![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2-small-1.jpg-1.jpg\")
The first Hanwha AS9 Huntsman self-propelled howitzer (SPH) has arrived in Townsville, and due next year are Hanwha AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles. Then, Rheinmetall\u2019s Boxer 8×8 combat reconnaissance vehicle will start replacing the long-serving ASLAV in 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McLennan added, \u201cOur stock of M88A2 recovery vehicles has tripled over the two years that I\u2019ve been here, and our armored logistics battalion increases by a subunit at the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is not just heavy armor that is snowballing either, for the brigade is adopting greater numbers of aerial drones for logistics, surveillance and attack. The commander revealed that unmanned ground vehicles will arrive soon too, including variants that can enter minefields dragging a tube full of explosives to clear paths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All these new weapon systems require rearming too. McLennan spoke of the need for resilient logistics units \u201cto move the heavy natures of ammunition and the increasing types of ammunition: 30mm, Spike LR, different types of 155mm, a whole lot more 12.7mm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He pointed out the brigade\u2019s heavy-duty expansion \u201cwill take us from about 30 pallets of ammunition a day to 105 when we factoring us conducting high-intensity combat as a brigade with all our equipment. So it\u2019s a significant transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Artillery advances<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The brigade\u2019s 4th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery is trading in its M777A2 towed howitzers for the AS9 Huntsman. The first 155mm SPH reached 106 Battery in late May, and the unit will eventually have a full allotment of six AS9s plus three AS10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The regiment\u2019s two other batteries will be identically equipped by the end of 2027. Significantly, the 4th Regiment is moving from four M777A2s per battery to six AS9s, with McLennan claiming the new structure and platforms \u201cincrease our capability, our firepower, our mobility, our protection by at least 300%.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maj. Fergus Robinson, commander of 106 Battery, highlighted: \u201cOne of the biggest challenges for soldiers will be vehicle husbandry \u2013 this is your vehicle, this is your home and you\u2019re responsible for it. Their ability to maintain the vehicle, as well as the weapon system, is extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the hulking size of the 48-ton AS9s and their supporting AS10s, the 4th Regiment will receive M88A2 Hercules recovery vehicles for the first time. \u201cThat will be something where we need to practice and develop our own skills to get it to a mature point, where we\u2019re confident we can do this under night, under fire, under contact,\u201d Maj. Robinson admitted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Base infrastructure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
All this expansion in capability requires new infrastructure, with McLennan discussing a transformation at the brigade\u2019s home turf of Lavarack Barracks in Townsville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll have opened by the end of the year probably the best common user facility, certainly in the Southern Hemisphere and perhaps the most modern in the world, that services all these fleets with light- and medium-grade repair.\u201d That infrastructure work continues over the next couple of years as new equipment pours in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an example, the artillery regiment opened a new maintenance hangar in May. This features a 10-tonne gantry crane that permits vehicle power pack changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McLennan added: \u201cConcurrently, additional range facilities are being built up at the Townsville Field Training Area to enable the armored brigade to achieve its mission-essential task lists in training year on, year on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Greater lethality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
While some army units around the world are seeking to become lighter and more mobile, the opposite is true of Australia\u2019s 3rd Brigade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As McLennan explained to Defense News: \u201cThe fact is that the combined-arms fighting system \u2013 not just tanks, but armored engineering vehicles, self-propelled artillery \u2013 are just as relevant, if not more relevant, than ever. They\u2019re adapting to the threat and also the technologies that can help them reach a level of potential that we previously couldn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said \u201cwe\u2019re very, very focused\u201d on this transformation, and \u201cwe\u2019re drawing lessons from others who are doing it for real routinely.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As well as transforming the 3rd Brigade, the Australian Army is simultaneously raising a Littoral Maneuver Group, maturing its 10th Brigade equipped with HIMARS and NASAM, and inducting the AH-64E Apache helicopter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The formation is expected to burn through 300,000 liters of diesel per day during high-intensity operations, compared with 40,000 liters previously.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":120763,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[45,160,11,14,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-72929","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-land","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"536R7J3PE5CHHHCHANUEQL626A","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2026\/06\/29\/as-one-australian-army-brigade-bulks-up-with-armor-its-fuel-and-ammo-needs-spike\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n