Drawing from Australia's excellent Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter's, July 19, 2021 report:
"Talisman Sabre has officially begun; forces conduct live fire"
Australia’s largest bilateral exercise with the US, Exercise Talisman Sabre (TS), has officially commenced for 2021. TS is a high-end war fighting exercise designed to enhance interoperability between the Australian Defence Force and the US Armed Forces. TS reflects the strength of the Australia-US Alliance and the close, enduring nature of our military-to-military relationship. TS will involve more than 17,000 personnel from Australia and the US.
Also forces from Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the UK will participate. Australia-based personnel [probably mainly defence attaches] from India, Indonesia, France and Germany will observe TS.
TS is essential to maintaining high-levels of interoperability between US and Australian forces. The majority of TS activities take place on Australian Defence bases, as well as training areas across central and northeast Queensland, Australia and off the east coast of Australia. TS 2021 is the ninth iteration of the exercise and incorporates force preparation activities, amphibious landings, ground force manoeuvre, urban operations, and air combat and maritime operations. It also coincides with the 70th anniversary of the signing of the ANZUS Treaty.
Live Fire Exercise
On July 18, 2021 forces from Australia, the US and Japan took part in a live fire exercise at Shoalwater Bay Training Area, Queensland. The exercise employed naval gun fire, fixed and rotary wing air strikes, and artillery including the US Marine Corps High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HiMARS). The live-fire exercise at Shoalwater Bay involved the following platforms:
· M-777 Howitzer (Australian and United States)
· High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (United States Marine Corps and United States Army)
· AH-1Z Cobra attack helicopters (United States)
· Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (Australian)
· Shadow Unmanned Aerial System (Australian)
· F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (United States Marine Corps)
· F/A-18A Hornets (Australian)
· CH-47 Chinook (Australian)
· UH-1Y Iroquois (United States)
· Naval gun fire from:
o HMAS Ballarat (Australian)
o HMAS Parramatta (Australian)
o USS Rafael Peralta (US) and
o JS Makiname (Japan)
(Above and below) Soldiers from the US Army's 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion fire a Patriot missile from a launcher during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21, July 16, 2021, at Camp Growl, Queensland, Australia. (US Army photo by Maj. Trevor Wild, 38th ADA BDE Public Affairs.) (Photo Credit: Maj. Trevor Wild).
The following is just part of a US Army Pacific Public Affairsreport of July 17, 2021:
“US Army Launches Patriot Missiles During Talisman Saber 21
QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA -- U.S. Army Pacific Air and Missile Defense units working with Australian Defence Force counterparts completed the first ever Patriot surface-to-air missile firing on Australian soil during Exercise Talisman Sabre 21 in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area in Queensland, Australia, July 16, 2021.
In the historic first, Soldiers based in Japan and Guam [the 1-1 Air Defense Artillery Battalion ] from 38th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, successfully engaged drone targets with Patriot missiles as part of TS 21, Australia’s largest military exercise with the U.S.
For the latest information visit: https://www.dvidshub.net/feature/TalismanSabre21 and https://www1.defence.gov.au/exercises/talisman-sabre-21“
SEE US ARMY PACIFIC PUBLIC AFFAIRS REPORT IN FULL