News – Page 6 – CONTACT magazine

Commander Andrew Watson, left, and Chief Petty Officer Simon Hustwit prepare the Callisto 50 logistics drone for flight during a trial phase at Exercise Talisman Sabre. Story and photo by Corporal Michael Rogers.

Drone trial points to game changer for Navy

08/08/202508/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2653 Views 0 Comments drones, Exercise Talisman Sabre

Navy ships may soon receive crucial stores without having to launch a helicopter or come off task, thanks to an

Navy marine technician Able Seaman Lachlan Hannan conducts work in the Deployable Additive Manufacturing and Repair unit near Gladstone during Exercise Talisman Sabre. Story and photos by Corporal Michael Rogers.

News Royal Australian Navy Science & Technology Talisman Sabre

Navy prints solutions to operational problems

08/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2850 Views 0 Comments 3d Printer, Additive Manufacturing and Repair Capability (DAMR), Exercise Talisman Sabre

In a shipping container near Gladstone, Navy’s newest engineering asset hummed to life during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025. CAPTION: Navy marine

French Armed Forces officer Captain Antoine Lefeuve, left, Commander of the 2nd Company, 21st Marine Infantry Regiment, stands with Commander 3rd Brigade, Brigadier Benjamin McLennan, on completion of Exercise Talisman Sabre at Lavarack Barracks, Queensland. Story by Major Diana Jennings. Photo by Lance Corporal Caitlyn Davill.

Australian Army News Talisman Sabre

Soldiers bid adieu to French comrades

08/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 1898 Views 0 Comments 3rd Brigade, Exercise Talisman Sabre, French Armed Forces, Townsville Field Training Area

In the Townsville Field Training Area, Australian and French soldiers marked a military partnership milestone as they worked side by

US Navy ship USS Pearl Harbor alongside at Lae, PNG, as the Republic of Korea Ship II Chul Bong departs during Exercise Pacific Partnership. Photos by Warrant Officer Class 2 Max Bree.

News Overseas Royal Australian Navy

ADF provides valuable contribution to US-led exercise in PNG

07/08/202509/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2948 Views 0 Comments Exercise Pacific Partnership, PNG, US Navy

The Australian Defence Force has concluded a successful deployment of personnel to Papua New Guinea as part of Exercise Pacific

Australian Army AH-64E Apache pilots, Captain Craig Burger, left, and Captain Jonathan Hogan, at the United States Army Aviation Center of Excellence, in Alabama. Story by Captain Jonathan Hogan. Photos supplied.

Australian Army News USA

The art of teaching Apache – an aviator’s experience

07/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2457 Views 0 Comments 1st Aviation Regiment, AH-64E Apache, US Army

Australian Army pilot Captain Jonathan Hogan describes his training as an instructor on the Apache attack helicopter in Alabama. CAPTION: Australian

Centenarian and World War 2 Air Force veteran June Hunter cuts her birthday cake with help from Aircraftwoman Molly Blanch and Leading Aircraftwoman Nicole Webb. Photos by Group Captain Gregory Weller.

ADF People History Lest We Forget Royal Australian Air Force

Celebrating the life of a WWII air force veteran

07/08/202518/08/2025 Posted by Mike Hughes 2643 Views 0 Comments WWII

The life of World War II veteran June Hunter (nee Hitch), who died in late July, was a story that

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

News Royal Australian Navy

Japan wins ANZAC-class frigate replacement bid

05/08/202505/08/2025 Posted by Brian Hartigan 2109 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 1377 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 2024 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 1076 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 1703 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 927 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 2322 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 2462 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 2610 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 2072 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 2675 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 1922 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 1933 Views 1 Comment 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 2221 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