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Super Garuda Shield has come to a close mid-September, with 125 Australian personnel deployed to support the exercise.
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The largest ever Exercise Super Garuda Shield has come to a close, with over 5,000 military personnel from seven nations taking part in the event.
Personnel from Australia, France, Japan, Singapore, and the UK joined the US and Indonesia for the exercise. Twelve nations also sent observers.
Australia deployed 125 Army personnel including a troop of M1A1 Abrams tanks and support vehicles, an SAS team, and an infantry platoon from the Royal South Australia Regiment.
Defence confirmed that the exercise included a subject matter expert exchange, combined arms field training, amphibious operations, and a special operations military free fall jump.
The exercise honed the participants’ ability to deploy forces in the Indo-Pacific, Commander of the Australian Army’s 1st (Australian) Division, Major General Scott Winter, AM, said.
“Super Garuda Shield is what success looks like in terms of regional engagement and overseas training for our Army.
“It also demonstrated our ability to meet the most demanding land challenges in the future and to effectively deploy significant land forces, including armour, across the Indo Pacific region.
“I’ve had a lot of good days in the Army, probably none so proud as seeing Australian tanks alongside their Indonesian counterparts here in East Java.”
Exercise Super Garuda Shield wrapped up with a multinational live fire exercise from F-16, AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk, AH-1 Super Cobra aircraft, as well as 105mm artillery, HIMARS, and tanks.
Exercise Garuda Shield came amid deepening defence ties between Australia and Indonesia.
In August, the Australian and Indonesian Air Forces conducted their first aerial refuelling.
A RAAF KC-30A multi-role tanker transport refuelled seven F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft of the Indonesian Air Force during 60 flying sorties within Indonesian airspace from 6 to 12 August.
Aircraft fly in tight formation at around 650km/h while a No. 33 Squadron KC-30A extends a 19-metre advanced refuelling boom system during air-to-air refuelling.
Commanding Officer of No. 33 Squadron Wing Commander Neil Bowen said the successful training facilitated closer and more strategic engagement between the nations.
“This training ensures both countries are contributing to the collective security in the Indo-Pacific,” WGCDR Bowen said.
“It allows the Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara to be more agile and combat-ready when supporting any contingency missions and provides RAAF aviators continued experience in conducting highly skilled refuelling operations in a new environment.
“Airborne refuelling is a challenge; it is a fast injection of flammable jet fuel from a tanker aircraft into a receiving aircraft, which will extend flying endurance.
“It is a vital force multiplier for air operations, allowing aircraft to cross greater distances and remain within the battlespace for longer without the need to land.”
The day and night flying exercise required 60 sorties and up to 189 boom contacts between the KC-30A and the F-16 Fighting Falcons over five days.
