Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 under way

US forces have demonstrated High Mobility Artillery Rocket System Rapid Infiltration (HIRAIN) capabilities to their Australian counterparts during Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 in Queensland, Australia.

In HIRAIN missions, HIMARS are flown in C-130s to an area, unloaded for rapid fire missions, then reloaded in and relocated to follow-on objectives. The fast-tempo operation minimises the opportunity of detection and counter-fire missions against the system. 

As part of training during the exercise, US Marine Corps personnel loaded two HIMARS on to two US Air Force MC-130J Commando II aircraft, and US Army personnel loaded two HIMARS onto two US Marine Corps KC-130J Super Hercules.

Rehearsing the rapid-employment tactics and techniques offers the forces an occasion to better understand the procedures each force uses to accomplish the same mission.

The US-Australian bilateral training Exercise Talisman Sabre 19 provides an opportunity to increase interoperability and sustain readiness between the two countries, with a focus on improving combat readiness and interoperability, maximising combined training opportunities and conducting maritime prepositioning and logistics operations.