Military light armoured vehicles seen travelling through Wellington on Friday are being transported to a large scale training exercise in Australia.
A New Zealand Defence Force spokesperson said the vehicles seen on Wellington roads were to be taken over the Tasman to take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre 23.
“The military vehicles you have seen include Light Armoured Vehicles (LAVs), and Medium-Heavy Operational Vehicles (MHOVs). These are being transported to Australia as part of the NZDF’s contribution to Exercise Talisman Sabre, an Australian hosted and United States supported combined exercise,” the spokesperson said.
Exercise Talisman Sabre 23 would be the largest ever iteration of the exercise held in Australia, with about 30,000 military personnel participating from 11 nations, the spokesperson said.
“Involvement in high quality combined training activities enhances interoperability and strengthens relationships while exercising warfighting capabilities,” the spokesperson said.
Also taking part in the exercise will be Fiji, France, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Papua New Guinea, Tonga, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. Meanwhile, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand will also attend as observers to the exercise.
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The New Zealand Defence Force was deploying 300 personnel from three services to participate in the exercise, including a “Motorised Infantry Combat Team” which consisted of two army platoons.
The platoons would be bringing with them 20 LAVs, nine MHOVs, a Rotorary Wing Task Unit with three Air Force NH90 helicopters, and a hydrographic force element from the Navy’s HMNZS Matataua.
The military vehicles were being transported to Australia on a commercial vessel, the NH90 helicopters had been transported by the Australian Air Force’s c-17 aircraft, and personnel were travelling on Air Force Boeing and Hercules aircraft, the Defence Force spokesperson said.
