From July 14 to August 4, the U.S. military is conducting Talisman Saber, a joint training exercise run alongside the Australians. The exercise is conducted every other year, for the last two decades, and is the largest of its kind conducted with the Australian military.
Jointly run by Australian and American military commands, Talisman Saber will see participation from U.S. Space Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard and Australian Defence Forces, with dozens of countries around the Pacific and Europe also taking part.
Designed to prepare the participating militaries to defend the Pacific during a time of war, the exercise will include "force preparation, theater-setting and sustainment activities; amphibious landings; land forces maneuver; urban operations; air operations; maritime operations; space operations and special forces activities," according to an Army press release.
Nineteen nations and over 35,000 troops will participate in Talisman Saber 2025. "With unprecedented scale in both geography and participating nations, the strategic message is unmistakable," a Navy press release about the exercise states, stopping just short of saying that the exercise is intended to deter Chinese aggression in the region.
"It's readiness to respond when our nations call us to do that, and it's effectively a deterrent mechanism, because our ultimate goal, part two here, is no war. By rehearsing, by practicing together, by staying in tune with each other, we are providing that readiness to our armies, our navies, our air forces, our space forces, our cyber forces," explained Deputy Commander of U.S. Army Pacific, Lt. Gen. Joel Vowell.