NZ soldiers leave for Southern Hemisphere's leading military exercise
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
New Zealand soldiers are leaving for the Southern Hemisphere's leading military exercise, the first since the government announced ramped up defence spending.
The 35,000-strong exercise Talisman Sabre is a bilateral Australia and US military exercise with 17 other nations taking part.
The Defence Force is sending about 700 personnel to northern Australia.
Ahead of new defence funding
the NZDF is taking some light armoured vehicles over 20 years old, which are likely vulnerable to the latest killer drones.
Meanwhile, the Australians will be field-testing an uncrewed machine-gun double-track, and the Americans will be shooting precision missiles and deploying space-age data networks.
Talisman Sabre aligns with US efforts to build a vast network of sensors and shooters across the Indo-Pacific, called Combined Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (CJADC2).
The Defence Force said a key goal is to be able to integrate its capabilities into Australian and US command relationships.
The objective was to prepare, project and exercise NZDF capabilities integrated into the Australian Defence Force (ADF) and INDOPACOM - America's largest military command in the Indo-Pacific. That included command and control (C2) elements.
INDOPACOM has recently deployed precision missiles that can be fired from land against naval targets, in the Philippines near a strategic chokepoint south of Taiwan.
Talisman Sabre has become a testing ground for new missiles and drones. Australia is poised to co-produce missiles for the US, and Defence Minister Judith Collins has said New Zealand would get missiles, though Budget 2025 had no funding for that.
Defence consultant and NZDF veteran Josh Wineera said Talisman Sabre was uniquely large Down Under and allowed the partners real-world "benchmarking of tactics and capabilities".
"It will be really interesting to see whether the capabilities intended to be purchased still fit neatly into what the Australians are doing because that's what the Defence Capability Plan is about," he said.
However, the partner countries were confronted with US networking goals aiming to step up warfighting to "fibreoptic" speed.
"Because of this being automated, and it's in the information space where decisions and sensors are acting so quickly, this will be a real challenge, I think, for those decision-making levels to make sure that sovereignty is not being compromised," said Wineera.
File photo. New Zealand Defence Force Bushmaster vehicles.
Photo:
RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The first 150 New Zealand military personnel leave on Thursday for the exercise which rins from 13 July to 4 August.
They are taking several new Bushmasters, but also some Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs) that in 2003 were given a 25-year lifespan, and were yet to be revived under the $12 billion defence capability plan with new turrets and networked comms.
The military exercise is also drawing in AI companies, such as Virginia's billion-dollar BigBear.ai that said it was going along to "help military forces act faster by updating AI models in real-time, improving coordination between sensors and shooters".
The Australian military said the exercise was to build combined joint warfighting capabilities.
At Talisman 2023, the Australians tested their field drone, ironically called an armoured "personnel" carrier, the M113AS4.
The carrier runs autonomously but requires a human to aim and shoot its gun. It is expected to feature again this time in experiments majoring in human-machine-integration, or HMI as the Pentagon has dubbed it.
All sorts of drones, but especially aerial ones, have dominated Ukraine's war with Russia since 2022.
The exercise in northern Australia is the biggest ever, and the stakes are higher than ever, too.
The
Pentagon states that Talisman
"reflects US, allies' commitment to Indo-Pacific". This is at a time when the Trump Administration's relations with Europe's NATO members are under huge strain, and US commanders have repeatedly stressed fears of a growing conventional and nuclear threat from China.
America sees itself in a race to bring advanced technology, and its allies, on board its evolving battlefield network, though even before Trump began his second term, some lawmakers expressed concern the Pentagon had bitten off more than it can chew with the scale of CJADC2.
"We seek to network our efforts across domains, theatres, and the spectrum of conflict to ensure that the US military, in close cooperation with the rest of the US government and our Allies and partners, makes the folly and costs of aggression very clear," Joe Biden's Deputy Secretary of Defence Dr Kathleen Hicks
in 2022
.
Joint exercises like Talisman Sabre tap into US$2 billion annual funding from within US$17 billion 'Pacific Deterrence Initiative'.
The NZDF is already active in two cornerstone Combined Joint All-Domain Command-and-Control (CJADC2) efforts - the US Army's Project Convergence Capstone, and the US Navy's Project Overmatch, which NZ signed on to in February. The government said it was usual to sign on like this, unannounced to the public.
Several dozen New Zealand personnel went to Convergence's annual exercise in March in the Mojave Desert, looking to identify "potential experimentation", newly released OIA documents showed.
The records mentioned experiments with targeting sensors and electromagnetic warfare, and ensuring NZ Army software could "effectively interface" with partners. Two capability demonstrations had "particular relevance" to NZDF - but these were blanked out.
Wineera said Project Convergence and Talisman Sabre gave insight about autonomy of decision-making.
"Some of our legal staff need to be thinking about all of that flow that's happening at the same time, to ensure that our New Zealand contribution sticks within what would be our national rules of engagement."
The Project Convergence records also showed the NZDF was so strapped for resources there was talk of having to pull out, but that then it would the miss out as it did not have these capabilities itself.
The technology at hand includes, for example, Maven, a software system from Palantir that in recent US Army tests was 100 times faster than the most efficient targeting team in the Iraq war.
One US unit working with this, known as Shadow Operations Centre, is linked to the NZDF. "We are partnering with Australia and New Zealand Battle Labs to connect" to the Combined Federated Battle Laboratories Network in 2025, Shadow Operations Centre said last year.
File photo. A New Zealand Defence Force LAV driving through the bush.
Photo:
NZDF
Resources for more exercises like Talisman Sabre are on their way.
Budget 2025 made millions more available for them, alongside millions more for advanced technology or upgrading old tech though there was no mention in it of new turrets for the LAVs.
Some amounts were not specified, but $80m over four years was set aside for overseas deployments, $11m for interoperability and $8m for increasing engagement with security partners overseas.
"It can be expected that as new capabilities prioritised in the DCP are released in time, these would be incorporated into future iterations of Talisman Sabre as our contribution to this important multinational, multi-domain exercise grows," the NZDF said in a statement.
As for taking the LAVS along, "regardless of future programmes the LAVs are still a key combat vehicle for the NZ Army and form a crucial part of the NZ Army's current combat system", it said.
Twenty of the LAVs were sold to Chile for just under $1 million each two years ago.
A recent
online discussion of the LAVs
said they had some limited uses but were very vulnerable to the type of drones now common in the Ukraine-Russia war, including one that can hit 110kmh and destroy a tank.
Six Bushmasters heading to Talisman Sabre have had their comms upgrade completed, Defence said.
The project to upgrade all 43 Bushmasters has been delayed, and Budget 2025 signalled operational savings of $13m from "rephasing" the project.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
39 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Formula E, FIA poised for long-term contract extension
New Zealand Formula E drivers Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. Photo: Paulo Maria / AFP Formula E is poised to extend an exclusive deal with motorsport's world governing body that will ensure it remains the only all-electric racing series sanctioned by the FIA for decades to come. Majority owned since last year by telecoms company Liberty Global, Formula E began in 2014 with a 25-year licence. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem let slip to reporters during last weekend's British Formula One Grand Prix that an extension to the Formula E contract was done and "would come up soon". Before the season's penultimate round in Berlin, Formula E chief executive Jeff Dodds told Reuters on Friday there was nothing official, but to expect various announcements at the London season-ender this month. Formula One will start a new engine era next year, with a 50/50 split between combustion and electric, but Ben Sulayem has said the Liberty Media-owned sport could go back to noisy V8 engines by 2029. "If they [F1] choose to keep using it [the 2026 engine], we'll choose to keep talking about the fact that they like the [electric] technology so much, they integrate it into their race cars," Dodds said. "If they choose to go back to V8s, then we would absolutely leverage the fact that we would then be the only electric championship and everything that that means." Formula E will likely be reduced from 11 to 10 teams next season, after the withdrawal of Formula One champions McLaren to focus on endurance racing. McLaren had sought a new owner for the team, but Dodds said the timeframe was too tight for interested parties and it would revert to Formula E, barring a late twist. "As it stand, unless something changes - and I never say never in Formula E or motorsport - their last race would be London," he added. "The team slot would vacate, which means the licence would revert to us, and then we have a lot of other interest in joining the championship. "The chance of somebody joining for one year of Gen3 is unlikely, but the chance of somebody coming in and starting to develop with a future coming in for Gen4 is much more likely." Formula E will be in the last year of its Gen3 era next season, with the more powerful and faster Gen4 car then coming in for 2026/27. Nissan's British driver Oliver Rowland can clinch the 2024/25 championship in the Berlin doubleheader this weekend and would be the series' 10th different champion in 11 seasons. New Zealand's Nick Cassidy is currently eighth in the championship standings, while fellow Kiwi Mitch Evans is 18th. Both drivers are in the Jaguar TCS Racing Team. - Reuters
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
No need for bill protecting campus free speech, unis and legal experts say
Paul Rishworth KC says academic freedom is already protected in the Education Act, and the Bill of Rights protects free speech. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson Universities and legal experts say there is no need for a bill protecting free speech on campus . But the legislation's supporters say universities can't be trusted to uphold freedom of expression. Parliament's Education and Workforce Select Committee has been hearing submissions on the Education and Training Amendment Bill (No. 2). If passed, it would require universities to develop a freedom of expression statement and complaints procedure, and report annually on it. The Law Society told the committee the bill created "needless complexity" because freedom of expression was already protected by law. Paul Rishworth KC said freedom of expression was of the utmost importance, but the bill was not necessary. He said academic freedom was already protected in the Education Act and the Bill of Rights protected free speech. "So, to add in to the Education Act a requirement that there be a statement on freedom of expression, introduces a needless complexity," he said. University staff warned the bill would force universities to host speakers spreading misinformation and hate speech. Tertiary Education Union co-president Julie Douglas told the committee there was a lack of evidence that universities were limiting free speech. "What we have now is a functioning model which does not need this level of monitoring," she said. Douglas said universities were special places but were being undermined "with a disregard for science, with a disregard for evidence , with a disregard for expert opinion". "I fear that this sort of move by the government with this sort of clause is meddling in a place where it's just not required," she said. University of Otago vice-chancellor Grant Robertson and Universities New Zealand chief executive Chris Whelan appeared before the committee together. They said the law was unnecessary, but if it was to go ahead universities wanted to reduce the associated compliance requirements. "We don't think it's either necessary nor a proportionate response to the issues that are there," Robertson said. Whelan said a similar complaints system in the UK had been "weaponised". New Zealand Initiative senior fellow Dr James Kierstead said staff and student surveys and 21 separate cases proved that universities were not protecting freedom of expression. Kierstead said the problem included staff fearful of losing their jobs if they voiced unpopular opinions and speakers refused the right to appear on campus. "It suggests that university senior management cannot be relied upon to uphold their obligations to academic freedom. If we have plentiful evidence that ordinary academics and students feel stifled and no evidence that senior management is going to solve the problem, then legislation is the only solution." Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling said the organisation was sad the legislation was needed. Free Speech Union chief executive Jonathan Ayling. Photo: VNP / Phil Smith He said students could cope with hearing challenging ideas and opinions. "We should not let a small group of students use their vulnerability... and work with university managers to stop other students hearing views that they think are dangerous," he said. "Free debate, free and open to ideas is part of being an academic, it is part of being a student and universities need to allow that." Canterbury University biological sciences professor Tammy Steeves told the committee should not be required to host any event or speaker . She said academics could judge whether ideas were robust and evidence-based. Otago University law professor Andrew Geddis said the legislation was likely to backfire. "It will actually make it worse for free speech on campus, it will politicise it, it will mean that opposing speech on campus will become a political act because it will be seen as opposing the government and I think it will be bad." Geddis said he was on a committee that drew up the university's free speech statement and statement of institutional neutrality. He said translating those statements into legal requirements would be a mistake. "I don't think actually it's the role of government to be trying to impose views on how universities as institutions ought to work. I think that's a dangerous imposition into the autonomy of them as institutions." Geddis said maintaining a culture of free speech would be more effective than making laws. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
4 hours ago
- RNZ News
Hospitality, accommodation providers welcome rugby, football fans
The All Blacks, Black Ferns and Wellington Phoenix are doing their bit to help the capital's hospitality sector during a tough winter of trading. Photo: Jack Grant/ActionPress Wellington's hospitality sector is welcoming today's sold-out Black Ferns and All Blacks double-header, in the midst of an extremely quiet winter that some say is the worst since the pandemic. Both the rugby and next weekend's Wellington Phoenix versus Wrexham AFC football fixture were "driving strong bookings across the city", said Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage, with the capital's venues gearing up for some of their busiest days of the season. Winter had been a "mixed bag for many" in the capital he added, and the sector was "looking forward to seeing Wellington's bars, restaurants and cafes buzzing this weekend" as major events bring people into the city. A Wellington hotelier said an uptick in bookings driven by the rugby were a "welcome change". Local Hospitality NZ branch president Manjit Singh, also the general manager of Quest on Johnston, said accomodation providers' revenue was probably down by more than 40 percent on 2023, and 55 percent down on the pre-pandemic years. "Winter has been pretty hard to be honest. There's been hardly any events. Travel in the corporate and the government sector has been very minimal, especially the government sector. "So it's been fairly slim pickings, low average occupancy, extremely low rates - an average rate in the heart of the city at the moment is about, you know, $120 to $150. "So we've been seeing lower occupancy and much lower average room rates as well." US actors and Wrexham owners Rob McElhenney, left, and Ryan Reynolds celebrate after their team won through to the English Football League after beating Boreham Wood, on 22 April, 2023. Photo: AFP This weekend was markedly different however, she said, although overall rates were still down by a third. "We're seeing strong bookings, increased room rates and that electric energy that only comes with major events. After a long time, the Quest on Johnston is full tonight and tomorrow and there has been an increase in rates. I'm hearing that from a lot of our members as well." Armitage said tonight's tests and next Saturday's football were the kind of drawcard events that Wellington needed. "[They] are a real boost for the sector and show just how important a solid events calendar is to Wellington's economic and social vibrancy. "It's always great to have something that encourages people to head out, catch up with friends, and support local." Singh agreed, but said more drawcard events were needed. "Ideally, we need to have them one after the other so we can continue to keep that momentum building." She said the rugby was good for the sector's bottom line and a much-needed morale boost for workers, with hospitality in an "existing and surviving" mode. "You need the energy of weekends like this and then we can feel that, yes, we're part of something that's greater and it's buzzing. It feels good to be a part of that." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
