Four Australian defense personnel are missing in the water off the east coast of Australia after being compelled to abandon their Taipan helicopter in the water during joint military exercises with the United States on Friday evening.
Saturday at a press conference in Brisbane, Defense Minister Richard Marles stated that the search for the four crew members of the Australian Army helicopter was ongoing.
Australian Military Helicopter Crashes Off Queensland
The aircraft "impacted waters" in the vicinity of Lindeman Island, off the Queensland coast. According to the Australian Defense Ministry, a search operation involving both search and rescue aircraft and sea vessels is currently under way.
In a joint statement with Deputy Prime Minister Eric Marles, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expressed their "thoughts are with the families of the missing."
The mission was part of the United States' massive military exercises known as Talisman Sabre, CNN reported. The exercises are conducted every other year, alternating between the two countries, and frequently involve forces from other allies.
Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, and Lloyd Austin, the US Secretary of Defense, who are both in Australia, spoke about those missing in the disaster.
Austin stated that encountering accidents during training is "always difficult." "But the reason we trained to such rigorous standards is so that we can be successful and safeguard lives when responding to any type of emergency," he explained.
Talisman Sabre Exercise Director Brigadier Damien Hill stated at a Brisbane press conference that the exercises have been halted to enable all participants, regardless of nationality, to contact their families and inform them of the situation.
Marles stated that the families of the four missing crew members have been informed of the incident and that our hopes and thoughts are with the air crew and their families. For the second occasion this year, the Australian Army was compelled to ditch an MRH-90 Taipan into the ocean after a collision on Friday.
The previous incident in March, which was attributed to engine failure, caused two injuries. The Australian government announced in 2019 that it would terminate its entire fleet of Airbus-made Taipans years ahead of schedule, characterizing the Taipans as a "project of concern for the past decade."
According to Aljazeera, the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter of the Australian Defense Force plummeted into waters off the northeastern state of Queensland at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time (12:30 GMT) on Friday.
The aircraft was participating in the Talisman Sabre, a joint Australia-United States military exercise involving 13 nations, including Japan, France, and Germany, and over 30,000 personnel. Officials have not provided an explanation for the incident, nor have they indicated when the exercises may resume.
Since last night, searches for the missing aircrew have been ongoing. Brigadier Damian Hill stated that the exercises were suspended so that participants could "reach out to their families and let them know what's going on."
Australia is undergoing its largest military overhaul since World War II, transferring its focus to long-range strike capabilities with an eye toward potential adversaries, including China. The chief of Australia's armed forces, Angus Campbell, described the accident as "a dreadful moment."
The exercise was testing large-scale logistics, land combat, amphibious landings, and air operations as it entered its second week. It is the second plane accident in Queensland in two days. On Friday, a couple in their sixties werekilled when their aircraft collided with another aircraft that was landing at Caboolture Airfield.
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US To Help Australia in Producing Missiles
Moreover, the United States will assist Australia in producing multiple-launch rocket systems by 2025, according to Austin, who made the announcement on Saturday in Brisbane.
Per The Strait Times, Austin said that the United States is expediting Australia's access to priority munitions through a streamlined acquisition process. Due to the COVID-19 disturbance, this is the first occasion Australia has hosted the high-level meeting since 2019.
The Australian leader expressed optimism that missile production could begin in Australia within two years, as part of a shared industrial base between our two nations. As part of the bilateral engagement, American nuclear-powered submarines will visit our waters more frequently, according to Marles.
After the conclusion of the two-day talks on Saturday, Marles and Austin were scheduled to travel to north Queensland, where the Australian and American militaries, along with 11 other nations, are participating in the Talisman Sabre war exercises.
The events were postponed, however, after an Australian military helicopter participating in the exercises crashed into the ocean, with at least four persons on board believed to have perished. Foreign Minister Penny Wong stated on Saturday that the delegates convened with "heavy hearts" following the tragedy.
