Largest iteration of Talisman Sabre comes to an end

After three weeks of intensive training and high-end warfighting scenarios across Australia, and for the first time in Papua New Guinea, Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 has officially ended.

CAPTION: A Royal Marine from His Majesty’s Armed Forces of Tonga, left, and an Australian Army soldier at Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Talisman Sabre. Photo by Captain Karam Louli.

The 11th iteration included live-fire and land combat exercises, amphibious landings, air combat and large-scale maritime activities.

Chief of Joint Operations Vice Admiral Justin Jones said the scale of this year’s exercise was unprecedented.

“This year has been the largest iteration of Exercise Talisman Sabre in its 20-year history,” Vice Admiral Jones said.

“We’ve had 32 ships, eight of which were amphibious ships, and two carrier strike groups from the UK and US. We’ve had 297 aircraft participate and 2000 sorties. We’ve moved 32 million kilograms of cargo and over 16,000 military personnel around the country.

“It is an extensive, tactical field training exercise by nature, over an extraordinary geographic scale; approximately 5300 kilometres from Christmas Island, north-west of Australia, through to the southern NSW coast.”

Nineteen nations operated together across the five operating domains of sea, land, air, cyber and space.

At its peak, 43,000 personnel from Australia, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, PNG, the Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga and the United Kingdom trained with the United States, while personnel from Malaysia and Vietnam attended as observers.

CAPTION: An Australian Army soldier greets French Armed Forces soldier Sergeant Axel Gisselbrecht, from 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, during a patrol through the township of Charters Towers, Queensland, during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. Photo by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill

Exercise Director Brigadier Damian Hill said it enhanced the ADF’s interoperability with partner nations and a shared commitment to the Indo-Pacific.

“Talisman Sabre 2025 is about demonstrating multinational interoperability and our willingness to work together while supporting a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” Brigadier Hill said.

“We spent a great deal of 2024 engaging with our partner nations, asking them what they wanted to achieve, which is a significant change to the way we’re undertaking Talisman Sabre, and it’s bearing fruit.

“During Talisman Sabre we saw partner nations undertake training that is important to them and saw those close relationships and bonds form.”

CAPTION: Royal Canadian Air Force Corporal Darrell Patterson and No 23 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force, Sergeant Eve Trembley exchange caps at the end of Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 at RAAF Base Amberley. Photo by Corporal Brett Sherriff.

Some of the milestones for Australia and partner nations included:

• The first live-firing of the Australian M142 HIMARS, including using the precision strike missile.
• A successful land-to-sea engagement of the United States mid-range capability, including using an SM-6 missile against a maritime target.
• Participation of the United Kingdom-led Carrier Strike Group, representing the first time a non-US aircraft carrier has been involved in Talisman Sabre.
• A long-distance joint force entry operation that deployed 335 US Army paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Division from Alaska to Charters Towers alongside French and German paratroopers.
• Large-scale amphibious operations involving forces from Australia, France, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Vice Admiral Jones praised the efforts of all involved.

“Talisman Sabre 2025 has been an enormous success,” he said.

“It is a powerful symbol to have 19 nations from not only the Indo-Pacific but from across the world, operating together in Australia.

“These are friends, allies and partners that have a shared vision for the Indo-Pacific.

“Together we are stronger, together we are prepared.”

CAPTION: Commander, Ground Component Command of the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, Lieutenant General Kobayashi Hiroki wears the 1st (Australian) Division (1 (AS) Div) cap Commander 1 (AS) Div, Major General Ash Collingburn, AM, DSM, gave him at Williamson Airfield in the Shoalwater Bay Military Training Area. Photo by Sergeant Roger Tang.

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