iscover
The New Zealand Defence Force has announced it will deploy more than 35 New Zealand Army vehicles and almost 700 personnel for Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in Australia.
New Zealand will deploy its military assets alongside more than 30,000 military personnel and platforms from 19 nations for the military exercise held across Australia from 13 July to 4 August. Other nations include the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom and to host an event for the first time, Papua New Guinea.
Significant military equipment being fielded includes the multi-role vessel HMNZS Canterbury, frigate HMNZS Te Kaha, light armoured vehicles, Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, three NH90 helicopters and P-8A Poseidon aircraft.
Part of the 680 NZDF personnel travelling to Queensland for the exercise include mine warfare divers, military police, medics, logistics and operational troops for land, air and maritime missions.
“Talisman Sabre provides an invaluable opportunity for us to train with some of our closest defence partners in a realistic and demanding environment,” Commander Joint Forces New Zealand Major General Rob Krushka said.
“Exercises like this ensure we remain a credible, capable and combat-ready force, ready to respond to regional and global challenges.
“One of our real capabilities is force integration.
“We have a well-proven ability to seamlessly embed our personnel and platforms into multinational, multi-domain tactical forces and this exercise gives us another opportunity to demonstrate this.”
After transiting to Queensland, the NZ Army combat team will link up with the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade for a preparatory exercise to hone their interoperability in the build-up to Talisman Sabre.
Talisman Sabre 25 will incorporate joint training scenarios, including amphibious landings, maritime identification and interception, air operations, live-fire exercises and logistics support across a vast training area in Australia’s Northern Territory and Queensland, and in the Coral Sea.
Held every two years, the exercise is designed to improve and strengthen interoperability and combat readiness in complex, multi-domain operations.
