Step back in time this summer with our early Service Newspapers, which capture the spirit of Australia's armed forces and the society they served.
Defence is funding the digitisation of these historic editions in Trove, giving every Australian the chance to explore the collection.
The Australian Army was busy putting a Mechanical Mule through its paces in a trial at the Jungle Training Centre in Canungra, Queensland, in 1960.
Built to handle environments that were too tough for trucks, American Mules were used as cargo carriers and infantry support vehicles.
The Mule ended up performing well at the trials. It climbed 45-degree slopes, powered through deep mud, and carried loads heavier than its own weight.
Army News was impressed and reported that the mule had effectively done the work of 30 men.
Australia was the first country outside of the United States to test the Mule, and its performance offered a glimpse of a future where machines would carry the load for soldiers.
Digitised in Trove, those original reports now read like a forerunner for today's battlefield innovations.
One example of that continued spirit of innovation was an activity at Puckapunyal, where Army brought drones, remotely operated vehicles and uncrewed systems together to explore how machines could operate alongside soldiers.
Led by the Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation & Coordination Office (RICO), the demonstration carried forward the same experimental approach seen in the Mechanical Mule trials.
Read the full story here.
From Canungra's muddy tracks to the digital battlefield, the journey shows how far Army mobility has come - and where it is heading next.
Read the original Mechanical Mule story in Trove and explore more Army stories on the site.
