majalah militer

The expert skills of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) elite mine warfare and clearance diving units is being tested in waters in and around Jervis Bay and Broken Bay on the New South Wales Coast as part of Exercise Mulgogger.

Exercise Mulgogger will be conducted by four Huon Class Mine Hunters, HMA Ships Diamantina, Norman, and Yarra as well as Mine Sweeper Auxiliary vessels Bandicoot and Wallaroo.

The two-week exercise is designed to challenge and enhance the RAN’s mine clearance and countermeasure capabilities. In the exercise scenario, mock enemy mines will be laid by a fictitious enemy to prevent safe passage of shipping, thereby seriously disrupting Australia’s Sea Lines of Communication. RAN units will neutralise the mine threat through a series of realistic mine hunting, minesweeping and clearance diving exercises.

“Training exercises such as Exercise Mulgogger are a great opportunity for our people to maintain core mine countermeasure skills and ensure our forces are prepared to protect Australia and its interests,” Commander Australian Mine Warfare and Clearance Diving Task Group, Commander Dean Schopen, said.

“Mulgogger also allows our mine warfare and clearance diving branch to display their expertise as a highly capable combined and integrated force.”

Exercise Mulgogger is an integral part of the RAN’s wider annual Fleet Concentration Period (FCP-09), an extensive six-week training activity that aims to reconstitute the mariner and war fighting skills of all RAN Fleet units. FCP-09 is part of ongoing Australian Defence Force (ADF) efforts to improve ADF capability, to protect Australia and its interests. (mediacentre)