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| Exercise Kakadu ships tied up at Darwin port |
DARWIN, Monday 17 September 2012 - After 11 days of intense training and war games as part of the sea phase for EXERCISE KAKADU 2012, 11 visiting navy vessels from six different countries will bid Darwin farewell as the exercise draws to a close. Darwin and the waters off her coast has been home to KDB DARULAMAN for the last 21 days, one of the major participating units in this year’s Exercise KAKADU.
The biennial exercise has drawn together 17 nations as participants and observers for exercises, graduated training activities and weapons practice aimed at developing interoperability; the ability of foreign navies to work together in maritime operations in a regional multilateral environment as well as testing the effectiveness and operational capabilities of participating assets in simulated warfare at sea.
Exercise KAKADU, the longest running and one of the largest naval exercise in the region, has provided an invaluable experience for all the participants, especially for the officers and men of KDB DARULAMAN. The introduction of a variety of maritime scenarios such as boarding operations, air defense and anti submarine exercises has made this year’s series of the exercise an outstanding platform for testing command and control of forces at sea while operating as a multinational force.
The involvement of submarines has also made it a great opportunity for ships to further enhance their skills at Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) operations and, coupled with the participation of strike aircrafts including F/A-18 Hornets and Hawk Lead-in-Fighter jets. Participating ships were able to test their anti-air capabilities at the extreme of circumstances and at the same time, improve interoperability between participating units of differing capabilities, nationalities and backgrounds.
An evening reception hosted by the Northern Territory Government had also been held on the 13th of September at the Parliament Building in Darwin. Present during the reception were senior officials and officers from the participating nations and also local government officials based in the Northern Territory.
An exercise debrief was held on the 14th of September at the Truscott Club, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base in Darwin. Facilitating the debrief was the Exercise Control Coordinator, Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Lieutenant Commander Victor MacIntosh, which, in his report announced that the objectives of the exercise had been met, primarily on the improvision of interoperability and mutual understanding in all facets of multi-lateral maritime operations. Opportunity was also given to the Exercise Commander Task Group, Commander Task Unit and also ships Commanding Officers to provide inputs and lessons learnt for the betterment of the next series of Exercise KAKADU.
Following the debrief, the exercise was officially closed by RAN Captain Heath Robertson, RAN Captain of Sea Training (CST) who was also KAKADU 2012 Exercise Director (EXDIR), which in his closing remarks highlighted the importance of the exercise in overcoming barriers in improving cultural understanding and sharing experiences in achieving positive outcomes for all that is involved in the exercise.
KDB DARULAMAN has started her voyage home on the 16th September and is due to arrive at Brunei Darussalam on the 24th September.