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The Royal Australian Air Force dedicated a new memorial at Point Cook today that will forever honour the 350,000 Australians who have served in Air Force in its first century, including 11,191 Australians who died serving their nation. Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld, AO, DSC, said the…

Defence strongly disagrees with the article published in The Australian on 28 March 2022 entitled 'Defence boost amid blowouts'. Defence has proactively responded to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic to some acquisition projects by redirecting funding from impacted projects to fund…

Joint statement: General Angus J Campbell, AO, DSC, Chief of the the Australian Defence Force Admiral John C Aquilino, US Navy, Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)   Commander of United States Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John C Aquilino, visited…

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) has been patrolling waters in Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to help Australia’s partners detect and deter illegal fishing activity. The efforts are a part of Operation Solania, the ADF support to regional maritime security, including Pacific…

  MAJOR GENERAL DAVID THOMAE: Good morning. My name is Major General David Tome on Commander, Joint Task Force 629. The ADF headquarters supporting the Queensland and New South Wales governments are in response to the recent floods. As of today, the Joint Task Force has over 7000 personnel…

  MAJOR GENERAL DAVID THOMAE: No reporters, just the cameras. Ready to go? Good morning. Thank you for joining me here today. My name is Major General David Thomae, I'm Commander of Joint Taskforce 629, that's the headquarters that coordinates the support to the New South Wales and Queensland…

United States Marine Corps personnel have begun arriving in the Northern Territory to commence the eleventh annual rotation of the Marine Rotational Force–Darwin (MRF-D). The 2022 MRF-D will see up to 2200 US personnel conduct combined training with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) including…

  DAVID THOMAE: Good afternoon. Thank you for attending this operational update for Operation Flood Assist. I am General David Thomae. I am the commander of Joint Task Force 629, the headquarters responsible for coordinating ADF support to Operation Flood Assist. The ADF continues to support…

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has commenced the 2022 Diamond series of exercises for the third biennial Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC). AWIC is a six-month course of intensive training, integrating warfighting functions across a range of specialisations within the Air Force. AWIC aims…

PATRICIA KARVELAS: As Australia responds to an unprecedented flood crisis, the Defence Force has stepped into the spotlight rescuing stranded victims from their rooftops and clearing debris as the waters recede. Now while thousands of Defence personnel deal with the floods, the federal government…

  DAVID THOMAE: Good morning, everybody. My name is David Thomae. I'm the commander of Joint Task Force 629. That's the headquarters that runs the ADF response to domestic operations and in particular Operation Flight Assist. Talking to you today from the Army Reserve Depot in Lismore, which…

Royal Australian Navy ships HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Supply have returned to Australia after supporting the people of Tonga in their recovery efforts in the aftermath of January’s underwater volcanic eruption and tsunami. The ships delivered humanitarian and medical supplies, engineering…

  DAVID THOMAE: Thank you, Prime Minister. I just like to start by acknowledging the efforts of all of the emergency response forces, the Australian Defense Force, the SES, and the local community here in Lismore who responded to that catastrophic event. From an Australian Defence Force…

  GEMMA VENESS: We're going to take our audience live now to Sydney where the ADF is speaking about its response to the flooding in northern New South Wales. DAVID THOMAE: ... that's the national headquarters for the ADF for coordinating response to domestic operations, including events during…

After nearly a decade in the role, Uncle Harry Allie, BEM, will hand over his official duties as Air Force’s Indigenous Elder to Aunty Deborah Booker at RAAF Base Glenbrook on February 25, 2022. The role of the Air Force Indigenous Elder focuses on advising the Chief of Air Force on Indigenous…

On 17 February 2022, an Australian Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while it was conducting a routine surveillance flight over Australia’s northern approaches. The laser was detected as emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel…

Defence can confirm that on 17 February 2022, a P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches. The laser was detected as emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel. Illumination of the aircraft by the Chinese…

The Australian Defence Force Academy’s (ADFA) incoming Midshipmen and Officer Cadets were formally welcomed today at the annual Chief of Defence Force (CDF) Parade. The CDF Parade marks the culmination of the initial military training period for more than 330 first year Midshipmen and Officer…

I reject criticisms made in The Australian article ‘Defence revises down planned availability of the F-35A jet fleet’. The criticisms contained are completely unfounded. The Royal Australian Air Force has revised the expected flying hours based on our maturing understanding of the F-35A capability…

With sadness, we note the tragic passing of Professor Brendan Sargeant over the weekend.  Professor Sargeant was one of Australia’s leading strategic and defence thinkers. He had a long and distinguished career at the Department of Defence. Brendan Sargeant joined the Department in 1983 as an…

A United States delegation, led by U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Director for Logistics and Engineering, Brigadier General Jered Helwig, will visit bases and facilities in Australia to progress the Australian-U.S. Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) 2021 commitments. Indo-Pacific Command’s senior…

Defence can confirm that HMAS Adelaide has experienced a power outage. Back-up power has been activated to restore essential systems. The situation is being closely monitored and the safety of the ship and the embarked personnel remains our highest priority. Following a number of…

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) will deploy aircraft and personnel to Guam and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands to conduct Exercise Cope North 2022 with the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Koku-Jieitai) from 2 to 18 February 2022. The…

The Department of Defence has recorded 23 positive COVID cases on board HMAS Adelaide. The cases were detected after HMAS Adelaide set sail to Tonga as part of Operation TONGA ASSIST, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) contribution to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)-led effort to…

On 8-9 December 2021 (AEDT), the Combined Space Operations (CSpO) Initiative Principals Board – comprising representatives from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States – met in Cape Canaveral, Florida, to discuss cooperation on space security.…

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) partnered with the Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) to deliver specialist training in Port Vila, Vanuatu last month. Supported by the Vanuatu-Australia Defence Cooperation Program, the three-week program focused on delivering training aligned with VPF priorities. This…

The Australian Army has celebrated the graduation and commissioning of its next generation of leaders at the Royal Military College – Duntroon. The Corps of Staff Cadets was joined by the Governor-General, foreign dignitaries, Army leaders, as well as their family and friends. This celebration is…

The Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, AO, DSC, MVO, today announced the establishment of a new Army Aviation Command, at a ceremonial parade and helicopter flyover at Blamey Square, Canberra.    Lieutenant General Burr said the formation of the Army Aviation Command was a…

Almost 300 Royal Australian Navy (RAN) members have completed officer training in 2021 – the largest cohort of new officers to graduate in a single year since the 1950’s. This week, 125 RAN members graduated from the New Entry Officers’ Course (NEOC) at the Royal Australian Naval College in Jervis…

The Vanuatu Police Force (VPF) and Australian Defence Force (ADF) have progressed delivery of the Vanuatu Government National Emergency Radio Network in time for the upcoming high risk weather season. The emergency network connects police posts across Vanuatu’s six provinces, enabling inter-island…