Five-nation Exercise concludes

EXERCISE Bersama Lima comprising the militaries of Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom under the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) concluded after more than two weeks.

Hosted by the Singapore Armed Forces in the city-state this year, Bersama Lima involved over 2,000 personnel, 38 aircraft, five warships, ground-based air defence systems, ground troops and even naval diving teams from October 1-18.

A Singapore Ministry of Defence statement read, “naval assets conducted serials such as manoeuvring exercises, naval gun firing, air-defence exercises and diving serials, while the Air Forces exercised combined air operations, complex air defence scenarios, and Air-Land training in the form of troop lift missions. The land forces conducted professional exchanges and force integration training that will culminate in a field exercise involving both jungle and urban environments”.

This edition of Bersama Lima marked the inaugural participation of fifth-generation fighter aircraft, consisting of six Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F-35As and a P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF). The Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, Republic of Singapore Navy’s (RSN) RSS Valour, RSS Formidable, the Royal Malaysian Navy’s (RMN) KD Lekiu and KD Terengganu also took part in the naval drills.

Participation from these air assets built on a previous commitment to expand the exercise and include more complex drills to deepen cooperation. The UK’s Director General (Security Policy) Paul Wyatt said the British government would likely deploy an aircraft carrier group in 2025, exploring the feasibility of incorporating the carrier group into future exercises with FPDA exercises. The UK hosted Exercise Suman Warrior in September, another FPDA land-focused exercise.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:SG MINDEF, HMS SPEY)