Australia Validates Sea Deployment of AS21 Combat Vehicles and AS9 Howitzers for Amphibious Operations.

Australia has demonstrated that its AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles and AS9 Huntsman 155 mm self-propelled howitzers can deploy by sea aboard the Royal Australian Navy’s HMAS Canberra, validating a key requirement for heavier Indo-Pacific operations alongside U.S. forces. The maritime trials show that Canberra can move armored vehicles and artillery through existing amphibious infrastructure, improving its ability to reposition combat power across dispersed islands and coastal areas.

The result gives the Australian Army a more credible way to combine protected mobility, direct fire and long-range artillery support in a maritime theater. It also strengthens interoperability with U.S. forces by supporting the rapid movement and dispersal of heavier combat formations across the Indo-Pacific.

Related Topic: Australian Army Deploys First AS9 Huntsman Howitzers for Protected Mobile 155mm Firepower

An Australian Army AS9 Huntsman 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicle are transported aboard Royal Australian Navy LCM-1E landing craft during maritime deployment trials at Garden Island in Sydney Harbor, validating their ability to support amphibious and littoral operations in the Indo-Pacific. (Picture source: Australia MoD)

The Australian Army disclosed the activity on September 3, 2026, after trials at Garden Island and Sydney Harbor in July involving HMAS Canberra, LCM-1E landing craft, Mexeflote pontoons and supporting heavy transport equipment. The testing matters beyond vehicle certification because Australia is beginning to demonstrate that its new mechanized forces can operate within the maritime transport network required to reinforce northern Australia and project land combat power into the Indo-Pacific.

Army and Navy personnel tested embarkation, internal deck handling and disembarkation of the AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicle, AS9 Huntsman 155 mm self-propelled howitzer and AS10 armored ammunition resupply vehicle. The vehicles moved through HMAS Canberra’s side-ramp and well-dock infrastructure with LCM-1E landing craft and Mexeflote pontoons, while an HX81 heavy truck and trailer were also included. The activity therefore went beyond proving that individual vehicles physically fit aboard the Canberra-class landing helicopter dock and examined whether combat vehicles, artillery ammunition and heavy logistics could move through the ship-to-shore system needed for amphibious operations.

This is a critical requirement for any Australian contribution to a high-intensity Indo-Pacific war. A mechanized force cannot generate meaningful combat power ashore simply because an infantry fighting vehicle or howitzer can be carried aboard a ship. AS21 Redbacks, AS9 Huntsmans, AS10 ammunition vehicles and their supporting logistics would need to embark, cross maritime distances and move ashore rapidly enough to form an effective combined-arms force. In a theater dominated by long distances, constrained ports, and potentially vulnerable sea and air routes, amphibious mobility directly affects where Australia can concentrate armored forces and how quickly it can reposition them.

The AS21 Redback forms the core of Australia’s LAND 400 Phase 3 infantry fighting vehicle program, under which 129 vehicles are being acquired to replace part of the Army’s aging M113AS4 armored personnel carrier fleet. The Redback will provide mechanized infantry with significantly improved protection, mobility, situational awareness and direct-fire capability, allowing troops to maneuver in contested areas under armor while employing modern sensors, defensive systems and a medium-caliber cannon. Its maritime validation is particularly important because the weight and dimensions of modern tracked combat vehicles place substantial demands on ship ramps, deck loading, maneuvering space and landing craft capacity.

The AS9 Huntsman adds protected 155 mm artillery to the same deployable force. Australia is acquiring 30 AS9 155 mm self-propelled howitzers and 15 AS10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles under LAND 8116 Phase 1, giving the Army a tracked artillery capability that combines armored protection, digital fire control, and the ability to displace rapidly after firing. Testing the AS10 alongside the AS9 is operationally significant because sustained artillery operations depend as much on ammunition throughput as on howitzer performance. Moving both vehicles through the same amphibious assault connectors therefore more closely validates an operational fires element than simply proving that a self-propelled howitzer can be transported by sea.

The combination of AS21 Redback IFVs and AS9 Huntsman 155 mm artillery also gives the trials particular relevance for operations alongside U.S. forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is restructuring around distributed operations in the Pacific, while the U.S. Army is developing ways to disperse long-range fires, air defenses, sensors and sustainment capabilities across a maritime battlespace. Australia is approaching the same geographic problem from a different direction: determining how a comparatively heavy mechanized force can exploit ships and landing craft to reposition protected infantry, artillery and logistics between coastal operating areas.

That requirement is increasingly shaped by China’s expanding ability to contest access across the western Pacific with long-range missiles, naval forces, aircraft and increasingly integrated surveillance systems. China’s military posture places particular importance on controlling strategically important islands, maritime approaches, and coastal areas, while its anti-access capabilities could put major ports, airfields, and concentrated military formations at risk during a regional conflict. For Australia and the United States, dispersing forces while retaining the ability to rapidly concentrate firepower creates a demanding logistical problem: combat units must be sufficiently distributed to complicate targeting but mobile enough to reinforce decisive locations.

Australia’s approach differs from the lighter formations associated with some U.S. Marine Corps distributed-force concepts. The AS21 Redback and AS9 Huntsman bring considerably heavier protected combat power, which can provide advantages once ashore but imposes greater demands on amphibious shipping, landing craft, fuel, ammunition and maintenance. The HMAS Canberra trials therefore address a central trade-off in Australian Army modernization: whether the protection and firepower of a heavy combined-arms force can be reconciled with the mobility required by Indo-Pacific geography.

HMAS Canberra and its sister ship HMAS Adelaide remain central to that equation. The Canberra-class landing helicopter docks can transport troops, vehicles, helicopters and landing craft over operational distances, while their LCM-1E landing craft provide a means of moving heavy equipment between ship and shore. Validating the AS21 Redback, AS9 Huntsman and AS10 against this existing infrastructure helps identify practical limitations before the vehicles participate in larger amphibious exercises and also provides experience relevant to Australia’s investment in new landing craft and littoral maneuver vessels.

The trials consequently show how Canberra is beginning to connect previously separate modernization programs into a more coherent Indo-Pacific force. New infantry fighting vehicles, protected 155 mm artillery, long-range fires and expanded littoral maneuver capabilities are increasingly being aligned with the requirement to move combat power through northern Australia and potentially into the wider region. For the Australian Army, maritime transport is becoming part of operational maneuver rather than simply a way to deliver equipment between established ports.

For Washington, this evolution could increase the military value of Australian ground forces during a coalition operation. Rather than providing only bases, logistics infrastructure or light forces, Australia is developing the option to contribute protected mechanized infantry and mobile 155 mm artillery that could reinforce key ports, airfields and coastal positions alongside U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps units. The ability to move those forces aboard Australian amphibious ships could also reduce dependence on U.S. sealift for some regional missions, although the scale and tempo achievable with existing Australian amphibious assets remain important limitations to test.

The strategic significance of the July trials therefore extends well beyond proving that three tracked vehicles can embark aboard HMAS Canberra. Australia has started validating whether AS21 Redback infantry fighting vehicles, AS9 Huntsman 155 mm artillery, armored ammunition resupply and heavy logistics can move as an integrated combat package through the maritime connectors required for an Indo-Pacific conflict. If larger exercises confirm that capability at tactical-unit scale, Australia will be closer to fielding a heavy land force that can disperse by sea, reinforce strategically important coastal areas and operate alongside U.S. forces in a region where China’s military capabilities are making fixed concentrations of combat power increasingly vulnerable.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.