Thousands of kilometres from home, two allies have leveraged Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 to gain familiarity with what it takes to operate in the Indo-Pacific.
Germany's Paratrooper Regiment 26 has embedded with the United States Army's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, to conduct large-scale missions.
Under the cover of darkness, the troops flew 6200 miles (almost 10,000 kilometres) from Alaska to Charters Towers, Queensland, to conduct a high-stakes night insertion.
German Senior National Colonel Beinke said while German and American forces exercised together regularly, Talisman Sabre marked the largest tactical training mission the two nations had undertaken jointly, allowing the alliance to be tested in the field.
"We are nations pushing in the same direction and that makes it easy to work together. Everybody is focused and looking to the same objectives to get things done," Colonel Beinke said.
"Of course we have some experiences together with missions such as Afghanistan, but it is really great to have exercises that are going back to home defence and having these capabilities together.
"We have a strong partnership because the US is a cornerstone of NATO as well. For our national security, it is always multinationality, not something you can do alone without partners and working together."
The 314 US and German paratroopers jumped from a US Air Force C-17 Globemaster III into contested territory to rehearse seizing important ground for follow-on forces.
'You have that interoperability, you have those combined effects together and you can be incredibly lethal as a combined joint formation.'
A Royal Australian Air Force aircraft also participated in the mission from Alaska, while another European partner - France - also joined the mission from northern Australia.
After linking up on the ground, the US and German forces executed a combined joint forcible entry operation, then moved into the nearby Townsville Field Training Area to neutralise simulated enemy threats over four days.
The mission included a gruelling 40-kilometre march through hostile terrain, with each soldier carrying more than 40 kilograms of equipment.
The joint team then redeployed to Shoalwater Bay Training Area to conduct another parachute insertion that marked the start of a major multinational amphibious assault that also involved Australian, Japanese, Korean and French troops.
Colonel Brian Weightman, Commander 2nd Brigade, 11th Airborne Division, said Talisman Sabre was fulfilling one of its core objectives: strengthening allied interoperability.
"Talisman Sabre is a massive joint combined operation, about a 13-month planning process to get here," Colonel Weightman said.
"You talk about one of the most sophisticated planning efforts on the planet and it is probably TS25.
"You have that interoperability, you have those combined effects together and you can be incredibly lethal as a combined joint formation."
With more than 40,000 participants, the 11th iteration of Talisman Sabre has provided a valuable opportunity for Australia's European and other partners to practise high-end warfighting in the region.
