HMAS Brisbane, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer JS Makinami, Republic of Korea Navy destroyer ROKS Wang Geon, and United States Navy destroyer USS Rafael Peralta sail through the East Australian Exercise Area during Exercise PACIFIC VANGUARD.
Sydney has been the staging base for a multinational Navy training exercise.
Exercise Pacific Vanguard is a quadrilateral exercise aimed at enhancing interoperability of high-end warfighting alongside like-minded partners in the region.
Ships from Japan, the Republic of Korea and the United States joined Australia for the important training opportunity, integrating with partner nations in the maritime domain.
Commander Australian Fleet, Rear Admiral Mark Hammond was pleased to host Exercise Pacific Vanguard in Australian waters for the first time in the exercise’s history.
“We welcome our visiting friends to the region. Exercising coordinated patrols, information exchange and missile firings provides confidence that we can work together as a combined force to protect our region in an increasingly complex strategic environment,” said Rear Admiral Hammond.
“It is vitally important that we continue to take advantage of these multinational training opportunities during the global pandemic.”
The international Navy ships have conducted contactless, COVID Safe visits to Sydney during their exercise program.
HMAS Brisbane is the Australian warship participating in Exercise Pacific Vanguard. Commanding Officer Commander Aaron Cox said the exercise has given the crew another opportunity to interact with other Navies.
“This exercise provided an opportunity to train with our new and advanced weapons systems that can combine with other nations in the force,” said Commander Cox.
“Opportunities like this allow us to hone our skills, so that integrating with other Navies in our region becomes routine,” he said.
