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Australia and New Zealand’s air forces have strengthened their operational ties through a joint training exercise at RAAF Base Richmond.
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New Zealand personnel and a C-130J aircraft were deployed to Australia and embedded within the Australian unit, allowing both forces to gain a clearer understanding of each other’s operational methods.
“Deploying on Exercise Trojan Compass has been a great opportunity for aviators of the Royal New Zealand Air Force to deploy to an unfamiliar environment,” said New Zealand Detachment Commander, Squadron Leader Adam Palmer.
“It allowed us to practise our skills so if we need them in the wider region or around the globe, we are ready to respond as required.
“A key highlight was deploying the New Zealand C-130J internationally under an Australian national call sign to complete international tasking for the Australian Defence Force.”
Personnel from both countries worked side by side on shared flight lines and in hangars to build familiarity with common systems and processes.
“What has been working really well is that we have similar machinery and similar aircraft. It makes it easy for us to prepare freight and load as we have the same processes and procedures,” said New Zealand Logistics Officer Flight Lieutenant Kelsey May.
Beyond technical integration, the deployment also strengthened professional relationships, fostering trust and reinforcing the long-standing defence partnership between Australia and New Zealand.
“Interoperability was the key outcome of this exercise. Working with a foreign nation has been excellent and we have learnt a lot from each other along the way,” said New Zealand Flight Lieutenant Riley Kennedy.
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