ADM Looks At: Land 8710 (Army's watercraft for littoral manoeuvre capability)

Ewen Levick and Nigel Pittaway discuss program Land 8710 which is covering the build of Medium and Heavy Landing Craft plus an amphibious vehicle.

We start with an overview of the two classes of landing craft vessels, the small amphibious vehicle, and the programs indicated time frames, covering how the two landing craft compliment each other in their operational use cases given areas they're intended to work in and ranges they can cover. Next we look at Army's structure changes as documented in the 2024 and 2026 National Defence Strategy documents, changes that started as far back as 2023. These cover four major areas including Command & Control, emerging concepts, required capabilities, and the culture of Army itself, while also standing up three littoral manoeuvre units in Darwin, Townsville and Brisbane.

The discussion moves onto the difference between amphibious operations and littoral operations, while also considering the changes in Army which includes long range strike to support the littoral units. This will mean HiMARS and PrSM, NASAMS for Short Range Air Defence, and the as yet undecided Medium Range Air Defence capability. The latter is under Land 6504 and has been in & out of scope for some years now, despite medium range being just as important as short range in a layered air defence model. Meanwhile, Land 156 is likely to be involved for its Counter Uncrewed Aerial Systems capabilities.

We wrap up with a discussion of Army Innovation Day which is happening with Chief of Army Day at Land Forces 2026 and will be focused on the littoral environment. This leads to Army's recent training soldiers in seacraft with Navy, changes in Army's involvement with Talisman Sabre 2027, and the observation that once the transition is completed, Army will be one of the largest littoral forces in the Western world.

Links:

Building an amphibious Army

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/building-an-amphibious-army

Birdon signs major Land 8710 contract

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/defence/land/birdon-signs-major-land-8710-contract

Army LCM fleet to use Kongsberg Kamewa waterjets

https://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/news/army-lcm-fleet-to-use-kongsberg-kamewa-waterjets

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