Overview

• More than 35,000 personnel are deploying across five Australian states and for the first time in Papua New Guinea, with Malaysia and Vietnam attending as observers.
• India is taking part in Exercise Talisman Sabre for the first time, marking a milestone in India-Australia defence cooperation.
• Live-fire drills, amphibious landings, ground manoeuvres and air and maritime operations will showcase new capabilities such as UH-60M Black Hawks and the Precision Strike Missile.
• Chinese surveillance vessels that have monitored the exercise since 2017 are expected to shadow this year’s operations, prompting Australian forces to adjust training plans.
• The exercise aims to bolster combined readiness and interoperability among Indo-Pacific allies and signal collective deterrence.