They include 19 countries and more than 30,000 military personnel. For the first time, this year’s exercises also are held in Papua New Guinea.
The ADF permanently grounded its fleet of MRH-90 Taipan helicopters after a fatal crash during the most recent exercises in 2023 which killed four service members.
An investigation by the Defence Flight Safety Bureau, released in May, concluded it was highly likely the crash caused by unrecognised spatial disorientation suffered by at least one of the aircraft’s pilots.
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Speaking to reporters in Darwin on Thursday, United States’ Brigadier-General Shannon Smith said he had no concerns about the Australia-US alliance.
He said exercises such as Talisman Sabre demonstrated it was not too difficult for the US to provide miliary support in the region.
“I have concerns about the tyranny of distance, the tyranny of time, the massive scale and scope of this region and the complexity of international relationships,” he said.
“[But] the military remains focused on providing what we are asked to provide through the national defence strategy.”
When asked whether China had sent a vessel to surveil the exercises, Australian Commander Air Commodore Louise DesJardins did not answer.
“The ADF always monitors our maritime approaches and the surveillance outcomes of that … we keep a close eye,” she said.