QUEENSLAND, Australia - The U.S. Navy and maritime partners kicked off operations for exercise Talisman Sabre, Jul 14, an event designed to strengthen relationships and interoperability with allies and partners as well as enhance the U.S. military’s ability to address the full range of potential security concerns in the Indo-Pacific.
Maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft (MPRA) from Commander Task Force (CTF) 72 will train with units from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN), Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), and other U.S. forces as well as forces from Canada, and the United Kingdom.
Talisman Sabre is a large-scale, bilateral military exercise between Australia and the U.S. involving more than 17,000 participants from seven nations. The month-long multi-domain exercise consists of a series of training events that reinforce the strong U.S./Australian alliance and demonstrate the U.S. military’s unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.
"My Sailors and I are very excited to work hand-in-hand with our Australian partners once again in Talisman Saber-21,” said Lieutenant Commander Michael Hofheins, the officer in charge for VP-45 during the exercise. “Exercising our tactics, techniques, and procedures in such a dynamic battle space with allied forces is an excellent opportunity to continue our ongoing relationships and shared commitment to maritime domain superiority.”
Hofheins continued saying, “We fully expect to be tested through many challenging elements of the exercise and its global participants, furthering our interoperability and future success."
A P-8A Poseidon aircraft from VP-45’s “World Famous Pelicans” is participating from CTF 72. In its ninth iteration, Talisman Sabre is Australia’s largest military exercise with the United States and is a demonstration of our strong alliance that is underpinned by deep levels of cooperation and trust built over decades operating and training together. The exercise will focus on logistic activities, amphibious landings, ground force maneuvers, urban operations, air combat and maritime operations.
VP-45, based out of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, is currently operating from Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan. The squadron conducts maritime patrol and reconnaissance as well as theater outreach operations as part of a rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations.