iscover
Opinion: It is widely accepted that in both world wars, majority of combat casualties were caused by artillery. Late in World War II, artillery was so decisive on the Eastern Front that Stalin remarked it was the “God of War”. Now Todd Newett, former Reservist, is asking: is it time for the Australian Army Reserve to be re-equipped with modern artillery?
By the time I served in the Australian Defence Force in the mid-2000s, at the height of the Global War on Terror, one could be forgiven for thinking that traditional artillery was obsolescent. The conflicts Australia participated in at the time were either counter-insurgency or peacekeeping operations. For the former, coalition air supremacy was assumed and fire support, which required anything heavier than mortars, was generally provided via air support. For the latter, fire support heavier than mortars was not usually required.
As time went by, the Australian Army’s force structure came to reflect types of conflicts it was fighting. Announced in 2011, Plan Beersheba significantly re-rolled and restructured the Army Reserve over the 2010s. The main role of the Reserves became for pairs of reserve brigades to be able to provide a battalion-sized force to reinforce and operate alongside regular forces when required. With this in mind, reserve artillery units were converted from 105mm artillery to mortars able to provide battalion-level fire support.
The unfortunate return of conventional peer-to-peer conflict in recent years, exemplified by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, has underscored the continuing importance of conventional artillery. In this context, the National Defence: Defence Strategic Review 2023 stated: “Enhanced domestic security and response Army Reserve brigades will be required to provide area security to the northern base network and other critical infrastructure, as well as providing an expansion base and follow-on forces.”
At the dawn of 2025, the Australian Army Reserve remains woefully underequipped to fulfil even this second-line domestic security role, as the Army Reserve brigades lack any brigade-level fire support systems. Army Reserve artillery units are currently equipped with the M252A1 81mm mortar which is a battalion-level resource with limited range and firepower that is unlikely to be able to provide sufficient fire-support to a deployed brigade.
Since the release of the Defence Strategic Review, there has been very little discussion of how the Australian government plans to “enhance” Army Reserve brigades for their new role. The recently released Strategic Review of the Australian Defence Force Reserves, does not consider this matter beyond a mention of creating detachments of reservist High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) operators.
However, the idea of equipping actual reserve units with HIMARS systems would be prohibitively expensive and unnecessary.
Purchasing additional M777 howitzers is also likely to be too expensive for the Australian government to consider equipping reserve artillery units with, particularly when the logistical requirements of these guns are taken into account.
A good middle-ground between mortars and 155mm artillery would be re-equipping reserve artillery units with 105mm artillery pieces. Depending on the round used, the range of 105mm guns is about three times that of 81mm mortars, meaning they can provide support to infantry battalions operating over a much longer distance or wider front.
While 105mm guns are no longer in production, the US and the UK still operate the M119 and L118, respectively, and may be willing to part with enough to equip our reserve artillery units. The US, in particular, is in the process of replacing some of its M119 howitzers (although some of those are going to Ukraine – where they are reported to be performing well, particularly in comparison to Soviet artillery systems). If this purchase is possible, it is likely to be considerably faster and cheaper than ordering new artillery systems of a higher calibre.
In addition to providing the Army Reserve with a more adequate fire support capability, the reintroduction of 105mm systems will improve the Australian Army’s littoral capabilities. The M119/L118 is approximately half the weight of the M777 used by regular army artillery units, meaning 105mm guns are much more air portable, as well as being more easily transported in landing craft.
The lighter weight, increased portability and reduced logistical train compared to the M777 would continue to have its advantages ashore on the islands to Australia’s north, which are often mountainous and dominated by jungle, with limited infrastructure. An Australian Army conducting littoral operations might prefer to be supported by M119/L118-equipped artillery units rather than the M777 for these reasons.
The reintroduction of 105mm artillery systems into the Australian Army Reserve would provide reserve brigades with a cost-effective critical fire support capability and help enable them to fulfil their domestic security duties. A 105mm artillery capability is also likely to enhance the Australian Army’s ability to conduct littoral operations. The Australian government should investigate the potential to buy M119s or L118s from the US and the UK (or other current operators) in order to provide the Army Reserve with this capability in the near to medium term.
Todd Newett is an economist and public policy manager. He was previously a Reservist.
