General News
23 July, 2025
Cloncurry Airport 'seized' as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre
Australian soldiers and US Marines descended on the Outback airport on the weekend to run a training drill.
By SETH ROBSON
Australian soldiers and US Marines pushed deep into the Outback to practice seizing remote airstrips, part of preparations for potential operations across the vast Indo-Pacific.
The training was part of Exercise Talisman Sabre, a biennial multinational exercise that began on July 13 and runs through to August 4.
More than 35,000 personnel from 19 nations are participating this year.
Since the exercise began, the Marines and Australian troops have captured airstrips at Timber Creek and Nackeroo in the Northern Territory, and at Cloncurry, said Captain Johnny Fischer, a spokesman for the 2500-strong Marine Rotational Force – Darwin.
The airstrips are standing in for island facilities that the Marines could be tasked with seizing in a future contingency, Fischer told Stars and Stripes in Cloncurry on Sunday.
MV-22B Ospreys with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363, based in Hawaii, have flown Marines and Australian troops to their objectives.
A recreational vehicle equipped with high-tech communications gear served as the command-and-control centre during a 1600km journey from Darwin to Cloncurry, Captain Fischer said.
A five-vehicle convoy carrying 20 Marines, including cyber defenders, arrived near each airstrip ahead of the simulated raids. The first runway seized was at Timber Creek.
Troops then moved on to the Nackeroo airstrip at Bradshaw Field Training Area.
Marines helped ensure the surrounding airspace was clear.
On Friday, the Marines and Australians conducted another airborne raid to seize Cloncurry using Ospreys.
Marine air traffic controllers took up positions beside the runway, and support personnel established a forward arming and refuelling point, while additional Marines arrived on Sunday on a KC-130J Super Hercules to assume control of the airport.
Australian troops then departed for Shoalwater Bay Training Area on Queensland’s east coast.
Flying deep into the Outback was a new experience for many Marines, said Captain Kendall Weigand, a KC-130J pilot with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 153, also based in Hawaii.
“It’s wide open, wild terrain that’s unique to Australia,” he said after landing at Cloncurry.
“We dropped into a canyon and saw a herd of wild horses. We were hoping for kangaroos.”
The arriving Marines encountered minimal resistance in the exercise scenario, said their commander, 1st Lieutenant Max Burke of 2nd Platoon, Company E, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment.
“Only small sporadic fire teams are what’s expected,” he said.
Major Jamie Frisby, commander of the Australian troops at the airport, recommended a local bakery to the newly arrived Marines.
“They’re bringing the pies to us,” he said.
This story was first published on Stars and Stripes and republished with permission. Full article here: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/asia_pacific/2025-07-21/marines-seize-airstrips-talisman-sabre-18504131.html
