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A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Arunta have wrapped up their contribution to a trilateral military exercise alongside US and Japanese counterparts.
The frigate and the maritime patrol aircraft have concluded trilateral training alongside US Navy destroyer USS Momsen and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Yudachi in the South China Sea.
The exercise, which wrapped up on 15 March, were designed to enhance interoperability and communications between the partners, while also helping to preserve an open, inclusive and resilient Indo-Pacific region.
Training involved testing a range of professional mariner skills, including cooperative navigation, communications and helicopter operations.
HMAS Arunta’s contribution forms part of a regional presence deployment, the Navy’s first for 2022.
The deployment commenced in late February, with HMAS Arunta securing shipping lanes, visiting regional ports and participating in Exercise Milan 2022 – a multinational military exercise involving 16 navies from across the Indo-Pacific, held in the port of Visakhapatnam, India, and in the Bay of Bengal.
The Indian-led exercise provided personnel with experience operating at sea in a large multilateral force.
The sea phase followed a harbour phase program in Visakhapatnam, which included an opening ceremony, seminars, briefings, technology demonstrations and training activities.
These deployments aim to support the Australian Defence Force’s international engagement programs and demonstrate Australia’s commitment to working with regional partners to address shared challenges.
This article is courtesy of Defence Connect.
