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CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City, Philippines – The Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military completed the Balikatan 25 Maritime Strike from locations throughout the Philippines today.
The live, virtual, and constructive event integrated real-world intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets with scenario-based ground, maritime, and air sensors and shooters to create a combined joint fires network. This complexity tested Philippine and U.S. forces at tactical and operational commands as the combined force executed distributed operations, implemented new command-and-control organizations, and integrated new capabilities.
“The MARSTRIKE’s inclusion of new and emerging technologies and command structures focused across multiple domains improved our forces’ lethality and interoperability,” said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Michael S. Cederholm, the U.S. Joint Task Force commander. “Our ability to rapidly collect and share information across systems and equipment before delivering devastating kinetic effects shows us getting stronger and better every day at defending a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The command post exercise element of this year’s MARSTRIKE built on the successes of Balikatan 24 through the introduction of a distributed combined fusion center and command node in addition to the previous iteration’s Combined Coordination Center.
Responsible for coordinating airspace during Balikatan 25, the Basa Fusion Center provided the Philippine and U.S. JTFs real-time aviation coordination to enable bilateral decision-making. Additionally, 3d Marine Littoral Regiment provided tactical command and control of U.S. forces through personnel operating throughout the Philippines and separated from the main JTFs.
“Last year’s Combined Coordination Center marked a significant step forward as we build on our ability to synchronize actions across Philippine and U.S. JTFs,” said Cederholm. “With the introduction of distributed command and control through fusion centers and increasingly proficient tactical units in Balikatan 25, our combined force improved our responsiveness to a range of potential crises.”
Balikatan is a longstanding annual exercise between the U.S. and Philippine armed forces designed to strengthen the alliance, showcase the capable combined force, and demonstrate the commitment to regional security and stability.
| Date Taken: | 05.05.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.05.2025 23:52 |
| Story ID: | 497092 |
| Location: | QUEZON CITY, PH |
| Web Views: | 47 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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