Combat engineers conduct training in the U.S. ahead of vehicles arriving in Townsville

A new fleet of combat engineering vehicles are set to arrive in Townsville early next year as sappers familiarise themselves with the machines in America. Read how they will enhance capability.

Australian Army soldier Sapper Conrad Davidson, from 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, speaks with a United States Army instructor on the Combat Engineer Heavy Track Course in Texas, United States of America.

Clearing a minefield or deploying a bridge will soon be as easy as pushing a button for Townsville sappers as they prepare for the arrival of close to 50 combat engineering vehicles.

Combat engineers from the 3rd Combat engineer regiment (3CER) have recently ventured to the United States to build up on their knowledge of assault breacher vehicles (ABVs) and joint assault bridges (JABs) ahead of their arrival at the 3rd Brigade in March.

Townsville will become home to 29 ABVs fitted out with dozer blades, mine rollers, and ploughs that can fire two rocket-propelled explosive line charges forward to clear an eight-metre-wide path through minefields.

Based on the M1 Abrams tank chassis, a fleet of 17 JABs will also be delivered providing increased wet or dry gap-crossing capabilities further supporting the 3rd Brigades transition to an armoured amphibious brigade.

Sapper Conrad Davidson is one of the 20 Townsville combat engineers learning how to operate the different attachments and driving the vehicles across challenging terrain in Missouri.

Australian Army soldiers from 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment and the School of Armour learn maintenance and operation of the Armoured Breaching Vehicle during the Combat Engineer Heavy Track Course in Missouri, United States of America. *** Local Caption *** SUPPLIED

He said that getting behind the wheel of a 72-tonne, 12-metre breaching machine was a great experience.

“The ABV is heavy and just very long; you can definitely whack down trees and cause a bit of collateral damage if you’re not careful,” Sapper Davidson said.

“The JAB is about Two-and-a-half tonnes lighter, a lot faster and zippier but very top heavy.”

Sapper Davidson said that the new vehicles will increase safety and survivability in the field.

“It minimises the need to go out on foot and breach manually with explosives,” he said.

“We can plough the ground after we’ve explosively and remotely breached a minefield. If there are any leftover mines, the plough is going to cop the brunt of the explosion, and we can keep pushing through.”

3CER is expected to receive the vehicles by mid-2025.

Originally published as Combat engineers conduct training in the U.S. ahead of vehicles arriving in Townsville