Australian soldiers, aviators and Navy personnel joined counterparts from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand at Pearl Harbor last month, for the Multilateral Integrated Air and Missile Defence Summit and Senior International Leader Event (MISSILE-PAC).
Lieutenant Colonel Cooper Dale, of Army's Land Capability Division long range fires program, said the summit reinforced the Australian Defence Force's role in the Indo-Pacific region.
"MISSILE-PAC is a reoccurring multinational activity that focuses on IAMD [integrated air and missile defence] within the Indo Pacific, with an emphasis on interoperability between traditional partners," Lieutenant Colonel Dale said.
He said IAMD experts from the Five-Eyes nations were joined this year by representatives from South Korea, Japan and the Philippines.
MISSILE-PAC 25 was described by the host nation as the intersection of policy, strategy and tactical air and missile defence operations and as an opportunity for IAMD specialists and planners from each nation to discuss regional threats, capabilities and future cooperation.
"Australia is the major partner within the Indo-Pacific," Lieutenant Colonel Dale said.
"Australia continues to lead by example within this region, highlighting the collaborative and human nature of Australia's integration with the wider IAMD community."
Squadron Leader Sam Larkings, of the RAAF, said Australia's participation helped explore how we would deliver IAMD with our partners to strengthen security across the Indo-Pacific.
"Key learnings and outcomes will shape future acquisitions and integration effort that improves our interoperability and responsiveness," Squadron Leader Larkings said.
Among the topics discussed was leveraging AI to enhance decision-making within the targeting and execution process.
"The aim of this year's activity was to enhance the way forward for interoperability of IAMD with Pacific partners and to discuss the threat and challenges of hypersonic weapons, UAS and ballistic missile threats," Lieutenant Colonel Dale said.
