Darwin, Australia, hosted the opening ceremonies for Talisman Sabre 2015 on July 5.
Australian service members, from the Royal Australian Navy, the Australian Defence Force, and the Royal Australian Air Force embarked the ships USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6), USS Green Bay (LPD 20), and USS Ashland (LSD 48) in Australia, June 30, in preparation for the exercise.
Talisman Sabre is a U.S. and Australian-led Combined Task Force operation preparing the militaries for crisis action planning and execution of contingency operations. It is designed to maintain a high level of interoperability between U.S. and Australian forces, demonstrating their commitment to a military alliance and regional security. The exercise also supports increased flexibility and readiness.
Combined operations also allow personnel in similar fields of expertise to exchange ideas and improve knowledge and proficiency in both countries.
The ship will fight in all areas of naval warfare during the exercise. Scenarios will be conducted in air warfare, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and the culminating event being an amphibious landing ashore.
In addition to the 3,000 Sailors and Marines onboard Bonhomme Richard, 27,000 more U.S. and Australian service members will participate in the bilateral exercise through June 19.
[mappress mapid=”16418″]
Image: US Navy