Exercise Talisman Saber
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) conducts a diverse range of military operations to support national interests. These include joint operations with the Navy, Army, Airforce and Special Forces; combined operations with allies and coalition partners; and engagement with armed forces of regional countries. Activities vary from daily activities to larger biennial operations. All exercises are an important component of maintaining operational readiness and capability, including joint combined exercises, comprising all ADF services and foreign armed services.
Talisman Saber 2007 focuses on operational level warfighting with training based on fictional scenarios that vary according to location between ground, air and marine activities in conjunction with simulated exercises.
The field training portion of Talisman Saber 2007 will be conducted 19 June – 2 July 2007, with force preparation and deployment of forces 12 -18 June 2007.
Current planning shows indicative Australian forces likely to participate are 20 ships, 25 aircraft and 7500 personnel. Indicative US forces likely to take part are 10 ships (including a carrier Battle Group), 100 aircraft and 20,000 personnel. Personnel and aircraft numbers include those embarked in ships, however, the number of personnel involved in Talisman Saber 2007 will fluctuate according to operational requirements throughout the exercise.
Key sites for Talisman Saber 2007 are located in Queensland, Northern Territory and the Coral Sea namely:
Shoalwater Bay Training Area;
Townsville Field Training Area; and
Bradshaw Field Training Area.
Support sites, which will be used for staging or more minor exercises include Airports in Queensland (including RAAF Townsville, Rockhampton and Brisbane), Port Facilities in Queensland (including Brisbane, Gladstone and Alma Ports); and Tasman and Timor Seas.
Safety and environmental management is the number one consideration for Talisman Saber 2007. All training sites have undergone a rigorous environmental risk assessment process, and will be managed in accordance with ADF provisions, relevant Australian environmental and other legislation.