Iconic Sydney ferry's harbour crossing unlike any other as it takes on 'passengers' mid-trip

Australian and US troops board the Queenscliff in Sydney Harbour. Photo: Department of Defence

EXERCISE TALISMAN SABRE 2025

One of Sydney’s iconic ferries faced a cross-harbour trip unlike any other when Exercise Talisman Sabre came to town.

On July 24, British Royal Marines, US Special Forces and Australian commandoes converged on the Queenscliff in full view of tourists at Sydney Opera House.

The point of the multinational operational was for allied forces to develop their boarding skills which is needed to hunt down smugglers, terrorists and pirates. Troops from Japan and Singapore were also involved.

The Plymouth-based 42 Commandoes have become masters at this type of operation, according to the Royal Navy.

As the iconic green-and-yellow ferry crossed the harbour, US Black Hawk and Australian Chinook helicopters, and raiding craft, all converged on the Queenscliff and boarded the vessel.

The British commandoes have also been taking part in building clearance training in New South Wales to perfect their close-quarter fighting skills.

British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has sailed into Darwin after the strike group she led had been operating off northern Australia.

They were joined at times by the USS George Washington-led strike carrier group.

The British carrier also hosted US Marine MV-22 Ospreys (vertical take-off and landing or VTOL) aircraft and F-35B jets (also VTOL).

The exercise runs until Monday, August 4.

Soldiers from Australian Special Operations Command and the United States Special Operations Command conduct force integration training on Sydney Harbour ahead of Talisman Sabre 2025. *** Local Caption *** Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 is being conducted across Australia and PNG from 13 July to 04 August. More than 40,000 military personnel from 19 nations will participate in Talisman Sabre 2025, primarily in Queensland but also in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, New South Wales, and for the first time, offshore activities will be conducted in Papua New Guinea. Talisman Sabre is the largest Australia-US bilaterally planned, multilaterally conducted exercise and a key opportunity to work with likeminded partners from across the region and around the world. Canada, France, Fiji, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga the United Kingdom are all participating in Talisman Sabre 2025. Occurring every two years, Talisman Sabre reflects the closeness of our alliance and strength of our enduring military relationship with the United States and also our commitment to working with likeminded partners — A US Army Black Hawk hovers low over the Queenscliff. Photo: Department of Defence

IN BRIEF

A next generation long-range US Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) was successfully test fired by the Australian Army on July 25 for the first time in the country. The missile has a maximum range of more than 500 kilometres. The test firing happened two years ahead of schedule.
A multinational amphibious landing operation was conducted at Shoalwater Bay with beach landings by troops and ships from Australia from South Korea, US, France and Japan.
German and US troops paratroopers flew almost 10,000 kilometres from Alaska to Charters Towers, west of Townsville, for a night ‘drop’ from a US C-17 Globemaster transport aircraft. An Australian aircraft accompanied them while a French air force aircraft joined them over Northern Australia.
A dog from the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s Patrol Dog Unit who joined RAAF 27 Squadron’s Security Flight unit for the exercise faced some uniquely Australian challenges. His handler, RNZAF aircraftman Dylan McClintock, says his six-year-old Belgian malinois, Keno, had to get used to the heat while he remains on ‘high alert’ for ticks and snakes.