autonomously from
point X to point Y.”

Another example where autonomous capability could be leveraged in the army modernization approach is to
replace humans doing counter-mine searches with autonomous vehicles.

“I don't want a man or a woman doing that in the future. I want an autonomous robot, autonomous vehicle,
clearing the ground in front of the patrol. There are a number of companies around the world that have got
very advanced autonomous vehicles robotics that could do that task now. We're looking to run trials in the
back end of this year and throughout the next couple of years.”

The Army is modernizing and doing so within the evolving joint context.
“The Australian Army is presented with the opportunity of transforming itself. It's really understanding and
ensuring that we get more than the sum of the individual parts, that they work collectively together and what
we get is more than just the individual pieces of equipment. And for us, this means a focus on a modernized
combined arms team.”
“We need to ensure that as we modernize the combined arms team, that it is configurable, with the right
troops and equipment for the task, and scalable, with the right number of people, from a combat team of
about 200 people to a battle group, three to five combat teams and their support elements, to a brigade,
3000 to 5000 people, which is three to five battle groups and their support elements, and ensuring that the
glue that makes the collective capability operates effectively in a range of combat settings.”

When I was last in Australia, the LHD trials were starting and the Army was looking at ways to make effective
use of this new capability. I asked him to provide an update on progress to date.

“It is going well. We have put our Land battlefield management system on the ship and we can now use it to
prepare for ground force insertion. We can do collaborative planning on the ship digitally and then prepare
the force for deployment off of the ship.”

“Next we are looking to incorporate beyond line of sight communication capabilities to the Land battle
management system on the ship and to have that ready by the next Talisman Saber exercise.”

For a look at the Australian Army’s Battle Management System, see the following:
http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/EquippingDefence/LAND-75-ph3.4-BMS

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/australia-turns-to-elbit-for-its-battle-management-system-06247/

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