G20 security: Soldiers man checkpoints in inner-Brisbane ahead of summit

Soldiers who have served in Afghanistan are among those manning G20 checkpoints in inner-Brisbane.

Soldiers and police will stop and search vehicles going into G20 restricted zones in inner-Brisbane from today.

Checkpoints have been set up at Milton and Spring Hill to search for explosives and weapons, manned by military personnel who have served in war zones.

Major General Stuart Smith said the soldiers and police would be involved in the searches over the next fortnight, using high-tech latest equipment.

"You've got soldiers here that have got experience in Afghanistan doing high-profile search techniques and they've done specific rehearsals to build them up in cooperation with the police over the last few months," he said.

"They understand all of the different scenarios, from the highest threat level to the most rudimentary threat level, in order to provide a safe environment."

During a media event today, soldiers, sniffer dogs and a robot inspected a number of vehicles.

"We've got 40 soldiers here today supporting this particular search," Major General Smith said.

"They range from the hand search and low-risk area search, all the way up to the explosive ordinates disposal search.

"They're backed up by the explosive detection dogs - all part of the layers that the Queensland police are providing as well."

More than 900 soldiers will be helping with security during G20 and have spent months training for every eventuality.

Last night, dozens of soldiers with machine guns and body armour took part in an exercise in the CBD.