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Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have touched down in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to support the country’s national elections. At the request of the Government of PNG, more than 130 ADF personnel will provide capabilities to support the 2022 national elections – deployed under ADF Operation…

A Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon aircraft has deployed to India under a combined India-Australia maritime surveillance initiative. India and Australia will conduct activities in the Indian Ocean Region to build operational maritime domain awareness, practise anti-submarine warfare…

Defence advises that on 26 May 2022, a RAAF P-8 maritime surveillance aircraft was intercepted by a Chinese J-16 fighter aircraft during a routine maritime surveillance activity in international airspace in the South China Sea region. The intercept resulted in a dangerous manoeuvre which posed a…

Defence is aware of a People’s Liberation Army-Navy (PLA-N) Intelligence Collection Vessel operating off the north-west shelf of Australia. Defence can confirm the vessel is a PLA-N, Dongdiao Class Auxiliary Intelligence ship named Haiwangxing. The Haiwangxing travelled down the west coast of…

Soldiers from the Army’s 11th Brigade will soon arrive in Toowoomba for a week-long training exercise aimed at improving joint procedures with representatives of the Queensland Police Service (QPS).   EXERCISE ARRAS SPRINT 2022 will see approximately 100 Army personnel deployed to the area as…

A record number of Defence industry businesses and international naval delegations will participate in the Indo Pacific 2022 International Maritime Exposition in Sydney this week. More than 700 defence industry businesses and military delegations from more than 40 nations are expected to…

For the first time, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has conducted air-to-air refuelling flight testing with the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF, or Koku-Jieitai). Conducted in April over three weeks, the flight test engineering program in Japan involved a RAAF KC-30A multi-role tanker…

Australia is committed to deepening bilateral ties with its regional and strategic partners, including the shared and growing peacekeeping relationship with Vietnam. In recent years, Australia has supported Vietnam’s peacekeeping mission to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) through…

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) has decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat HMAS Maitland at a ceremony at HMAS Coonawarra, Darwin, following 16 years of service. Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Michael Noonan, AO, RAN, recognised the service of the ship’s company. “HMAS Maitland and the men…

On Anzac Day, at memorials and ceremonies across the country, and around the world, we remember those who served our nation when they were called to do so. We honour the courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) that lives on today. Defence…

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has successfully completed the first two exercises in the 2022 Diamond Series for the third biennial Air Warfare Instructor Course (AWIC). Exercise Diamond Shield, the second of the three exercises, concluded in April 2022. AWIC aims to provide commanders with…

Since 27 February, more than 4000 Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel have deployed on Operation Flood Assist 2022 in the northern New South Wales area supporting emergency services and local communities in the response and recovery from two catastrophic flood events. As the ADF has continued…

Defence is strengthening its science and technology workforce by selecting 80 of Australia’s brightest minds to be fast-tracked into leadership positions. The NAVIGATE program provides a pathway for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) specialists to transition into Defence, or…

Defence rejects criticisms regarding the cancellation of AIR 7003 made in The Australian article ‘Mid-2020s pose our gravest risk since WWII’ by Peter Jennings. In July 2020, the Prime Minister launched the 2020 Defence Strategic Update and 2020 Force Structure Plan. These documents outlined the…

The Secretary for the Department of Defence, Greg Moriarty, and the Chief of the Defence Force, General Angus Campbell AO DSC, have tested positive to COVID-19. Both the Secretary and Chief of the Defence Force are following health guidelines and isolating at their respective homes in Canberra, ACT…

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…