The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has deployed eleven warships out of Sydney Harbour to begin an intensive five-week war exercise at Jervis Bay.
The exercise is part of the fleet concentration period (FCP), an annual event designed to test and enhance the skills of navy as well as Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) personnel stretching from Southern New South Wales to Queensland.
The FCP 10 will also strengthen defence relationships and improve interoperability with the Royal New Zealand Navy as its giant multirole ship HMNZS Canterbury is also playing a key part in the exercise.
Exercise FCP 10 will include anti-surface warfare serials, surface gunnery against towed targets and naval gunfire support against shore batteries.
The exercise will then progress to more complex scenarios and the task group will head north to the coast off Newcastle for comprehensive anti-air warfare manoeuvres against RAAF Hawk aircraft.
In addition, simulated mine clearance operations, utilising advanced technological equipment and navy divers, will also be included in the exercise at Jervis Bay.
At the same time, an amphibious ship, clearance divers and an army combat team will conduct in-depth training within Queensland’s Shoalwater Bay Training Area, culminating in an amphibious landing of soldiers from the 3rd Brigade (3 Bde).
