The team sighted the systems that were fitted on small arms for the amphibious battle group. It allowed soldiers to fire lasers and for their accuracy and effect to be measured on sensors worn by the other troops.

Operations logistics manager for Cubic Defence Australia Ben Ouwinga said the systems gave an overarching and real-time view of command and control, as well as force-on-force engagement.

"We also have the ability to instrument 58 high-fidelity vehicle kits, ranging from an M1 Abrams tank to ASLAVs [light armoured vehicles] to M113s [armoured personnel carriers] for full shoot-and-be-shot engagement capabilities," Ouwinga said.

Every four seconds, a ping tracked everything from ground speeds to engagements, which was relayed back to an exercise command centre where a team of analysis experts captured and recorded all the events.

"For Talisman Sabre, that means Forces Command can see how the forces are working together because we can give them a holistic analysis. We are able to capture and identify mission-essential tasks stipulated by each of the training organisations of what it is that they want to achieve," Ouwinga added.

Cubic liaison officer Major Pat McErlean, of the Combat Training Centre, said Defence had a long relationship with the company.

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"This is a very important part of Talisman Sabre because it allows Army to understand the mechanics of the manoeuvres as they unfold in a real-time environment. My understanding is that Cubic are at the forefront of this technology, which is only getting better and better," MAJ McErlean said.

 TS19 is a bilateral combined Australian and US training activity. It is designed to practice respective military services and associated agencies in planning and conducting Combined and Joint Task Force operations, and improve the combat readiness and interoperability between Australian and US forces.

Occurring every two years, Talisman Sabre is a major exercise reflecting the closeness of the alliance and strength of the enduring military relationship. TS19 is the eighth iteration of the exercise and consists of a Field Training Exercise incorporating force preparation (logistic) activities, amphibious landings, land force manoeuvre, urban operations, air operations, maritime operations and Special Forces activities.

Stephen Kuper

Steve has an extensive career across government, defence industry and advocacy, having previously worked for cabinet ministers at both Federal and State levels.