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Agence France-Presse

Australia paused a major military exercise with the United States on Saturday, after a defence helicopter taking part in the drills crashed into the Pacific leaving four aircrew missing.
Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said the MRH-90 Taipan went down late Friday night in subtropical waters near Hamilton Island, Queensland.
It had been taking part in the vast Talisman Sabre exercise, which features 30,000 military personnel from Australia, the US and several other nations.
“As we speak to you now, the four aircrew are yet to be found” Marles said after a nearly overnight search, which continued on Saturday.
AFP understands that all four of the crew aboard the helicopter are Australian.
“The families of the four aircrew have been notified of this incident and our hopes and thoughts are very much with the aircrew and their families,” Marles added.
“We desperately hope for better news during the course of this day.”
Australia can be a ‘reasonable’ moderator to ease US-China tensions: ex-minister
Australian police on Saturday said debris had been found from the crashed helicopter.
“We have located a number of items of debris that would appear to be from the missing helicopter,” said Queensland Police Superintendent Douglas McDonald.
He insisted hope had not yet faded for finding the crew alive, saying “at this time it remains a search and rescue operation”.
Officials have not yet said what caused the incident, which came as the Talisman Sabre exercise was entering its second week.
The drills are designed to test large-scale logistics, land combat, amphibious landings and air operations, and to signal the strength of Western military alliances.
Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea are also taking part.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken are in Australia for meetings with Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong which coincide with the drills.
Both men offered their support, as US personnel aided the rescue effort.
“It’s always tough when you have accidents,” Austin said. “But the reason you train to such a high standard is ultimately so you can protect lives.”
It is not yet clear whether the military drills, which are due to end on August 4 will resume.

Australia is currently embarking on a major overhaul of its armed forces, pivoting towards long-range strike capabilities in an effort to keep would-be foes such as China at arm’s length.
Even before the incident, Canberra had announced it will replace its fleet of ageing Taipan helicopters with US-made Black Hawks.
Australian officials have complained about having to repeatedly ground the European-made Taipans, citing difficulties with maintenance and in getting spare parts.
“We just haven’t got the flying hours out of the Taipan that we need. We are confident we can get that from the Black Hawks,” Marles said in January this year.
Australia to boost long-range strikes in defence reform as China’s power grows
In March, an MRH-90 Taipan flying south of Sydney suffered engine failure during a nighttime training exercise, forcing the crew to ditch into the ocean.
They survived with only minor injuries, but the entire Taipan fleet was grounded for one month.
Meanwhile, Washington will bolster its shrinking arms stockpiles by helping Australia develop a missile-manufacturing and exporting industry, Marles said on Saturday after high-level talks between the two countries.

“We are really pleased with the steps that we are taking in respect of establishing a guided weapons and explosive ordnance enterprise in this country.”
The project will see Australia develop guided multiple launch rocket systems – or so-called GMLRS.
The war in Ukraine has put a heavy strain on military supply chains in the US, steadily depleting stocks of missiles and other munitions.


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Australia

Australia-US military exercise halted after helicopter crash leaves 4 crew missing

An MRH-90 Taipan helicopter prepares to take off from Ballina airport, Australia. File photo: ADF via AP

A missile is launched during the Talisman Sabre military exercise in Shoalwater Bay, northern Australia, on July 22. Photo: AFP


A GMLRS rocket is launched during a military exercise in New Mexico, US. File photo: TNS

Australia can be a ‘reasonable’ moderator to ease US-China tensions: ex-foreign minister Julie Bishop

Australia’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop is touting her country as “reasonable” nation to serve as moderator to the tensions between the US and China. Photo: EPA-EFE

Australia’s then Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Singapore on August 4, 2018. Photo: Reuters

Australia races to reform defence amid shift of power in region from US to China

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference after the release of the Defence Strategic Review at Parliament House in Canberra. Photo: dpa

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chief of the Australian Defence Force Angus Campbell. Criticised by the opposition party for being light on defence spending previously, the Labor government has agreed to many of the review’s recommendations and will implement major changes. Photo: via Reuters

(From left) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in San Diego, US, on March 13, 2023, as part of Aukus, a trilateral security pact between Australia, the UK, and the US. Photo: via AP

Australia ‘confident’ on getting Aukus submarines as US attacks China’s ‘bullying behaviour’ in Pacific

Australian submarines docked at a naval base in Perth. Photo: EPA-EFE

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, right, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brisbane, Australia, on Friday. Photo: via AP

Shangri-La Dialogue: Australia pushes China for ‘strategic explanation’ of military build-up

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said China could look to Australia’s communication approach  with its nuclear-powered submarine programme as the standard or model of “military transparency”. Photo: AP

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles and Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, for the first time since Li’s appointment this year. Photo: via Reuters

News

Asia

Australasia

The MRH-90 Taipan, taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercise, went down in subtropical waters near Queensland
The drills feature 30,000 troops from Australia, the US and several other nations


The MRH-90 Taipan, taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercise, went down in subtropical waters near Queensland.


United States

Defence

Plane crashes and aviation accidents

Queensland

Australia-US military exercise halted after helicopter crash leaves 4 crew missing

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}The MRH-90 Taipan, taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercise, went down in subtropical waters near Queensland The drills feature 30,000 troops from Australia, the US and several other nations

The MRH-90 Taipan, taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercise, went down in subtropical waters near Queensland

The drills feature 30,000 troops from Australia, the US and several other nations