2023 Defence year in review for Northern Territory
From sombre memorials and tragedies to strengthening relationships with allies, 2023 was a big year for Defence in the NT.
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Defence in 2023 started with an announcement by Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh that soldiers from Darwin’s 1st Brigade would deploy on Operation Kudu in an effort to train Ukraine’s ‘civilian army’.
Defence in 2023 started with an announcement by Defence Personnel Minister Matt Keogh that soldiers from Darwin’s 1st Brigade would deploy on Operation Kudu in an effort to train Ukraine’s ‘civilian army’.
Darwin’s 5th Battalion would send its first contingent of 70 Diggers to the UK and one soldier revealed the unit had already prepared for the deployment.
“Some of the training we’ve been doing before we’ve planned to depart is familiarisation with the weapons that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are going to be using,” he said.
“We’ve been doing language training so we can converse and training to a higher standard, so the Ukrainian Armed have a better chance of understanding the training they’re receiving.”
Bombing of Darwin Anniversary
The Bombing of Darwin’s 81st anniversary drew more than 4000 people across all Darwin-based events in honour of the WWII tale.
The main event featured members of 1st Brigade who re-enacted the defence of Darwin at the city’s esplanade.
City of Darwin Mayor Kon Vatskalis said the event marked one of the “most important” days in city’s history.
“February 19, 1942, and the first Japanese bombing raids on Darwin, mark the day we experienced the first ever enemy attack on Australian soil,” Mr Vatskalis said.
“The annual Bombing of Darwin Day is one of the most important chapters in the story of our city.”
Anzac Day Commemorations
At dawn, Territorians stood still to observe the playing of The Last Post.
Later that morning, communities across the Territory congregated on their main streets to show their respect to current and former serving members march the streets.
In the afternoon, families packed the pubs to enjoy lunch, a beer or two, and – hopefully – win some money on two-up.
The 108th commemoration of Anzac Day in Darwin was honoured with the presence of Richard Pethybridge who served in the Top End from 1941 – 1944 as an Army cook.
NT confirmed as Defence Strategic Review priority
The Territory was announced as the beneficiary of $3.8 billion in federal funding to harden Australia’s northern bases.
Robertson Barracks was to share a $1 billion slice of the fund with Townsville’s Lavarack Barracks while RAAF Tindal was also identified as a critical base in the Defence Strategic Review.
Defence Minister Richard Marles confirmed the $3.8 billion fund was just the beginning of what would be greater funding into the future.
“This is really just the start of an effort in accelerating the development of our Northern bases so they can be better placed for our Defence forces to operate from,” he said.
“You’re going to see, as we go forward with the next Defence strategy architecture of having a national Defence strategy every two years, starting from next year, is a far greater focus on thinking, on planning for investment.”
Exercise Talisman Sabre kicks off
The Top End played co-host to the world’s largest military exercise, with 30,000 soldiers, airmen and sailors across 13 nations stationed across the country to engage in war games for the biannual exercise.
The Royal Australian Air Force Darwin base hosted 5000 of those troops who contributed to the airspace war gaming.
United States air force Colonel Brian Baldwin said the Top End’s activities would enhance relationships.
“Whether it’s for humanitarian assistance, disaster relief or defence of the homeland, any time we can get a chance to continue to work on these relationships, practice together, and get more interoperable, it makes us both much more efficient and much more capable of ensuring a peaceful and stable region.”
Talisman Sabre 2023 included participants from the US, Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany.
Historic Missile Launch takes place in Top End
In a historic day for the ADF, the Australian Army successfully fired a ballistic missile between two NT Defence bases.
The launch, part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, involved a high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) firing a ATACMS missile from Dellamere rocket range 260km north-west into the Bradshaw field training are.
Head of Regiment Brigadier Damien Hill said the launch involved significant planning.
“It was 200 days of planning for seven minutes of flight that missile,” he said.
“That’s the kind of planning evolution that we took just to make sure it’s done safely.”
Osprey Crash Tragedy
One of the most shocking NT stories of the year, a US Osprey aircraft crash in the remote Tiwi Islands killed three Marines and injured 20 others.
The aircraft, carrying 23 people, crashed on Melville Island during training exercise Predators Run.
The incident placed Royal Darwin Hospital on Code Brown – the highest possible emergency alert level for a hospital – due to the sudden influx of patients suffering from a range of injuries.
One Marine was rushed into emergency surgery and four were treated for serious injuries while the remainder were triaged back to Darwin.
The exercise was suspended and dampened what was otherwise a successful trip by Marine Rotation Force – Darwin.
Robertson Barracks to be beefed up by Adelaide relocation
In September, Territorians learned what the region’s new military footprint would look like after the government announced the new ‘order of battle’.
The Department of Defence confirmed tanks, armoured vehicles and full-time infantry would relocate from RAAF Edinburgh, Adelaide, to Robertson Barracks, bolstering Darwin’s 1st Brigade.
However, the decision to base long-range missiles in South Australia drew the ire of some Defence observers who claimed the Territory was being left exposed.
“Once again Canberra has shown it’s prepared to sacrifice the million residents who live in Northern Australia for the 24 million that live in the south,” a former businessman with close ties to Defence told NT News.
“The Defence Strategic Review identified Northern Australia as the frontline but the heavy artillery required to defence that front line is located in southern Australia – the Commonwealth is saying Northern Australia’s open slather so long as southern Australia’s safe.”
RAAF Tindal locks-in new surveillance aircraft
RAAF Tindal was announced to be the beneficiary of a $1.5 billion federal fund to acquire new surveillance aircraft.
With a range of 15,000 kilometers, MQ-4C Triton drone systems would be delivered to the NT from 2024.
The fund would also go toward upgrading the Air Force’s P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft, improving the fleet’s anti-submarine warfare, maritime strike and intelligence collection capabilities.
Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said the aircraft would “enhance operations” from the Top End.
“The upgrades to the fleet of Poseidon aircraft (also) strengthens our ability to secure and protect Australia’s maritime interests,” he said.
“The investment in both these aircraft will deliver more jobs, capability and security for Australians.”
Bushmaster Roll
A vehicle carrying eight soldiers rolled over outside of Darwin and injured three Timorese soldiers.
It was understood a Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle was carrying the eight soldiers when it rolled near an intersection in Howards Springs.
Two of the personnel were initially taken to the intensive care unit at Royal Darwin Hospital but were later discharged.
CDU to help deliver AUKUS submarines
Darwin’s contribution to defence broadened in November when the government announced commonwealth-supported STEM courses were allocated to CDU to help grow a skilled- workforce in delivering the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines.
CDU was granted 110 places which would give students a pathway to deliver the fast-attack vessels.
CDU Vice-Chancellor Professor Scott Bowman said the institution was “thrilled”.
“Charles Darwin University has a strong connection with Defence and we are committed to providing more pathways for Territorians to pursue a unique career in a sector critical to the future of this country,” he said.
Acting PM welcomes home Darwin Diggers
Returning members of Operation Kudu were personally welcomed home by Acting PM Richard Marles and commended for their “professionalism”.
Mr Marles visited Robertson Barracks to thank members of Darwin 5th Battalion for their efforts in supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Mr Marles also took the opportunity to announce Operation Kudu had been extended and expanded for 2024.
“From the middle of January the next rotation will go to England to provide this training – it will be a larger contingent, which will engage in training junior non-commissioned officers and junior officers as well,” he said.
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Originally published as 2023 Defence year in review for Northern Territory
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