Targeting the Future: the Army's Newest Brigade - BRIG Nick Wilson

‘We are at the cutting edge of making what we have work.’ In this week’s episode, we sit down with BRIG Nick Wilson, Commander of the Australian Army’s newest brigade, the 10th Fires Brigade. Having just returned from Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, BRIG Wilson talks us through putting his brigade through the ultimate test providing short-range, ground-based air defence, long-range multi-domain strike and specialist targeting effects to the 1st Division, the 2nd Division and the Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC). We start by discussing the current state of play in Army Fires and the role his brigade plays within the Australian Army and the wider ADF, seeing the introduction of High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) and the vast array of munitions that can be fired from each to enable the joint fight. The brigade now comprises of the 54th Siege Battery (soon to become the 14th Regiment), the 16th Regiment and the 9th Regiment and is enabled by the 1st Intelligence Battalion and the 7th Signals Regiment. We explore the brigade’s unique command and control relationships, the sensor-to-shooter link that underpins its effectiveness, and the way the 10th Fires Brigade integrates both offensive strike and air defence effects across Australia and abroad. BRIG Wilson also highlights what the brigade achieved on Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, including the first-ever Australian Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) launch from a HIMARS from Mount Bundey Training Area to Bradshaw Training Area, a Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) launch in Shoalwater Bay and a simulated HIMARS Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) mission onto Christmas Island with coalition partners. This is joint targeting and how the Australian Army’s fires enable the combined joint fight. ————————————————————————— Subscribe to The Cove Podcast to make sure that you do not miss out on any of the heavy hitting content we have planned