Australia's army awaits major overhaul

Defense Minister Robert Hill wants to restructure Australia's army to cope with a more dangerous global environment.

The $1.8 billion plan will be considered by the cabinet's national security committee.

The army would be restructured into nine highly flexible "battle groups" capable of being rapidly deployed to wage war or perform peacekeeping duties.

The overhaul would be the biggest transformation of the Australian army's organization since World War II.

New deployable army formations would be a great deal more lethal and nimble, better protected, and more adaptable than the army's existing five mainstream infantry battalions, UPI reports.

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