04 Aug 23. British Armed Forces take part in largest military exercise between UK, Australia, and US. The deployment demonstrates the UK’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific and working with partners in the region.More than 150 UK personnel have joined troops from 13 other nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre, which took place across Australia and in adjacent waters, to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Talisman Sabre, which began on 22 July and ends today, is the largest military exercise between Australian, UK and US Armed Forces and is designed to strengthen partnerships and interoperability among key allies. It tests joint capabilities across land, sea, air, space and digital domains.
More than 34,000 troops took part in this 10th iteration of Talisman Sabre, which involved forces from Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of Korea, Tonga, the UK and United States.
This year marks the UK’s largest contribution to Talisman Sabre, with capabilities from across the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force (RAF).
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “Security and stability throughout the Indo-Pacific is essential. Exercise Talisman Sabre demonstrates the UK’s commitment to the region and the strength of our ties with friends and allies.
As part of Talisman Sabre, the UK Royal Marines Commando Force embarked on HMAS Adelaide, Australia’s largest warship, and conducted ship to shore landings, a capability that is essential for high-readiness crisis response.”
Major Aran Sandiford, Commanding Officer of the Commando Forces, said:
“The opportunity for UK Commando Forces to integrate with like-minded, specialist reconnaissance and raiding forces, really is invaluable. As well as being a fantastic chance to develop shared tactics and practice operating alongside key partners, deploying Commandos into the Indo-Pacific is one of the best ways of demonstrating the Royal Navy’s continued commitment to the region.”
During this training, the head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, visited the troops aboard HMAS Adelaide. The UK Commando Force previously deployed to the Indo-Pacific in March for exercise Ssang Yong 2023 in South Korea. More recently, the Force worked with many of the same partners in Talisman Sabre to support evacuation efforts in Sudan.
In Western Australia, a team from the RAF Support Force based at RAF Wittering provided logistical support for Talisman Sabre. They worked with their Australian counterparts to prepare more than 40,000 meals for more than 600 personnel exercising at RAAF Curtin, supporting F-35A and F22 fighter jet operations.
Service Personnel from 4 Regiment Army Air Corps also supported aviation efforts, conducting forward arming and refuelling, whilst 14 Signals Regiment provided Electronic Warfare capability, both increasing UK interoperability with Australian hosts. Observers from 4th Battalion Ranger Regiment and UK Space Command also took part in the exercise, signalling all areas of UK defence are to integrating with regional partners.
Exercise Talisman Sabre is a complex and ambitious exercise which involves risks, as the tragic loss of an Australian helicopter at sea on 28 July has reminded us. UK personnel assisted in search and rescue efforts for the crew and the Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Sir Tony Radakin sent his condolences to his Australian counterpart for the tragic loss of four Australian Army soldiers.
The UK remains committed to the Indo-Pacific and working with partners in the region, as set out in the recently published Integrated Review Refresh and Defence Command Paper Refresh (DCPR). The DCPR confirmed the continued deployment of the Royal Navy’s Offshore Patrol Vessels HMS Spey and HMS Tamar in the region. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey recently met the crews of both vessels in Australia during a visit to engage top defence officials in the Indo-Pacific. The UK’s persistent maritime presence is set to be increased with visits from Commando Force Littoral Response Group later this year, and the Carrier Strike Group which will return in 2025, building on its maiden voyage in 2021.
The increased engagement with Australia comes a few months after the Prime Minister visited Washington DC where, alongside the President of the United States and Prime Minister of Australia, he confirmed that a British-led design has been selected for the AUKUS submarine project. The first generation of AUKUS nuclear submarines will be built in the UK and Australia, based on the UK’s world-leading submarine design and will support thousands of jobs in the UK, with many based in the North-West of England. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
01 Aug 23. Bilateral Philippine-Australian Exercise Lumbas wraps up. HMAS Anzac joined the Philippine Navy ship BRP Conrado Yap for the five-day exercise.
The exercise served as an opportunity to deepen the technical capabilities of both nations through exchanges, advance cooperation, and enhance people-to-people and cultural ties, Commanding Officer HMAS Anzac Commander Barton Harrington explained.
The HMAS Anzac commenced its regional deployment in April.
“We joined our Philippine Navy counterparts both ashore for the opening and closing ceremonies and at sea, off their coast to conduct a series of training activities in warfare, maritime security, and seamanship,” he said.
“Now in its 23rd iteration, Lumbas is one of the RAN’s longest-running recurring engagements in the region. It is an important and longstanding activity in our bilateral engagement with the Philippines.
“Australia is committed to working closely with the Philippines to support a region that is stable, secure, and prosperous and where the rule of law prevails.
“I’m proud of the hard work put in by everyone aboard Anzac and it was great to see the engagement between all participants of Lumbas,” CMDR Harrington said.
In 2022, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr announced that the two nations would elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership, enhancing defence and maritime cooperation, as well as law enforcement collaboration.
“In the Filipino spirit of bayanihan and the Australian tradition of mateship, we have stood by each other in good times and bad,” the Prime Minister said following the announcement.
“Elevating our relationship to a strategic partnership will reinforce our focus on strengthening ties between our two countries, and working together to build a region that is resilient and prosperous for all. (Source: Defence Connect)
01 Aug 23. China and UAE go wing to wing in first joint exercise. The People’s Republic of China and the United Arab Emirates will host their first joint air force exercise later this month.
Aircraft from both countries will take part in the China-UAE Falcon Shield-2023 joint air force exercise in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in August, according to the PRC Ministry of National Defense.
The inaugural military exercise builds on an export deal announced in February this year for the sale of China’s domestically developed two-seater L15 (JL-1) advanced trainer jet to the UAE.
That sale reportedly included 12 L15 aircraft with aerial refuelling capability for an undisclosed amount, with an option for 36 additional aircraft which can be used for fighter jet training, air-to-air combat and ground attack missions.
The training aircraft has previously run demonstration flights in the UAE at the biennial Dubai Airshow and was displayed with UAE markings as a stationary exhibit at IDEX 2023 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. At that time, it reportedly had a max level flight speed of 1,000km/h, service ceiling of 13,500 metres, and range of 1,700 kilometres.The aircraft has been in service with the People’s Liberation Army Air Force since 2012 under the designation JL-10. (Source: Defence Connect)
01 Aug 23. USMC, Navy Join Forces in Novel Ways During Australia Exercise. About 18 months ago, U.S. Navy Command Expeditionary Strike Group 7, which consists of amphibious assault ships with aircraft and landing craft, merged with U.S. Marine Corps units from the III Marine Expeditionary Brigade, thereby creating Task Force 76/3.
“The goal was better interoperability, particularly if the sailors and Marines worked as a team every day instead of just coming together for an exercise and then going our separate ways,” said U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Christopher Stone, commander of Task Force 76/3. He added that it’s a first and is still being evaluated.
He spoke yesterday from the amphibious assault ship USS America, the lead ship, along with the amphibious transport dock ships USS Green Bay and USS New Orleans in the Coral Sea. All were participating in Exercise Talisman Sabre 23.
This year marks the 10th iteration of Talisman Sabre, a biennial exercise designed to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening partnerships and interoperability among key allies. The spelling of the name — sabre vs. saber — reflects which country is leading the exercise: Talisman Sabre when Australia leads and Talisman Saber when the U.S. leads.
Over 30,000 personnel and 13 nations from Japan to Germany are participating in this year’s full exercise. This year is the largest Talisman Sabre since the exercises began in 2005. This speaks to the strength of allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific Region, Stone said.
A detachment of German naval infantry from the German coastal operations sea battalion is operating with the USS America amphibious strike group, along with Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, which have their own amphibious vessels with capabilities similar to the USS America.
“We come together to practice our skills across all domains, including everything from missions like humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to high-end major combat operations and everything in between,” said Stone. “It’s an opportunity for us to practice and refine combat and life-saving skills and learn things from each other.”
U.S. Marine Corps Col. Matthew C. Danner, commander of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, leads the Marines who will be conducting a major amphibious assault in Queensland, Australia, in two days, along with allies and partner nations.
“Our purpose is to provide a broad range of crisis response capabilities from sea-basing across the Indo-Pacific. Talisman Sabre represents a magnificent opportunity to work with strong regional partners and the Australian Defence Force, in particular,” he said.
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“A major part of the exercise isn’t just the shooting aspect,” Danner said. “It’s sustainment, meaning logistical support to the fighters to get them what they need when they need it despite being thousands of miles from main supply bases and operating in austere environments.” (Source: U.S. DoD)
31 Jul 23. U.S. General Says Talisman Sabre Prepares Allies for High-End Conflict. Exercise Talisman Sabre 23, a U.S.-Australia exercise that includes multiple allies and partners, is all about deterrence, said U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Kevin Jarrard, assistant division commander of the 1st Marine Division.
Deterrence means preventing war, he said, and the way to do that is through having as many allies and partners as possible that have like-minded goals: a free and open Indo-Pacific region where nations abide by the rule of law.
Jarrard was in Queensland, Australia, this week, where U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 23 rigorously trained to repel enemy forces in a contested logistics environment.
This year marks the 10th iteration of Talisman Sabre, a biennial exercise designed to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening partnerships and interoperability among key allies. The spelling of the name — sabre vs. saber — reflects which country is leading the exercise: Talisman Sabre when Australia leads and Talisman Saber when the U.S. leads.
Peace through strength is an important aspect of deterrence, Jarrard said. The Marine Corps is especially suited for this in the vastness of the Indo-Pacific region, which is largely a maritime environment where Marines can apply their expertise — honed during World War II combat in the Pacific and refined by modern doctrine, tactics and equipment.
The Marine Corps, he said, is well-suited to operate over vast ocean distances aboard Navy ships and using Marine Corps aviation for close air support and insertion in inland locations.
Jarrard, who had combat tours in Iraq, said U.S. forces there had air superiority. In the Indo-Pacific region, a conflict could involve a peer adversary, so air superiority isn’t a given.
A peer adversary would have advanced targeting capabilities, be it missile attacks against troops and equipment or hampering communications, he said.
To prevent that, Marines and allies participating in Talisman Sabre have dispersed their forces and moved them about frequently to avoid becoming big, fat targets, he said. Cyber measures are also being taken so command and control isn’t compromised.
Also, casualties will have to be treated on the battlefield in a future war in the region because a large medical facility “in the rear,” or away from the front lines, would present a juicy target for the enemy, he noted.
Corpsmen who treat wounds and injuries of these front-line Marines will be doing a lot more advanced care than they’ve traditionally done, as when helicopters could quickly evacuate casualties to field hospitals, he said.
Jarrard said he considers all Marines his sons and daughters, and he’ll do everything he can to protect them and ensure they succeed on the battlefield should that become necessary.
“There is no better friend and no worse enemy than a U.S. Marine,” he said. (Source: U.S. DoD)
28 Jul 23. Exercise Strengthens Bilateral, Amphibious Capability in Indo-Pacific. The importance of amphibious landings has been demonstrated since the World War II D-Day landings at Normandy, France, and the Pacific Island campaign.
Today, the relevance of amphibious landing doctrine to the vast Indo-Pacific region is being showcased with Exercise Talisman Sabre 23, a bilateral U.S.-Australian exercise with participation from 13 countries.
This year marks the 10th iteration of Talisman Sabre, a biennial exercise designed to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific by strengthening partnerships and interoperability among key allies. The spelling of the name — sabre vs. saber — reflects which country is leading the exercise: Talisman Sabre when Australia leads and Talisman Saber when the U.S. leads.
Much of the exercise is taking place in Queensland, Australia, with landings in a variety of places along the coast.
Australian Army Lt. Col. Adam Murgatroyd, who trains Australian amphibious forces, said that Australia and other nations, including Japan and Germany, have benefited from U.S. amphibious training. Australian, Japanese and German tactics continue to evolve and mature over time, benefiting from exercises like this.
On Tuesday, the Japanese conducted an amphibious landing at Midge Point with U.S. Marines landing on that same beach the following day.
Other nations are participating in various aspects of the exercise, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji, France and Indonesia, as well as Australia.
The Australians have been laying the groundwork for this exercise for months.
Murgatroyd said he and his team have held townhall meetings with residents where the landings and movements inland are taking place, explaining to them what’s involved, answering environmental questions and concerns, and getting feedback from them.
The residents, he said, were very supportive and asked only that anything damaged by the exercise be repaired, which Murgatroyd agreed to do.
The Australians, he said, are also providing emergency medical support should any of the participants become ill or injured. (Source: U.S. DoD)