U.S., Australian Navies Locate Bombs
The Royal Australian Navy (RAN), in conjunction with the U.S. Navy (USN), has successfully located four unexploded bombs dropped by USN Harrier aircraft in the lead up to Exercise Talisman Saber on July 16, 2013. The RAN and USN are now working together to retrieve the ordnance. The Royal Australian Navy minehunter HMAS Gascoyne located all the ordnance on August 16, 2013. The USN and the RAN confirmed the coordinates of the ordnance through survey operations earlier this week and are currently working with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to commence the recovery of the ordnance. RAN Chief of Joint Operations, Lieutenant General Ash Power, said the ordnance was found in a challenging underwater environment using HMAS Gascoyne’s variable depth sonar.
Solomon Islanders Take to the Liferafts, Deepwater Rescue of 49
The Orion sircraft and its crew had been tasked to support a search and rescue mission in the area on Friday after the 27-metre, island trader MV Solfish 001 failed to arrive at its designated port of Lata earlier in the week. Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s, Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia, sought Australian Defence Force assistance in searching a 6,000 square kilometre area to the East South –East of Honiara on Friday. “With a search area that large, the AP-3C’s unique capabilities, particularly the data captured from sonobuoys, allowed specialists at the Rescue Coordination Centre – Australia to refine the zone, ultimately leading to the successful recovery,” Lieutenant General Power said.
Australia Helps Curb Illegal Pacific Fishing
The Australian Defence Force mission against illegal fishing in the Pacific is progressing well after the successful completion of multi-national Operation RAI BALANG. Operation RAI BALANG is the first of four annual regional monitoring, control and surveillance missions involving Pacific Island nations. The operation counters illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activities in the area. Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said an Australian AP-3C Orion provided surveillance of 60 per cent of Palau’s exclusive economic zones in an eight hour sortie. “This intelligence, once analysed by the Regional Fisheries Surveillance Centre…
