Marshall Wiki
Register
Advertisement

The Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery, normally referred to as the Royal Australian Artillery (RAA), is a corps of the Australian Army descended from the original colonial artillery units prior to Australia's federation. Australia’s first guns were landed from HMS Sirius and a small earthen redoubt built, near the present day Macquarie Place, to command the approaches to Sydney Cove. The deployment of these guns represents the origins of artillery in Australia. These and subsequent defences, as well as field guns, were operated by marines and the soldiers of infantry regiments stationed in Australia. The first Royal Artillery unit arrived in Australia in 1856 and began a succession of gunner units which ended with the withdrawal of the imperial forces in 1870 resulting in the raising of 'A' Field Battery, NSW Artillery in 1871. The First World War saw the raising of 60 field, 20 howitzer and two siege batteries along with the heavy and medium trench mortar batteries. Until 19 September 1962 the Australian Artillery was referred to as the 'Royal Australian Artillery', however on this date HM Queen Elizabeth II granted the RAA the title of the 'Royal Regiment of Australian Artillery'. In 1988, the Regiment incorporated the Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (Royal New Zealand Artillery, RNZA). In respect for the achievements, and the debt owed by the Australian Army to the RNZA for their support in Vietnam, the RNZA kept their titles. The Regiment today consists of Regular and Reserve units.

Raa
The Badge of the Royal Australian Artillery and Royal New Zealand Artillery

Artillery Units[]

List of Artillery Units[]

  • Australian Regular Army
    • 1st Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 4th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 8th/12th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 5th Air Defence (Mechanised) Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 9th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 11th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 14th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 16th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 20th Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 5th Air Defence Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery
    • 16th Field Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery
  • Army Reserve
    • 2/10th Medium Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 3rd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 6/13th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 7th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 19th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 23rd Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 24th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery
    • 11th Composite Regiment, Royal New Zealand Artillery

Medium Regiment[]

The Medium Regiment carries out the general support role. It is equipped with the M198 155mm howitzer.

  • Medium Regiment
    • Headquarters Battery
    • Medium Battery (6 M198)
    • Medium Battery (6 M198)
    • Medium Battery (6 M198)
    • Operations Support Battery
    • Combat Service Support Battery

Field Regiment[]

The Field Regiment acts in the close support role and is equipped with the L119 105mm Hamel Gun.

  • Field Regiment
    • Headquarters Battery
    • Field Battery (6 L119)
    • Field Battery (6 L119)
    • Field Battery (6 L119)
    • Operations Support Battery
    • Combat Service Support Battery

Air Defence Regiment[]

The Air Defence Regiment provides short and medium range air defence for a Brigade. There are two types of Air Defence Regiment in the RAA/RNZA, the Light Air Defence Regiment equipped with the RBS-70 and SL-AMRAAM and the Mechanised Air Defence Regiment equipped with the ASLAV-AD and SL-AMRAAM. If it is not required for air defence, the Air Defence Regiment can be used as light infantry. For example, in a peacekeeping scenario, conventional infantry carry out patrol, while the air defence regiment provides base security.

  • Mechanised Air Defence Regiment
    • Headquarters Battery
    • Mobile Air Defence Battery (6 ASLAV-AD, 2 search radars)
    • Mobile Air Defence Battery (6 ASLAV-AD, 2 search radars)
    • Medium Air Defence Battery (6 NASAMS)
    • Air Search Battery
    • Technical Support Battery
    • Combat Service Support Battery
  • Light Air Defence Regiment
    • Headquarters Battery
    • Light Air Defence Battery (15 RBS-70, 5 search radars)
    • Light Air Defence Battery (15 RBS-70, 5 search radars)
    • Medium Air Defence Battery (6 NASAMS/HUMRAAM)
    • Air Search Battery
    • Technical Support Battery
    • Combat Service Support Battery

Composite Regiment[]

The Royal Australian Artillery has only one Composite Regiment, a reserve regiment in New Zealand.

Surveillance and Target Acquisition Regiment[]

This type of Regiment is responsible for providing the Australian Army with artillery spotting and tactical reconnaissance.

  • Surveillance and Target Acquisition Battery
  • Surveillance and Target Acquisition Battery
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Battery
  • Combat Service and Support Battery

Artillery Weapons[]

20070822adf8246638 067 lo

The L119 Hamel gun in action

Hamel3

The Hamel gun is easily transported by the S-70A-9 helicopter (and also the Unimog truck)

420 mog-420x0

A Unimog tows a 105mm Hamel gun through Brisbane's suburbs

Mack mc3

The 8 tonne Mack truck tows the Hamel gun's counterpart, the M198 155mm howitzer

21

The M198 medium howitzer ready for action

8-12 Med Regt (USMC)

M198s firing

ASLAV-AD

ASLAV-AD air defence vehicle, with 8 Stingers at the ready

20080609raaf8208246 0053

An RBS-70 team poised for action

RBS-70 Saab anti-aircraft sol air defense missile system Australia Australian army 001

RBS-70 missile clearing the launch tube

ORD SAM RBS-70 Australia Naval lg

The RBS-70 has also been used to provide a rudimentary air defence capability to otherwise unarmed warships

Nasams

NASAMS towed launcher with 6 AIM-120 AMRAAMs ready

ORD SAM SLAMRAAM NASAMS Launch lg

An AIM-120 leaves the NASAMS launcher

M02006112500117

The HUMRAAM launcher firing an AIM-120

13-radar

This Firefinder radar enables Australian artillery to find enemy artillery

475px-ELEC AN-MPQ-64 Sentinel Radar lg

US Army photo of the Sentinel radar, which cues surface to air missiles

800px-Australian Scan Eagle Iraq

Boeing ScanEagle launching in Iraq

Future Equipment[]

Proposed future equipment includes the M777 155mm howitzer as a replacement for the L119 Hamel Gun. The K9 from Korea and PzH 2000 from Germany are contenders for an M198 replacement.

Advertisement