Over 125 personnel from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) will take part in Exercise Super Garuda Shield 2023 in September, at the invitation of the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI).
Exercise Super Garuda Shield is a TNI and United States Indo-Pacific Command led bilateral training activity in and around East Java from 31 August to 13 September.
The Australian Army is contributing a troop of M1A1 Abrams tanks from the 1st Armoured Regiment, an infantry platoon from the 10th/27th Battalion, Royal South Australian Regiment, command and control elements, and a range of armoured vehicles, trucks and recovery vehicles.
This will be the first time heavy armoured vehicles have left Australian shores since the Vietnam War.
The tanks were transported from their base in Adelaide to Darwin Port and loaded onto US Army watercraft bound for Surabaya in Indonesia last week.
This exercise provides training and rehearses the ADF’s ability to collaborate with partner nations to effectively deploy significant land forces, including armour, across the Indo-Pacific region.