CVW 5 Conducts Land Strike Training With RAAF

 

Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, embarked aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), conducted high-intensity land strike training with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) as part of exercise Talisman Sabre 2015 (TS15), July 16.

The land strike training was one of 10 large-force strikes against simulated land adversaries throughout TS15.

"The ultimate goal of conducting these exercises is to achieve and maintain interoperability between the U.S. and Royal Australian Air Force, as well as our other maritime components," said Lt. David Robinson, CVW 5's strike operations officer.

Participants included F/A-18F Super Hornets from the "Diamondbacks" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102 and RAAF's E-7A Wedgetail and KC-30A. During the strike exercise, the U.S. Navy's Super Hornet also completed an airborne refueling from the RAAF's KC-30A.

"The advanced level of training received through these exercises is the most rewarding part about conducting them," said Robinson. "This training would not be able to be simulated in any other area of responsibility."

The exercise gave both nations an opportunity to showcase their capabilities while improving their ability to work bilaterally in providing security in the region and around the world.

TS15 is a biennial land, sea and air military training exercise between U.S. and Australian forces that features more than 33,000 personnel, 21 ships, 200 aircraft and three submarines, which increases U.S.-Australian interoperability to respond to a wide variety of contingencies and maintain security, peace, and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.