Just weeks after the new Anzac 2035 alliance was announced, New Zealand Army boots were on the ground in Darwin integrating into an Anzac combat team ahead of a two-month deployment to the Philippines.

On March 17, Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and then New Zealand Defence Minister Judith Collins released the joint statement Operationalising our Alliance, which sets out a shared vision of operating seamlessly as an increasingly integrated, combat-capable Anzac force by 2035.

On April 7, a contingent from the 2nd/1st Battalion, Royal New Zealand Infantry Regiment, landed in Darwin to begin the first stage of integration with the 5th/7th Battalion, the Royal Australian Regiment (5/7 RAR), forming Combat Team Jackal for Exercises Balikatan and Salaknib in the Philippines.

New Zealand Defence Force Senior National Officer for Balikatan and Salaknib, Lieutenant Colonel Jason Tinsley, said the immediate operationalisation of the Anzac contingent was proof of the strength of the commitment to the alliance. 

“Within a few weeks of the joint statement, we had a New Zealand Army rifle platoon in Darwin conducting interoperability integration with 5/7 RAR to then deploy on Exercise Balikatan – this in itself goes to show both countries’ immediate commitment to making that joint statement a reality,” Lieutenant Colonel Tinsley said.

“Interoperability with Australia has always been one of the key things that the New Zealand Defence Force has wanted to do, and this alliance is now allowing us to really push forward something that’s important to both our nations.

“By New Zealand and Australia having a better understanding of the way each other work and a better way to work together side by side, then that will enhance both our defence forces’ capabilities moving forward in a very complex and challenging world environment.”

During Exercise Balikatan 2026, Combat Team Jackal worked with partner nations to defend a beach against enemy incursion, undertake jungle survival training, conduct weapons familiarisation and skills exchange, and carry out insertions as an integrated force on United States airframes. 

Commander of the Australian Contingent Lieutenant Colonel Ben Woolmer said New Zealand seamlessly integrated into 5/7 RAR.

“We offset each other’s weaknesses with our strengths. The combination is greater than the sum of the parts and we can learn from each other and support each other, and that’s embedded firmly in that Anzac tradition,” he said.

Following the success of Exercise Balikatan, Combat Team Jackal is moving into deeper training and integration on Exercise Salaknib.