Overview

• Over 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations, including the United States and India, are deploying across five Australian regions for the three-week exercise.
• Training activities are being conducted in Papua New Guinea for the first time alongside live-fire operations in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, New South Wales and Christmas Island.
• The drill will feature live-fire exercises, amphibious landings and joint air-maritime operations integrating UH-60M Black Hawks and the Precision Strike Missile.
• Chinese surveillance ships are expected to shadow the exercise, highlighting heightened regional strategic competition.
• The launch coincides with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s diplomatic mission to China, illustrating Australia’s dual focus on alliance readiness and economic relations.