the Australian Army's neglect of ground-based air defence has been nothing short of just that - neglect!!😡
But where has been the threat?
A good overview of Land 19 Phase 7B may be found here
As much as there appears to be no-perceived threat Greg, this notion seems to be more of a convince to the powers that be within the ADF, than that of a sensible inclusion to the ADF's ORBAT. The region has proliferated since the late 1980's in terms of weapons platforms and capabilities. Our involvement in overseas operations has exposed us to air and missile attack; the fact they haven't eventuated has just as much to do with luck than calculation, to say nothing of a complete and utter reliance on the U.S. for such defence. Greg, I'm not talking about air defence systems the likes of Patriot systems, but cheap, simple and effective short-range/Point-Defence systems just like that of Blazer (LAV-AD) and or Iron Dome, to give defence against the likes of precision-guided weapons, mortar's, MRL's, to say nothing of combat helicopter threat, etc... I think it was and is ironic that the ADF delibratly dragged it's feet - no, I'll go as far as saying neglected ground-based air defence of its army formations, emphasised by phasing out and not replacing the Rapier SAM system. The RBS-70's 16th Regiment has are far to limited in capability and numbers to be effective.
With much irony, that only now, with the growing peer and near-peer state adversaries within our perceived region, the ADF is finally looking at initiating
Land 19 Phase 7B. But like all ADF programs, I won't hold my breath until I see one of the candidates of
Land 19 Phase 7B in the actual ADF ORBAT.
P.S. as a side note, I don't think one should not overlook the value of a 'Blazer' like system in the ground fire-support role, if it was needed in battle, something Western armies seemingly are happy to have forgotten, but not so much the case in the East.
Cheers Greg 😉
M.A.D
