Australian – Page 9 – CONTACT magazine

An artists' impression of Australia's future ANZAC-class replacement, the upgraded Mogami-class frigate by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan. Image supplied.

Japan wins ANZAC-class frigate replacement bid

05/08/202505/08/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2292 Views 0 Comments

The Japanese Mogami-class frigate has been selected as the preferred platform for the Royal Australian Navy’s future fleet of general

Australian Army soldier Private Kaitlyn Gallagher, left, hands over a juvenile saltwater crocodile to a soldier from 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group during the Exercise Southern Cross 2025 fauna workshop in Darwin. Story by Captain Tim Klingner. Photos by Corporal Michael Currie.

Australian Army News

Northern exposure for NORFORCE

05/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1616 Views 0 Comments Canadian Armed Forces, Exercise Southern Cross, NORFORCE

Swapping sub-zero temperatures in picturesque Canada for the harsh sun of the Northern Territory is never easy, but on Exercise

An Australian Army M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tank provides support for soldiers during an urban assault at Shoalwater Bay Training Area as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. Photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.

Australian Army News Talisman Sabre

3rd Brigade takes armour to the fight

05/08/202516/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2224 Views 0 Comments 3RAR, 3rd Brigade, Exercise Talisman Sabre, Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Technology, tactics and tenacity were key ingredients for the 3rd Brigade’s final assault, executed through a blanket of smoke and

Lieutenant Colonel Melissa Joy, front row second from left, Commanding Officer of the Army Personnel Support Unit, with detachment Officers-In-Command in Canberra. Photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.

Australian Army News

Army support unit’s new focus on welfare

05/08/202515/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1244 Views 0 Comments Army Personnel Support Unit (APSU)

From next year, the Army Personnel Support Unit (APSU) will focus on delivering strategic welfare support, dropping its pay and

Family and friends of HMAS Sydney’s crew welcome them on the wharf of Fleet Base East after four-and-a-half months at sea. Story and photos by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi.

News Royal Australian Navy

TGIF never felt so good for HMAS Sydney

05/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1855 Views 0 Comments Fleet Base East, Regional Presence Deployment, Sydney

For the 240-strong crew of HMAS Sydney, Friday August 1 wasn’t just the end of the week – it was

From left, Lieutenant Hannah Roberts, Petty Officer Matthew Samson and Lieutenant Commander James Stahlhut on board HMAS Sydney during a replenishment at sea with Japanese Ship Mashu. Story by Lieutenant Hinako Shiraishi. Photos by Leading Seaman David Cox.

News Royal Australian Navy

Stokers supply engineering solutions for Sydney

05/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1055 Views 0 Comments HMAS Sydney

Known affectionately as stokers, after the old days of stoking coal-fired boilers and steam engines, the 44 people who make

A Royal Australian Navy clearance diver prepares a subsurface improvised explosive device for disposal as part of a training scenario at Gladstone Marina during Exercise Talisman Sabre 25. Story and photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Navy Talisman Sabre

Multinational clearance divers tackle complex hazards

01/08/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2511 Views 0 Comments Clearance Divers, Exercise Talisman Sabre

A suspected improvised explosive device (IED) on a police boat in Gladstone Marina brought Australian and United States clearance divers

Chief of Navy Vice-Admiral Mark Hammond approved the updated Navy Badge, featuring the Tudor Crown.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Defence emblems wear new crown

01/08/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2758 Views 2 Comments

Defence has begun updating digital images, brand marks and logos bearing Queen Elizabeth II’s St Edward’s Crown after service chiefs

Australian Army soldier Lance Corporal Fred Jabagat, from the 1st Armoured Regiment, controls the M134D minigun remote weapon station attached to a Modular Robotic Vehicle during Exercise Talisman Sabre at Townsville Field Training Area. Story by √. Photos by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill.

Australian Army News Talisman Sabre

Remote weapons technology tested on Talisman Sabre

01/08/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2796 Views 0 Comments 1st Armoured Regiment, Exercise Talisman Sabre, first-person view drones (FPVD), Modular Robotic Vehicle (MRV)

The 1st Armoured Regiment (1st Armd Regt) transformed this year to provide the Australian Army with a Combat Experimentation Group,

Australian Army heavy vehicles cross a Dry Support Bridge built by soldiers from the 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment during Talisman Sabre 2025 at Townsville Field Training Area. Story and photos by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Australian Army News Talisman Sabre

Overnight success bridges gap for armoured assault

31/07/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2319 Views 0 Comments 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment, Dry Support Bridge, Exercise Talisman Sabre, Townsville Field Training Area

Under cover of darkness, using specialist equipment, soldiers from 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment constructed a 46-metre Dry Support Bridge, providing

Suanne Prager, airlifted to Australia under Operation Babylift as a child, meets 37 Squadron Association president Col Coyne at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. Story and photos by Corporal Jacob Joseph.

History News Royal Australian Air Force

Operation Babylift crews reunite with passengers

31/07/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2910 Views 0 Comments AWM, Vietnam War

Royal Australian Air Force and Qantas personnel who flew hundreds of Vietnamese orphans out of harm’s way were reunited with

Former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Townsville II makes her final journey to her new home at the Townsville Maritime Museum. Story and photos by Lieutenant Commander Anthony Martin.

History News Royal Australian Navy

Honouring a Fremantle-class legend at Townsville

30/07/202511/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2060 Views 0 Comments

On a bright north-Queensland morning, the former Royal Australian Navy patrol boat HMAS Townsville II made its final journey up

AT003, one of Australia's first AH-64E Apache aircraft entered final assembly at the Boeing Defense Apache Facility in Mesa, Arizona in May 2025. Story by Major Lily Charles.

Australian Army News

Aussie Apaches on course for delivery

30/07/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2169 Views 2 Comments 1st Aviation Regiment, AH-64E Apache, Boeing

The integrated force is a step closer to a new era of attack aviation, with Army’s first four AH-64E Apaches

Corporal Danielle Sass, a loadmaster on a C-27J Spartan aircraft at 35 Squadron, after her graduation at RAAF Base Amberley. Story by Flight Lieutenant Madeleine Magee. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Taylor Anderson.

ADF People Royal Australian Air Force

Egyptologist takes up RAAF career

30/07/202509/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2383 Views 0 Comments 35 Squadron, C-27J Spartan, RAAF Amberley

What do the Royal Australian Air Force and Egyptology have in common? CAPTION: Corporal Danielle Sass, a loadmaster on a C-27J

Royal Air Force aviator Air Specialist (Class 1) Kate Oldershaw operates a forklift while working with RAAF aviator Leading Aircraftwoman Georgia Dewhirst during Exercise Talisman Sabre. Story by Flight Lieutenant Imogen Lunny. Photos by Leading Aircraftwoman Nell Bradbury.

News Royal Australian Air Force Talisman Sabre

Foreign forces unite on the flight line

30/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1971 Views 0 Comments Exercise Talisman Sabre

On the eastern flank of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, RAAF Base Amberley stood as the power hub of cargo and

Members of the Joint Military Police Unit will expand operational use of body-worn cameras from September 1. Story by Wing Commander Craig Scott.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

Military Police roll out body-worn cameras

30/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1794 Views 0 Comments Body Worn Cameras (BWC), Joint Military Police Unit (JMPU)

Members of the Joint Military Police Unit (JMPU) will expand operational use of body-worn cameras (BWC) from September as part

An Australian Army soldier from the 3rd Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment, takes a sight picture with an anti-drone gun during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 at Townsville Field Training Area. Story and photos by Corporal Luke Bellman.

Australian Army News Talisman Sabre

Kapyong Command Post gives shape to the battle

30/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1563 Views 0 Comments 3rd Battalion RAR, 3rd Brigade, Exercise Talisman Sabre

Inside 3rd Brigade’s Battle Group Kapyong Command Post, battle plans took shape. CAPTION: An Australian Army soldier from the 3rd Battalion,

A US Air Force C-17A Globemaster III takes off from RAAF Base Curtin during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. Story and photo by Flight Lieutenant Deanna Ellick.

News Royal Australian Air Force Talisman Sabre

RAAF Base Curtin a high achiever on Talisman Sabre

30/07/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1584 Views 0 Comments C-17, RAAF Curtin, sabre

Operating an airbase in an austere location may seem like a huge undertaking, but for Royal Australian Air Force Contingency

Royal New Zealand Air Force military working dog handler Aircraftman Dylan McClintock, left, and Keno, join Royal Australian Air Force Corporal Renee Cahill, from 27 Squadron Security Flight, at RAAF Base Townsville. Story by Flying Officer Casie Scott. Photos by Captain Chloe Ellwood.

News Royal Australian Air Force Talisman Sabre

Military dogs cross the ditch for Talisman Sabre

30/07/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1715 Views 0 Comments Exercise Talisman Sabre, Military Working Dogs, RAAF Townsville, RNZAF

The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) Security Forces Patrol Dog Unit has brought extra bite power to RAAF Base

Personnel, aircraft and assets at RAAF Base Tindal during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. Story by Flight Lieutenant Sharon Sebastian. Photo by Leading Aircraftman Blake Thompson.

Australian Army News Royal Australian Air Force Royal Australian Navy

5500 flight hours and 2000 sorties on Talisman Sabre

29/07/202503/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2143 Views 0 Comments Exercise Talisman Sabre

From the roar of fighter jets cutting through the clouds, to the steady hum of surveillance aircraft scanning vast ocean