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A US Army M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) has been deployed to Christmas Island for Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
The HIMARS was transferred by a Royal Canadian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III transport aircraft to conduct a simulated HIMARS Rapid Infiltration mission.
The mission is designed to rapidly deploy and employ land-based, long-range precision fires to a forward airfield and then withdraw rapidly by the aircraft before counter-fire.
Targeting data was provided in real time by the combined US-Australian Land Effects Coordination Cell in South Australia, with data transmission supported by Project Operose, the ADF and US operational test and evaluation of a combined command and control node for theatre-level precision long-range fires.
Supervising the activity was Lieutenant Colonel Ed Guelfi of the US Army’s 17th Field Artillery Brigade, who said the strategic message behind the mission was clear.
“Collectively, we have rapidly deployed a HIMARS to demonstrate our ability to put combat power anywhere at any time of our choosing,” LTC Guelfi said.
On arrival, the HIMARS vehicles underwent Australian Border Force biosecurity checks and then the vehicles manoeuvred into a suitable position to simulate the conduct of a HIMARS launch.
Overseeing the deployment of the HIMARS capability to Christmas Island was the Royal Australian Navy’s Commodore Peter Leavy.
“Most of the Island is actually a national park, so there is a lot of preparatory work needed to deploy capabilities up here and this was a great exercise to test all of those aspects to ensure we could operate in this area,” CDRE Leavy said.
“Christmas Island is very strategically positioned in the Indian Ocean and we need to be able to operate here and to protect the territory and the Australian citizens that live here.”
