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Australia will receive more frequent rotations of US military aircraft under a new agreement between the two countries.
The deal was announced at the 34th AUSMIN summit in Maryland and will specifically see RAAF Base Learmonth added to the bases utilised.
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“The United States continues to conduct more frequent rotational deployments to Australia across air, land, and maritime domains, including across northern Australia,” according to the joint statement.
“Furthering our Enhanced Air Cooperation, the United States will continue frequent rotations of bombers, fighter aircraft, and maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, building on previous rotations at RAAF Bases Amberley, Darwin, and Tindal.
“The United States and Australia continue to enhance the complexity and duration of regular rotations of US Army watercraft to Australia in furtherance of maritime and land cooperation, to increase interoperability, and enable regional engagement, including for humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
“During Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025, the United States and Australia plan to integrate new capabilities and test new operating assumptions, including through amphibious training activities at Shoalwater Bay. Seventeen nations have been invited to participate at next year’s exercise, which will be conducted across the breadth of Australia.”
It comes after US B-2 Spirit bombers from the US Air Force visited RAAF Base Amberley in 2022.
The iconic stealth aircraft, from the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), arrived as part of an initiative to improve interoperability between the US Air Force and the RAAF.
The B-2s were joined by “several” KC-135 Stratotanker refuelling aircraft.
The aircraft arrived from the 509th Bomb Wing, Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, as part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation (EAC) initiative. The EAC began in 2018 to create air exercises and training activities between Australia and the United States.
The UFO-like B-2 is a multi-role bomber capable of delivering both conventional and nuclear munitions. It has a crew of two pilots: one in the left seat and a mission commander in the right.
It was first publicly displayed in 1988, when it was rolled out of its hangar at Air Force Plant 42 in California, before its maiden flight the next year.
