Defence Minister Richard Marles said Saturday that four Australian military airmen are missing after their helicopter ditched in waters off the country’s northeast coast during a major military exercise.
The MRH-90 Taipan went down late Friday night while participating in the 30,000-strong Talisman Sabre drills near Hamilton Island, Queensland.
“As we speak, the four aircrews have yet to be found”, Marles said following a roughly 12-hour nighttime search that is expected to continue Saturday.
“The families of the four aircrews have been informed of this incident, and our thoughts and prayers are with the aircrew and their families”, he continued.
“We desperately hope for better news during this day”, he added.
The Talisman Sabre exercise, which includes troops from Japan, France, Germany, and South Korea, has been paused, according to defense authorities.
The exercise was in its second week and was testing large-scale logistics, land fighting, amphibious landings, and air operations.
Australia is now undergoing a significant revamp of its military forces, with a focus on long-range attack capabilities to keep potential adversaries like China at bay.
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