Ships and aircraft from the New Zealand and Australian Defence Forces have been exercising off the New South Wales coast during Exercise Ocean Protector recently.
HMNZ ships Te Kaha, Canterbury and Endeavour and Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K Orion maritime patrol aircraft from 5 Squadron joined with Royal Australian Navy ships Parramatta, Melbourne, Stuart, Huon, and Diamantina, RAN Sea King helicopters from 816 Squadron, Royal Australian Air Force Hawk 127 aircraft from 82 Wing, KB-707 aircraft from 84 Wing, and AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft from 92 Wing for the exercise. Exercise Ocean Protector is an annual combined maritime exercise.
It involved a range of structured training activities to develop and test maritime war-fighting skills. It is the precursor to TASMANEX, a larger military exercise held in Australian and New Zealand waters between 14 February-3 March 2005, which includes visits to the New Zealand ports of Tauranga, Gisborne, Napier and Auckland.