![\"\"](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/4.JPG_101a78-rotated.jpg\")
\u201cTo be able to do that with real violence and at speed is really impressive, and I think it should scare adversaries,\u201d the commander said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six C-17A Globemaster III aircraft \u2013 four from the U.S. Air Force and two from Australia \u2013 transported 323 American and a dozen German paratroopers on the intercontinental flight, while French troops joined the sky train upon their arrival Down Under. The C-17s also dropped heavy equipment such as HMMWVs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Technological gains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Weightman relayed how he enjoyed continuous communications to higher headquarters with voice, data and video from his aircraft. This high bandwidth is a big deal, as it \u201cgives you a lot better situational awareness and a lot better understanding of what\u2019s going on. You\u2019re able to really paint a much better picture of the enemy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Furthermore, \u201cTo be able to directly deliver an infantry battalion with its command that is situationally aware and physically optimized onto a drop zone 7,000 miles away, means that you can really go anywhere in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked whether nighttime parachute jumps are more challenging, Weightman responded, \u201cFor us it\u2019s not much more. You know, we own the night, so once we get on the drop zone, we have an asymmetric advantage against our adversaries.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Talisman Sabre is meant to showcase interoperability, which is \u201ceasy to talk about but hard to do,\u201d according to the colonel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nighttime jumps demonstrate \u201cthe highest level of proficiency,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After refitting in Townsville, more than 400 American paratroopers were to join 100 German and 36 French soldiers to perform another nighttime jump on July 21, this time at Shoalwater Bay in central Queensland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis airfield seizure and expanded lodgment is very classic \u2013 it\u2019s the bread and butter of the airborne infantry,\u201d Weightman noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 11th Airborne Division possesses two of the U.S. Army\u2019s five airborne brigades: the 1st Brigade is a mobile combat brigade equipped with Infantry Squad Vehicles, while 2nd Brigade is airborne. Asked what his division brings, Weightman highlighted two things \u2013 the ability to move anywhere in the Indo-Pacific, and the other is its Arctic mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe\u2019re the only brigades in the world that have the ability to conduct offensive operations in the Arctic,\u201d the commander said. The troops can operate in arctic climates or the subtropics of Australia with equal adeptness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Defense News asked whether there is still a place for airborne units on modern battlefields. After all, Russia\u2019s airmobile operation at Hostomel Airport at the start of its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ended disastrously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI would argue, yes,\u201d Weightman responded. \u201cAnd as I\u2019m looking from the enemy\u2019s perspective, what we\u2019re able to do would absolutely scare me if I was the enemy of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Indo-Pacific region is rife with tensions \u2013 China, Taiwan, the Korean Peninsula \u2013 and the 11th Airborne Division is ready to accomplish offensive, defensive, stability or expeditionary operations, said the brigade commander.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about the rising threat from China, Weightman responded, \u201cYou know, we\u2019re not training against a specific adversary. What we\u2019re training to do is to be interoperable with our allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, he continued, \u201cIf we\u2019re able to do that and mass power from anywhere to anywhere at scale, then we should be able to beat any adversary and keep the Indo-Pacific region open.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exercise was the eleventh iteration of Talisman Sabre. The drill involved more than 40,000 troops from 19 nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe landed right on the X,” a commander told Defense News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":119696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":45,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"2":{"categories":["your-military","news"],"primary_category":"your-military"},"5":{"categories":["your-army","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"your-army"}}},"categories":[45,160,11,14,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3492],"class_list":["post-70210","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-pacific","category-daily-news-roundup","category-global","category-land","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XF4WGNPUVVGZRGLUM4AHHTSIRY","arc_canonical_url":"\/global\/asia-pacific\/2025\/07\/22\/us-army-drops-into-australia-for-massive-war-games\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n