Exercise Talisman Sabre gets underway

The NZ Army Combat Team – made up of infantry, armour, artillery, engineers, signals and logistics personnel – finished its build-up Exercise Diamond Strike, where they fine-tuned their interoperability and battlefield connections with their Australian ally and other key partners, before turning to the much bigger Talisman Sabre 25, which involves 19 countries and more than 30,000 personnel. 

The Royal New Zealand Navy frigate HMNZS Te Kaha and aircraft from both No 3 and No 5 Squadrons of the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) as well as other personnel and assets from both Services are also taking part in the exercise.

A Royal New Zealand Navy mine countermeasures (MCM) team from HMNZS Matataua is already at sea off the coast of Queensland on a US naval vessel before returning to conduct an operational scenario with Australian and United States explosive ordnance team and MCM teams in  the strategic port of Gladstone.

RNZN frigate HMNZS Te Kaha, fresh from a deployment with the UK Carrier Strike Group, will be exercising with maritime units from other participating countries in the Coral Sea protecting and defending key sea lanes from opposing forces.

Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) crews from both the P-8A Poseidon aircraft and NH90 helicopters have also spent time prepping their aircraft for the exercise, including NH90 Helicopter  crews integrating with the Australian Army.

Both HMNZS Canterbury and the RNZAF’s Boeing 757-2K2 have also played vital roles in getting NZDF personnel to the exercise, which also rehearsed and tested the NZDF’s ability to project forces around the region.

“This exercise has felt a long time coming for a number of our deployed contingent and so to have everyone in-country and prepped to go is great. I know there’s a lot of excitement at sinking our teeth into some high-quality exercises and scenarios alongside our ally and partners at a scale that we just can’t replicate at home,” Lieutenant Colonel Tim Tuatini said. 

There will also be a significant NZDF presence in the Headquarters element of the exercise, which Lieutenant Colonel Tuatini said is testament to the leadership and expertise of our people. 

“Comparatively speaking yes we may be a smaller force than some of our partners, but we certainly punch above our weight when it comes to contributing high-quality personnel to exercises like these. It shows that we can contribute effectively across all levels and across all domains in a complex multinational environment. We can’t wait to get started,” he said. 

The exercise will be formally underway following an opening ceremony on Monday 14 July, before the NZDF contingent gets stuck in to a variety of tasks.

Read more about Exercise Talisman Sabre.