A group pf soldiers driving a vehicle.
Photo: Royal Navy
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Royal Marines deployed more than 400 miles into the outback of Australia’s Northern Territory as they spearheaded allied forces taking part in a major show of strength in the Indo-Pacific.
More than 400 UK Commandos have been deployed for the last six weeks near Darwin for military drills alongside hosts Australia, the United States and the Philippines – aimed at increasing their ability to fight and win together.
Operating ‘deep behind enemy lines’, the Commandos worked ahead of the main forces in small teams along the vast Indian Ocean coastline and bushland of the Northern Territory, carrying out carefully planned raids on critical infrastructure to pave the way for allies to hit adversary strongpoints alongside 1 Brigade of the Australian Army.
The Commandos deployed under the cover of darkness by helicopter and raiding craft from the coast, where support ships RFA Argus and RFA Lyme Bay have been operating as part of a Royal Navy task force – known as Littoral Response Group (South), which is designed to react to world events and crises east of the Suez Canal and into the Indo-Pacific.
The exercise – named Predators Run – explored how the UK’s Commandos could operate in advance of the main allied force, operating far from established supply chains, in small raiding teams designed to cause maximum disruption to the enemy.
Commander of the Land Force of Littoral Response Group (South), Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Denning RM, said: “Predators Run has presented a fantastic opportunity for us to operate in the Pacific region at a greater scale than we have achieved previously.
“Working closely with key regional partners and sharing lessons as we learn, it has been impressive to see how quickly we have been able to achieve genuine interoperability between our nations in a short period of time.”
RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Argus were the launchpad for amphibious and helicopter raids, with three Commando Merlin aircraft from Yeovilton-based Commando Helicopter Force’s 845 Naval Air Squadron flying marines into the action.
Two Commando company groups – Charlie and Bravo – of Taunton-based 40 Commando provided the main punch supported by experts from across the UK Commando Force, including engineers of 24 Commando, fire support from 29 Commando, logisticians of the Commando Logistic Regiment, medics and reconnaissance specialists from 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group.
“This has been a unique experience,” said the officer in charge of Bravo Company, Major Jack South Royal Marines.
“It’s provided an opportunity to test the limits of our capabilities and push beyond our own boundaries.
“Treating Predators Run as a rehearsal Commando Force operations in a warfighting context has been exceptionally useful.
“This has been a step change in the way we operate... working in the deep battlespace with disaggregated teams at reach and in highly contested environments.
“The people of Bravo Company have delivered in spades, once again highlighting the quality and capacity of our people within UK Commando Forces.
“For me personally, this exercise has hammered home the reality of what we are trying (and succeeding) to achieve.
“This is about our people operating in a completely different context; the mindset remains the same, but the impact of what we deliver now has far wider reaching consequences.
“With that, comes increased responsibility that, unsurprisingly, our people have taken to without falter.”
Together the Commandos provided reconnaissance but also struck high-value enemy targets, including command and control nodes and air defence assets, to allow larger follow-on forces to make amphibious landings.
The Commandos concealed themselves using carefully planned counter surveillance and physical camouflage techniques.
The exercise also included a live firing phase, which saw 8 Battery from 29 Commando Royal Artillery using their L118 105mm guns to support allied forces, while Mortar Troop from 40 Commando formed mixed UK/Australian mortar teams to fire on enemy positions while supported by a Puma drone system to locate targets.
The Commandos operated closely with US Apache attack helicopters, calling in close air support when required to achieve crucial objectives in the Bradshaw Field Training Area.
The British element bolted onto Battle Group Tiger, made up largely of the 5th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, with elements from the 1st Combat Service Support Battalion, 1st Combat Engineer Regiment, and 1st Health Battalion, as well as soldiers from the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
All of this tied together six weeks of intensive activity as the Littoral Response Group (South) completed its first major activity in the Indo-Pacific.
