Photo By Sgt. Perla Alfaro | NORTHERN TERRITORY, Australia — 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force (3MDTF) conducts the...... read more read more
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Northern Territory, Australia — In a historic first for the Indo-Pacific, U.S. and Australian forces executed a fully integrated precision fires sequence, July 15-16, 2025, leveraging the U.S. Army’s Mid-Range Capability (MRC), also known as the “Typhon” missile system, in coordination with the U.S Army’s 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF), the Australian National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), and key enablers from the Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 25.3 Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) to clear air and sea domains in support of joint and combined littoral maneuver during Exercise Talisman Sabre 25.
As the largest exercise in the Indo-Pacific — bringing together over 35,000 participants from 19 allied and partner nations — Talisman Sabre 25 spans multiple domains and theaters. In the Northern Territory, Australia, MRF-D, alongside Australian Army’s 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (5/7 RAR), and the U.S. Army’s 3rd MDTF, executed a fires demonstration designed to validate joint and combined fires in support of simulated littoral maneuver across Australia’s outback. The event marked the first-ever live fire of the U.S. Army’s MRC system in Australia, signaling a significant advancement in regional integrated deterrence.
“We executed this operation across the competition continuum and inside simulated contested areas: sensing and making sense in the complexity of the modern battlespace,” said Col. Jason C. Armas, commanding officer of MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. “We validated mobile command and control at scale — integrating joint and multinational fires assets to apply decisive combat power at a time and place of our choosing. That’s how MRF-D operates as a stand-in force: lethal, agile, and always in position to act with allies and partner forces.”
The sequence began days in advance, with U.S. Marines from MRF-D’s Marine Air-Control Group (MACG) 38 deconflicting and clearing airspace surrounding multi-domain live-fire corridors. The target was identified during this phase: a maritime target outfitted with an active emitter to simulate a hostile maritime radar signature Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets – including U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft and allied special operations forces — helped develop a complete targeting picture, ultimately feeding real-time data to the U.S. Army firing assets and to the mobile MRF-D MAGTF Combat Operations Center (COC) and Fire and Effects Coordination Center (FECC). With systems in place to relay required firing data to both command and control nodes and the “shooters,” the MAGTF COC played a key role in sensing and making sense of the dynamic operational environment in the heart of the Australian outback — setting the live-fire up for success.
MACG 38 detachment conducted live-fire airspace deconfliction and enabled fire control in coordination with the ADF NASAMS Battery and U.S. Army,” said 1st Lt. Trevor Brooks, the MACG 38 Detachment Operations Officer. “The detachment’s Marine Air Command and Controls System (MACCS) Control Team (MCT) utilized organic command and control capabilities to provide safe and tactically efficient airspace control and target identification for the execution.”
This mobile and forward-deployed COC also transported the MRF-D MAGTF commander and employed a small but capable contingent of cyber, intelligence, fires, and communications Marines, ensuring the commander’s ability to make timely decisions on the move while avoiding detection. The COC itself was built around ruggedized civilian trucks and a camper van, retrofitted with equipment to enable command and control of the battlespace from any location. Without the right communications systems in place, this low-signature and mobile command and control of the battlespace would not have been possible.
“The mobile COC enables the commander to execute all domain operations from a mobile, resilient, and survivable position,” said Maj. Malia Haselton, a communications officer with the MRF-D 25.3 MAGTF. “Additionally, the smaller footprint decreases nodal signature both physically and in spectrum, enabling the COC to hide within the established environmental baseline and noise threshold. Finally, the construct incorporates redundancy and flexibility as it utilizes both commercial and program of record equipment.”
From the U.S. Marine Corps side, “Fires coordination between MRF-D and the 3rd MDTF demonstrates the flexible and modular kill chains the joint and combined force brings to bear,” said 1st Lt. Salomon Nino, the deputy officer in charge of the FECC. “The live-fire showcased the ability to flex digital fires pathways and data across services and allies in real time.”
At a synchronized moment, the 3rd MDTF fired the MRC — a ground-based, precision-strike missile with maritime targeting capability — on a ballistic trajectory that struck and sank the cargo vessel. From a separate firing position, the Australian Defence Force employed its NASAMS to conduct live-fire air defense intercepts against simulated inbound aerial threats. Together, the launches demonstrated layered fires and cross-domain synchronization in support of combined maneuvering forces in the Northern Territory.
"The deployment of the MRC and successful execution of an SM-6 live-fire against a maritime target is another significant step forward in our ability to deploy, integrate, and command and control advanced land-based maritime strike capabilities," said U.S. Army Col. Wade Germann, commander of the 3rd MDTF. "This exercise validated our targeting and command and control interoperability with our partner unit, the Australian 10th Brigade, through the Land Effects Coordination Center. We have set the stage to develop and deploy combat-credible, multi-domain capabilities forward in support of the combined and joint force.”
“Having the U.S. deploy such a capable system to Australia and get it into the field in a remote location is a good indicator that if we had a real situation we can plan and operate together,” said Lt. Col. James Floyd, commanding officer of 16 Regiment, ADF. "Australia currently has a small ground-based air defence capability, we provide a specific effect, which is very capable and of great interest to the US and other coalition partners."
Before the fires sequence unfolded, a combined U.S. Marine and ADF force inserted from the north via ground convoys and MV-22B Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 363 to secure positions near the joint and combined fires assets in the Northern Territory. After insertion, the two nations completed an air delivery ground refueling operation, during which MV-22B Ospreys reverse-pumped aviation fuel to the Australian Army Reconnaissance Helicopters (ARH) Tigers that escorted them — demonstrating interchangeability of fueling capabilities between aircraft. Nearly simultaneous with the live-fire execution, U.S. Marines with the Logistics Combat Element (LCE) began maneuvering south, pushing fuel and logistics packages to enable follow-on force projection of MRF-D’s Ground Combat Element (GCE) and sustainment of 5/7 RAR’s forces upon arrival to the training area.
The coordinated strike itself set conditions for MRF-D Marines and Australia’s 5/7 RAR to seize future simulated maritime key terrain. Here, the combined force will again employ MV-22B Ospreys with VMM 363 for insertions at Cloncurry and Bootu, Northern Territory, rehearsing distributed basing, expeditionary refueling, and mobility in a contested environment. These efforts are made possible by the MRF-D MAGTF’s primary COC in Darwin, the mobile COC traversing western Australia, and the Marines and Sailors sustaining continuous operations around the clock. Among them were U.S. Marines with 1st ANGLICO, MRF-D 25.3, who conducted site reconnaissance ahead of combined force flows and set conditions for continued air operations following the combined live-fire.
“We provided observation of the Timber Creek airfield and southern boundary of the Bradshaw Field Training Area, visually clearing airspace and remaining postured to support with fire support coordination capabilities,” explained U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Holdon Loveless, 1st ANGLICO, MRF-D 25.3.”
The MRF-D MAGTF’s Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) personnel provided another small, but critical capability to the mobile COC: hardening networks against simulated adversary interference during the execution of the combined live-fire exercise and while on-the-go.
“DCO is providing forward deployed, organic network monitoring and incident response capabilities in support of the MAGTF commander’s ability to command-and-control maneuver forces through several complex life-fire exercises,” said Staff Sgt. Robert Gerbec, DCO Chief, MRF-D 25.3.
Complementing the land and air operations, the HMS Prince of Wales, loaded with F-35B Lightning II aircraft with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, and United Kingdom Royal Air Force, enhanced the combined maritime picture. Their presence and continuous flight operations in the waters off the coast of Australia reinforced the combined force’s ability to project naval power alongside land-based strike capabilities, expanding the layered threat envelope against notional adversaries.
The precision fires evolution proved how multinational forces can combine long-range fires, integrated air defense, ISR, and maneuver to set conditions for the seizure of simulated maritime key terrain: terrain distinguished in time and space by interrupted logistics, lack of organic support, and an adversary contested environment. As operations transition toward Cloncurry and Bootu, U.S. Marines and ADF forces will continue to refine expeditionary mobility and logistics, aviation Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) training, and contested basing operations in austere environments to add valuable refinements in the MRF-D MAGTF’s pursuit to personify stand-in forces in the Pacific.
| Date Taken: | 07.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.18.2025 08:26 |
| Story ID: | 543170 |
| Location: | NORTHERN TERRITORY, AU |
| Web Views: | 46 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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