On Monday (July 14), local time in Australia, the Australian Army test-fired the “HIMARS” (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) long-range rocket system on its own soil for the first time during the “Talisman Sabre 2025” multinational joint military exercise, highlighting the trend of regional allies strengthening collaborative operations and defense deployments in the face of China’s continued expansion of military influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
The American-made HIMARS has a range of up to 400 kilometers and has become a key weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine, increasingly favored by countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia is adjusting its military structure to respond to the challenges posed by China’s expansion. In recent years, Beijing has not only carried out large-scale land reclamation and missile deployments in the South China Sea but has also frequently conducted large-scale maritime and aerial exercises in the East China Sea and the Western Pacific.
The annual joint military exercise “Talisman Sabre 2025”, led by Australia and the United States, officially commenced on Sunday (July 13). The Australian Department of Defence described this exercise as the largest and most complex in history. “Talisman Sabre” has been held every two years since 2005, with this year’s exercise spanning thousands of kilometers from Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean to the eastern coast of the Coral Sea, involving 19 countries and around 40,000 troops.
As part of the joint military exercise, forces from the United States, Australia, Japan, France, South Korea, and Singapore conducted a joint live-fire exercise in northern Queensland, Australia, on Monday. The U.S. F-35B fighter jets and ground-based long-range strike capabilities demonstrated multinational joint defense and rapid response capabilities.
According to Reuters, Australian Army Major General and Director of the joint live-fire exercise, Nick Wilson, stated that it was the first time Australia, Singapore, and the United States have jointly launched HIMARS, and the first time Australia has operated the system on its own soil. He emphasized, “HIMARS will be used in conjunction with other weapon platforms to ensure that we have an effective deterrence strategy to maintain security, peace, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The exercise took place at Shoalwater Bay in Queensland, with Australian Governor-General Sam Mostyn and Chief of the Defence Force General David Johnston on site to observe.
U.S. Army Pacific Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Joel Vowell, stated that close cooperation with partners in the Indo-Pacific region is crucial, and “Talisman Sabre” is a deterrent mechanism because our ultimate goal is to prevent war.
Australia received the first batch of 2 HIMARS launchers from Lockheed Martin in the United States in April this year, with a total order of 42. According to the Defence Department’s plans, 74 billion Australian dollars (approximately 49 billion U.S. dollars) will be invested over the next 10 years to enhance missile capabilities and domestic production capacity, and equipment such as HIMARS will be deployed to nearby islands to strengthen the northern defenses.