Four of the Australian Army's new M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams main battle tanks and a MA88 Recovery Vehicle have been craned into the tight confines of the United States landing craft USAV Paulus Hook in a global first for interoperability.
Troopers from the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2 Cav) joined US 5th Transportation Company personnel and civilian contractors in the Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 operation that took planning and precision to new heights.
Australian Army Warrant Officer Class 1 (WO1) Chad Arness and his crew spent 22 days travelling from Japan to Australia in readiness for Talisman Sabre, for missions including infantry movements, heavy equipment lifts and strategic resupply operations.
"It is important to train how you fight, especially with the way things are around the world. When we get to train with partners in a bilateral exercise, it is a great opportunity so that if anything does happen we are prepared," WO1 Arness said.
"Earlier this week we met with the Developing Army Watercraft Team from Australia. They came and toured our vessel and we shared knowledge and tactics to continue to build the partnership."
The training is another step in Australia's Littoral Manoeuvre Program, established in response to the Defence Strategic Review and designed to advance Army's ability to deploy and sustain major combat units across the Indo-Pacific region.
'It is so important to practise amphibious warfare for beach landing, to be interoperable with the US Army and Navy.'
The USAV Paulus Hook will be travelling close to its maximum weight of 350 tonnes as it moves 800 kilometres down the Queensland coast between Townsville and Gladstone ports.
Lieutenant Luke Frohloff, from 2 Cav, will be making the journey alongside the Abrams tanks for the first time on the landing craft, which can transport heavy vehicles on to beaches, ramps and into potential conflict zones.
"This is something as a new squadron that we haven't practised yet," Lieutenant Frohloff said.
"It's good to get experience for us at the troop level now, so we can bring it up to a higher level in the future.
"It is so important to practise amphibious warfare for beach landing, to be interoperable with the US Army and Navy, gain valuable experience and remain interoperable for when we work with them in the future."
The operation involved more than three months of planning and preparation.
Both Australian and American military agree it would not have been possible without the strong depth of knowledge of specialist Australian contractors such as Grant Turl, from Depth Defence Logistics.
"There are a lot of moving pieces; it is the coordination with the Port operators, the stevedoring crew, the vessel, the American LCU crew and the ADF," Mr Turl said.
"We genuinely have immense pride in assisting and value the role that each member of the ADF and international partners play in our national security. We are privileged to play a very small role in supporting them."
Talisman Sabre 2025 is Australia's largest bilateral military exercise and the most sophisticated warfighting exercise ever conducted in Australia with more than 40,000 military personnel from 19 nations involved.
