Exercise COASTWATCHERS is Defence’s premier bilateral exercise series with the Solomon Islands. It is developed jointly with the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) to build Solomon Islands’ Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR) and policing capabilities. There are three iterations planned for 2022 – July, September and November. Exercise COSTWATCHERS…
At the recent Williams Foundation on the challenge of building out a more lethal and survivable ADR, the newly appointed Chief of Navy, VADM Mark Hammond provided his perspective on the way ahead of the RAN and the nation in meeting these challenges. His text delivered at the seminar follows:…
U.S. Marine Corps Lt Col. William Woodward, commanding officer of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 773, 4th Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Forces Reserve in support of Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force UNITAS LXIII, gives an interview at São Pedro da Aldeia, Brazil, Sept. 13, 2022. UNITAS is the…
By Robbin Laird I had a chance to discuss maritime issues with Rear Admiral Torben Mikkelsen both in Copenhagen during my visit in June 2022 and at the Euronaval exposition in Paris during the week of October 16, 2022. He has been Admiral Danish Fleet Commander since 2017 and recently…
U.S. Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron (HMH) 461 perform external lifts and fire GAU-21 .50-caliber machine guns from CH-53K King Stallions at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, Aug. 4 - 24, 2022. This was the first time the Marine Corps deployed the King Stallion in an exercise. HMH-461…
U.S. Marines with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron (VMGR) 252, fire AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and AGM-176 Griffin missiles near Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, Aug. 31, 2022. VMGR-252 trained in close-air support by using the Harvest Hercules Airborne Weapons Kit. VMGR-252 is a subordinate unit of 2nd Marine Aircraft…
By Robbin Laird In my recent article on the CMV-22B coming to the carrier, I highlighted the importance of ramping up the CMV-22B buy to enable the kinds of support needed for a distributed fleet in a contested environment. I also noted that “the synergies between the Navy and the…
By Captain Carla Armenti A combined maritime task group comprised of Australian and Singaporean warships and troops has completed Exercise Trident. Three warships and over 1600 people were involved in the exercise, a continued commitment to bilateral joint military exercises under the 2015 Singapore-Australia Comprehensive Partnership. The exercise came to an…
