RAAF BASE WILLIAMTOWN, Australia - Operators from the Western Air Defense Sector and Pacific Air Defense Sector integrated with the Royal Australian Air Force’s No. 3 Control and Reporting Unit, or 3CRU, to deliver seamless command and control during Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025.
Talisman Sabre is Australia’s largest bilateral military exercise with the United States. This year, the exercise expanded to 19 nations and more than 35,000 troops, spanning thousands of kilometers from Australia’s Christmas Island to the Coral Sea. The exercise featured complex joint operations with air, maritime and ground forces, as well as integrated fires.
The Western Air Defense Sector, or WADS, is made up of personnel from the Washington Air National Guard, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, Title 5 Civilians and the Royal Canadian Air Force.
WADS and the Pacific Air Defense Sector, or PADS, personnel deployed to RAAF Base Williamtown—home of 3CRU—where they worked alongside Royal Australian Air Force operators to deliver tactical command and control of live-fly operations across a variety of combined and joint mission sets.
"This integration demonstrates our allied air defense systems and operators’ ability to work together seamlessly at any time, and in any theater," said Maj. Laznier “Rooster” Mederos Santos, senior director with WADS. "Exercises like Talisman Sabre prove our collective ability to deliver credible command and control across a complex battlespace, ensuring that when it matters most, we are ready to operate as one."
During Talisman Sabre, WADS and PADS operators fully integrated with 3CRU operators, systems and procedures, controlling live multinational aircraft, building shared situational awareness and executing complex tactics, techniques and procedures. The effort underscored the vital role of air defense sectors in a modern, joint and coalition fight.
"Interoperability isn’t just about compatible hardware—it’s about people, procedures and trust," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Lum, mission crew commander with PADS. "Working alongside our Australian allies at 3CRU during a live-fly, live-fire exercise let us prove we can coordinate and command air defense operations in real time against realistic, complex scenarios."
Participation in Talisman Sabre underscores the U.S. commitment to integrated deterrence alongside Indo-Pacific allies and partners.
“The scale and complexity of Talisman Sabre create the perfect environment to stress our systems, procedures and teams,” Mederos Santos said. “These challenges drive us to improve our interoperability so that we can deliver decisive command and control in support of joint and coalition operations across the Indo-Pacific.”
The exercise, which runs from July 13 to August 4, highlights the strength of U.S. air defense cooperation. As regional challenges grow, exercises like this ensure that allied forces remain ready, unified, and capable of delivering decisive command and control across the Indo-Pacific.