Boeing has delivered its first P-8A Poseidon surveillance and anti-submarine aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force on November 16. The Prime Minister of Australia, Malcolm Turnbull MP, together with other government and defense officials welcomed the new Poseidons at the Royal Australian Air Fo
The Australian Amphibious Task Group recently organized an amphibious force staff exercise gathering members from all three defense services in Townsville, Queensland. Joining in were personnel from HMA Ships Canberra, Adelaide and Choules, Army’s Forces Command and 3rd Brigade, Director General – L
The Royal Australian Navy kicked off one of its largest maritime warfare exercises in several locations off the New South Wales coast on November 14. Exercise Ocean Raider is held from November 14 to December 5 and involves 11 warships and submarines, aircraft and more than 1500 personnel from Austr
Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta and her ship’s company of 191 departed HMAS Stirling naval base at Rockingham, Western Australia for Operation Manitou in the Middle East Region. Family and friends gathered on the wharf to farewell the crew who will deploy for around nine months. Commander
Sailors onboard Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigate HMAS Perth returned to their homeport after six months away from home undertaking patrols of the Middle East as part of Operation Manitou. Commanding Officer Perth, Captain Ivan Ingham, was the first off the gangway and was met by his wife
Pacific partnership staff and partner nation representatives met in Singapore, November 8-10, for a planning conference to finalize details for the upcoming mission, slated for the spring of 2017. In its 12th year, Pacific Partnership is the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and di
The crew of the Royal Australian Navy’s Huon class minehunter HMAS Yarra has paid a rare port call to the Indonesian trade centre of Makassar. Yarra was the first Royal Australian Navy vessel to visit Makassar since the opening of the Australian mission in the city this March. Australia is South Sul
U.S. Navy’s guided missile destroyers USS Spruance (DDG 111) and USS Decatur (DDG 73) arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii last week for the final port visit in their Pacific Surface Action Group (PAC SAG) Western Pacific deployment. Decatur and Spruance, operating under CDS 31, were mo
Navy divers from Australia and the United States are set to start training activities in Sydney on November 8 to improve their skills and inter-operability. Exercise Dugong 16 brings together more than 50 specialist divers and support staff for two weeks of training on underwater construction techni
Royal Australian Navy’s Adelaide-class guided-missile frigate HMAS Melbourne (FFG 05) successfully launched an Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) in a test off the east coast of Australia. The navy shared a video of the event and added that the missile firing was the first conducted in Automatic Sel
Royal Canadian Navy frigate HMCS Vancouver arrived in Brisbane, Australia on November 2 as part of her Westploy 16 deployment. HMCS Vancouver’s deployment is aimed at strengthening ties between the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) and the navies of Asia-Pacific countries. Since departing its home port of E
Australia is considering an Indonesian invitation for joint maritime patrols in the South China Sea, Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said Tuesday. According to Bishop, the option was discussed during last week’s meeting between her, Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and Indonesian o
HMAS Farncomb, Royal Australian Navy’s second Collins-class submarine, pulled into Tasmania for a five day port visit during a recent south-east Australia deployment, allowing family and friends to explore life onboard a submarine. The visit was the first time many of the ship’s company had a chance
The Five Power Defence Arrangements exercise Bersama Lima 2016 concluded on October 21. Bersama Lima was conducted in Malaysia, Singapore and over the South China Sea, and involved air, maritime and land elements from the five member nations; Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the Unite
