The main similarity between Australia and New Zealand is that their main defense is remoteness. Potential aggressors are simply too lazy to get into such a wilderness.
Australia traditionally demonstrates the maximum loyalty to the United States, participating, unlike most NATO countries, in all American wars. Its geographic location allows it to have a relatively small army, which, at the same time, is distinguished by good technical equipment and a high level of combat training. Although American F-18s were supplied to Australia in a ground version, they can be used from American aircraft carriers. This was demonstrated during the second Iraqi war. The country has a balanced ocean-going fleet, the only weakness of which is the absence of aircraft carriers. Their partial replacement should be a Spanish-built Canberra-type UDC. It is planned to purchase new submarines and frigates equipped with SLCMs. The almost complete identity of the technology makes it easier to fit the Australian Armed Forces into the Pentagon's operations than in the case of any other country, even Great Britain.
Battlefield with claims
The ground forces have a rather complex organizational structure. The 1st Division has no combat units. This is a headquarters superstructure in case of war. At hour H, brigades from the combat command will be transferred to the division.
The combat command includes all combat and reserve units. The combat units are the 1st Mechanized Brigade (headquarters - Darwin), 3rd Light Infantry Brigade (Townsville), 6th Reconnaissance and Command Brigade (Sydney), 7th Motorized Infantry Brigade (Brisbane), 16th Army Aviation Brigade (Brisbane), 17th Combat Support Brigade (Sydney). The combat command also includes the 2nd Division (headquarters - Sydney) with reserve brigades: 4th (Victoria), 5th and 8th (New South Wales), 9th (southern Australia and Tasmania), 11 I (Queensland), 13th (Western Australia). The command of special operations includes two special forces regiments, two commando battalions.
The tank fleet consists of 59 M1A1 Abrams transferred from the US Army. There are up to 186 armored personnel carriers ASLAV and up to 90 auxiliary vehicles on this base, 767 armored personnel carriers M113, 1021 armored car "Bushmaster" of its own production.
Artillery - 190 towed guns (54 М777, 35 М198, 101 L118) and 185 mortars F2. All ground air defense consists of 19 Swedish RBS-70 MANPADS. Army aviation - 22 newest German-French combat Tigers and 120 transport helicopters (11 CH-47, 32 NH90TTH, 35 S-70A, 42 Bell-206B-1).
In the Australian Air Force, combat aircraft of the same type - American carrier-based F / A-18 "Hornet" in the amount of 95 machines (55 A, 16 B, 24 newest F). Plus 2 aircraft electronic warfare EA-18G based on F / A-18. It is planned to purchase up to 100 F-35A fighters in the United States. Two have already been manufactured and are being tested in the United States. Anti-submarine aviation includes 14 AR-3S and 1 R-8A aircraft. There are 7 E-7A (Boeing-737) AWACS aircraft, 6 KS-30 tankers based on A-330. Transport workers: 2 Boeing-737, 8 С-17, 3 CL-604, 12 С-130J, 16 King Air 350, 1 Beach-200, 1 Beach-1900, 8 С-27J. Training aircraft: 34 English Hawk Mk127, 63 Swiss RS-9 and 8 RS-21. There are 5 S-76 rescue helicopters.
The country's navy includes 6 Collins-class submarines, 1 Hobart destroyer (2 more are under construction), 11 frigates (8 Anzac, 3 Adelaide - similar to the American Oliver Perry), 13 Armidale patrol boats, 6 minesweepers "Huon", 2 UDC "Canberra", 1 DTD "Choles" (English "Bay"). Naval aviation - 54 anti-submarine (15 NH-90NFH, 15 S-70V, 24 MH-60R) and 25 multipurpose helicopters (6 AS350BA, 4 Bell-429, 15 EC135).
The potential of the Australian Armed Forces is more than sufficient for defense and for participation in American military campaigns. Going forward, the country could become a battleground between the United States and China. The PRC is extremely interested in the development of Australia, which in some respects is very similar to Russia: a huge, almost empty territory and a mass of minerals. Chinese economic and demographic expansion into Australia is extremely intense, which the United States does in every possible way. It is impossible to predict whether it will come to a military confrontation.
Australia recently decided to establish itself in the international arms market, promising to take a place in the top ten exporters ("The country of kangaroos wanted to flex their muscles").
Ship for the whole army
Due to its geographic location, New Zealand has never been threatened by invasion. Even in the first half of 1942, at the moment of the maximum advance of the Japanese to the south, they had no real possibility of aggression. The population is very small, and accordingly the aircraft are compact, which are mainly of an expeditionary nature. Part of the Western and Anglo-Saxon world, like Australia, the country participates in some NATO and US operations, although it is understandable that its contribution is modest.
The ground forces include the 1st brigade, 1st spetsnaz regiment, and training units. In service with 102 NZLAV-25 armored personnel carriers, 24 L-118 guns, 50 mortars, 24 Javelin ATGMs, 12 Mistral MANPADS. The Air Force is armed with 6 anti-submarine R-3K, 7 transport (2 Boeing-757-200, 5 C-130H) and 15 training aircraft (4 Beach-200 King Air, 11 T-6S), as well as 23 helicopter (8 anti-submarine SH-2G, 5 multipurpose AW109, 1 Bell 47, 9 NH-90). The country's navy has 2 Anzac-class frigates, 6 patrol ships with purely symbolic weapons (2 Otago, 4 Rotoichi) and 1 Canterbury UDC. The latter personifies the expeditionary nature of the Armed Forces of New Zealand, since it can take on board a significant part of their personnel and equipment.
The New Zealand Armed Forces fully meet their symbolic and expeditionary mission. Of course, they are unable to protect the country from external aggression, but its probability in the foreseeable future is zero.
