[World] Australian Army soldiers and US Marines take part in huge live fire training exercise in Northern Territory

Members of an Australian Army Joint Fires Team, who scout targets for artillery. (ABC News: Steven Schubert)

Australian Bombardier Michael Hackett and his 10 men have been working hard and camping out in the hot, humid and dusty conditions of the Northern Territory's Top End for more than two weeks, but the lack of a shower has not bothered him.

"We've all gone for longer," he assured the ABC.

The young soldier has been commanding the Charlie artillery battery of 8/12 Regiment during Exercise Predator Walk, a huge, joint training exercise bringing together 1,800 armed force members from the Australian Army, the US Marine Corps and a small number of soldiers from Malaysia.

The soldiers and Marines have been training at the Mount Bundey Training Area, 130 kilometres south-east of Darwin, on the edge of Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.

Bombardier Hackett's men are all part of the Army's Darwin-based 1st Brigade, one of the three main fighting brigades in the Australian Army.

Under a plan to reorganise the Army called Plan Beersheba, announced by the Gillard Government in 2011, Australia's three fighting brigades alternate their levels of preparedness between ready, readying and reset.

When a brigade is ready, any troops sent overseas will be supplied by them.

1st Brigade is currently in the readying stage, which its commander, Brigadier Mick Ryan, said focused on ensuring all members have the skills they need for the ready stage, which is due to begin on July 1, 2016.

"It's important that we train from the lowest level all the way up to brigade level in a range of complex combined arms activities, so that when we are the ready brigade we are available at very short notice to undertake a range of different missions depending on the requirements of the Government," he said. Australian soldiers on a M1A1 Abrams main battle tank during Exercise Predator Walk. [ABC News: Steven Schubert]

The US Marine Corps has been involved in the training as part of its Marine Rotation Force Darwin, announced by former prime minister Julia Gillard and US president Barrack Obama in 2011.

The placement of Marines in Darwin was part of president Obama's strategic pivot towards the Pacific region, to counter the growing influence of China.

Brigadier Ryan said the Marines and his soldiers enjoyed a professional rivalry, saying both thought they were "the best organisation in the world".

"For us there's much we can learn, but every now and then we think there's one or two tricks we might be able to teach them as well," he said.

The Marines and 1st Brigade share equipment like the M777 Howitzer, but Brigadier Ryan said there was much more in common between the two forces.

"We have a common professional ethic and we have common values between our societies, and that makes it much, much easier to work together."

That was a sentiment echoed by the Marine's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Dougherty.

"We have very similar capabilities and techniques, but the differences are what make us stronger, learning from each other to get better," he said.

"You have two unique fighting forces, both very capable, that take different paths to the same end."

There are challenges, like learning the different terminology used by the two forces and different techniques, but Lt Col Dougherty described the operation overall as "seamless".

Captain Stacey Austin plans the health services for 1st Brigade, and explained why it was important to train with forces from other countries.

"In the modern day conflicts we're never going to go into a battle or a campaign by ourselves, so what our soldiers learn from this is about the integration and the coalition force, and how we work and the intricacies of that."Huge artillery guns 'shake ground' during destruction An Australian Army Howitzer M777, Charlie Battery 8/12 Regiment, 1st Brigade, which can fire a shell about 30 kilometres. [News: Steven Schubert]

On the day the ABC visited the Mount Bundey Training Area the soldiers and Marines were simulating an attack on an enemy position with artillery, tanks and the Marines acting as infantry.

After an Australian Army "hot box" breakfast of bacon and eggs, the small media pack was issued flak jackets and helmets and taken to the artillery pieces.

The basic tactics in the exercise were for the artillery to soften up the "enemy" before a tank advance, culminating in some explosive destruction by Army engineers and the final push on foot by the Marines.

The Howitzer M777s being used were described by Major Wade Cooper of 8/12 Regiment as "brand spanking new" and "state of the art".

Each gun is worth in excess of $1 million, weighs 4,400 kilograms and can fire a 43 kilogram, 155 millimetre shell 24.7 kilometres - and hit a target accurately - although on is day they were firing only 17 kilometres.

After the final shells were fired, Major Cooper invited the media to take off their hearing protection. Thirty seconds later we could hear the distant explosions as the shells landed.

Major Cooper said the shells being fired in the exercise would destroy an area the size of an AFL ground - "I'm from Western Australia so it's the only sport worth following," he said.

Although the media were kept about 50 metres from the artillery when it was firing, had two stages of hearing protection and flak jackets, the noise and shockwave was breathtaking and the smell of sulphur from the explosives was invasive.

"Up close the ground shakes, the gun pushes back a fair way," Bombardier Hackett said.

"They'll be doing a lot of damage at the other end, especially with four guns firing at the same time. I wouldn't want to be at the other end of it."

But in a real life scenario, some of their colleagues would be about 100 metres from their fire.

Crucial to the success of artillery are the Joint Fires Team - essentially scouts - whose job it is to sneak close to targets and provide the location back to the command post.

The carnage wrought by the howitzers could be seen on new state of the art systems called a multi spectral surveillance suite, what is essentially a camera on a telescopic stick.

The high resolution and thermal images can show the destruction wrought by the shells up to five kilometres away in crystal clear detail. 'Nothing else on the battlefield more powerful than the tank' A M1A1 Abrams main battle tank on the move before the main advance. [ABC News: Steven Schubert]

After the artillery bombardment, it was time to mount up in a Protected Mobility Vehicle, known as a Bushmaster, to join in the tank advance.

The Bushmaster is an all-wheel drive armoured vehicle designed to move up to 10 soldiers and is much loved by Australian troops, with one Warrant Officer saying they have "saved a lot of Australian lives overseas".

The advance was spearheaded by four M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks from the 1st Armoured Regiment, being led by Lieutenant Colonel Mick Murdoch, whose own tank was towed from the field after a mechanical failure.

Lt Col Murdoch, however, was philosophical, saying it was a good training opportunity for his mechanics and recovery team.

"We've got a pretty smart tank, it's the most modern one on the battlefield," he said.

"It's designed to tell you when something's wrong, and you can override that in battle if you need to and keep going, but in training we send it back.

"It's a good training opportunity for all our guys, we've got mechanics and recovery mechanics."

Despite the mechanical failure, Lt Col Murdoch is clearly a man who loves the tools he works with.

"There's nothing else on the battlefield more powerful than the tank," he said.

The Abrams fires 120mm shells with a four kilometre range, and weighs 62 tonnes. Lt Col Murdoch said it was one of the safest tanks available.

With the tanks were M113 AS4 Armoured Personnel Carriers, which move eight infantry soldiers at a time and carry .50 calibre machine guns, as well as more Bushmasters.

Once the infantry dismounted it was up to the tanks to help protect them.

"That vulnerability is taken away when you put the tanks next to them and they work closely," Lt Col Murdoch said.

The ABC was invited to stand up in the hatch of the Bushmaster while surround by tanks and armoured troop carriers.

It was exhilarating, but the dust was overwhelming, and when an Abrams tank fired it disappeared in a plume of dirt and smoke.'We'll be ready to fulfil that task' says 1st Brigade trooper US Marines take a defensive position, working with an Australian Army M1A1 Abrams main battle tank. [ABC News: Steven Schubert]

Eventually the tanks and troop carriers reached a dense bit of scrub where the "enemy" was dug in.

With defensive trenches in place, the armoured vehicles could go no further, so it was time for the Marines to dismount and push forward.

As the ABC got out of the Bushmaster, Marines were running and diving, laying down cover fire for their comrades while the Abrams tanks, troop carriers and Bushmasters were also firing.

Even safe in the knowledge there was no real enemy firing back, with the constant sound of close gunfire and poor visibility, it was a scary but exhilarating experience.

Eventually the Marines reached the area where the "enemy" had been and secured it, but the training was not over. They had another two live fire exercises to finish before their day was done.

For 1st Brigade Trooper Sean Moran-Ramsay, the training helps prepare for when his brigade will be made ready to send troops overseas.

"With our training and going out on an exercise like this, we'll be ready to fulfil that task," he said.

  ♘ ABC