The Philippines is hosting Exercise Alon 25, the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) largest overseas exercise this year, running from 15 to 29 August across Palawan and Luzon.
Over 3,600 personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), ADF, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Rotation Force – Darwin are taking part.
Vice Admiral Justin Jones AO CSC, Chief of Joint Operations, said the exercise underscores the growing Australia–Philippines security partnership.
“We’re proud to conduct our largest overseas exercise with the Philippines. Exercise Alon 25 is an opportunity to strengthen cooperation, enhance interoperability, and practise projecting force across the Indo-Pacific,” Jones said.
This year’s drills include amphibious landings, maritime manoeuvres, mass airlift operations, and live fire exercises across land, sea, air, cyber, and space domains. Australian assets include HMAS Brisbane, an Army Combined Arms Land Task Group, and an Air Task Group featuring Super Hornets, Growlers, and Hercules aircraft.
Launched in 2023, Exercise Alon has quickly grown into a major multinational training platform, reinforcing shared commitments to sovereignty, international law, and a free Indo-Pacific.
“The value of this training comes from people-to-people links and the exchange of practices. We will come away from this with greater interoperability with the Philippines and partners in support of regional security,” Jones added.
