Exercise Bersama Shield wraps up

An RAAF AP-3C Orion on the RMAF Butterworth ramp during Exercise Bersama Shield 14. (Defence)

An exercise designed to strengthen the ties between the Five Power Defence Agreement (FPDA) nations of Australia, the UK, Malaysia, Singapore and New Zealand has wrapped up in and around the Malay Peninsula.

The exercise involved ships, submarines, and 53 aircraft from the five nations which flew 750 missions, including two RAAF AP-3C Orions, an E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C, and a B350 King Air.

“The exercise focused on building our capability to work with the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) member nations,” leader of the Australian contingent, CMDR Michael Jacobson said in a statement. “Our people faced a wide variety of exercise threats and they worked together to overcome them.”