SYDNEY –
U.S. Navy forces will join allied and partner nations to participate in Royal Australian Navy-led Exercise Kakadu 2026, a multinational maritime exercise which occurs off Australia’s eastern coast, and its International Fleet Review (IFR) starting March 21.
Exercise Kakadu 2026, following the IFR, is Australia’s premier international maritime exercise and brings together navies from across the Indo-Pacific and beyond to strengthen combined readiness and improve coordination in a complex maritime environment. Since 1993, Australia has hosted Exercise Kakadu with its allies and partners.The U.S. Navy is represented by Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62), assigned to Destroyer Squadron 15, the U.S. 7th Fleet’s principal surface force.
Rear Adm. Eric Anduze, commander of Task Force 70, reflected on the exercise and how it reinforces the strength of regional maritime partnerships. “Kakadu provides realistic, combined training that improves how our navies operate together at sea,” said Anduze. “Training alongside Australia and our regional allies and partners strengthens deterrence and ensures our forces are prepared to respond together to crises and contingencies across the Indo-Pacific.”
Held biennially, Exercise Kakadu focuses on planning, integration, and execution of multinational maritime operations, ranging from maritime security activities to high-end warfare scenarios. This iteration of Exercise Kakadu will expand the training area to include the waters north of Australia and down the eastern coast. The exercise began with an integration phase at sea, during which multiple task groups will transit the eastern coast of Australia. Further coordination and mission planning will occur during a harbor phase in Sydney, followed by a second sea phase in the East Australia Exercise Area where participating forces will operate in multinational task groups.
U.S. 7th Fleet, the Navy's largest forward-deployed numbered fleet, routinely interacts and operates with allies and partners in preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific.