The 17th iteration of the Royal Australian Navy’s Exercise Kakadu started with displays of agility, strength and teamwork at the Kakadu sports day in the Northern Territory. 

Five regional partner nations were vying for the ultimate prize of the day: the Kakadu Sports Day Perpetual Shield, an honour that was previously won by Indonesia in 2024. 

Camaraderie and a healthy sense of competition filled the air with participants from HMAS Coonawarra and Bay-class landing ship dock HMAS Choules.

Crews from Royal Malaysian Navy ship KD Lekir, Philippine Navy’s BRP Diego Silang, Royal Thai Navy’s HTMS Naresuan and Indian Navy’s INS Nilgiri represented their respective nations.

The teams displayed not only their physical strength, but their strong teamwork skills and ferocity on the field, balancing on an inflatable obstacle course on the Darwin Waterfront and spiking balls at the indoor volleyball competition.  

Amid rousing cheers, the crew of Nilgiri won the prize cup, winning the Ninja Warrior inflatable obstacle course and the indoor volleyball component of the day. 

Physical Training Instructor Able Seaman Sam Conti, from Coonawarra, said the competition was fierce. 

“It’s always a great day competing in sport with friendly rivalry between nations, but I’d say this year raised the bar for talent,” he said. 

Exercise director Commodore Michael Harris said the win secured a strong start to the multinational maritime engagement exercise. 

“The countries involved in the sports day make up some of our top tier security partners and we often conduct exercises with them,” he said. 

“Our ability to convene such a diverse multinational force reflects the strength of our defence relationships across the Indo-Pacific.”

Conducted every two years, the exercise strengthens maritime security cooperation, enhances interoperability and builds partnerships. 

Of the 18 partner nations involved in this year’s iteration, five arrived in Darwin for their transit south to Sydney for the Kakadu Fleet Review and the next phase of the exercise, which will involve high-end warfighting serials. 

A second multinational task group of south-west pacific nations, led by HMAS Leeuwin, began their transit from Cairns. 

Since its beginning in 1993, Kakadu has grown in size and complexity. This year, many activities will be conducted across northern and eastern Australia, which will strengthen maritime security cooperation between all the nations involved.