The attack by two F-16 jetfighters of the Indonesian Air Force on the Air Defense Artillery system of the enemy marked the start of the Joint Amphibious Operation carried out by 300 combined landing troops consisting of Indonesia Navy’s Marine Amphibious troops and troops from the Australian Army’s 1st Combat Ground Infantry Batallion.
This amphibious operation is part of the 2024 Keris Woomera Joint Exercise between the Indonesian military (TNI) and Australian Defense Force (ADF) that is held in Banongan beach, Situbondo, East Java on November 13-17, 2024.
Chief of Navy’s Education and Training Command, Lieutenant General Nur Alamsyah, who is also the Director of the 2024 Keris Woomera Joint Exercise said the Keris Woomera joint exercise was the largest bilateral military exercise between the TNI and the Australian Defence Force involving 3,000 personnel.
“The joint exercise is meant to equalize the technique and procedure of joint amphbious operation owned by the two armed forces in this case from the Indonesian Navy’s Marine Corps and the ADF. Hopefully this exercise will be carried out in the coming years to foster togetherness, especially to maintain stability in the region,” Alamsyah said.
Commander of Joint Operations of the Australian Armed Forces Vice Admiral Justin Jones said the amphibious operation exhibited was one of the most complex forms of warfare exercises, namely amphibious warfare involving various elements.
The Indonesian Navy deployed the KRI Makassar-590 warship and the KRI RE Martadinata-331 warship, along with two F-16 jetfighters belonging to the Indonesian Air Force. Meanwhile, the ADF deployed two Australian Navy Warships, HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Stuart, the MI-17 attack helicopters, the AH-64E Apache helicopters, the Panther helicopters, along with the M1A1 Abrams tanks belonging to the Australian Army.
In addition to the joint Amphibious Operation, the Keris Woomera joint exercise will also involve Joint Non-combatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) exercise and Combined Joint Live Fire Exercise (CALFEX).
The Keris Woomera Joint Exercise is the third of such joint miltary exercises hosted by Indonesia this year.
Earlier in August and September, the Super Garuda Shield 2024, a joint military exercise between the United States Military and the Indonesian Military, involving more than 4,000 service members from Indonesia and the U.S. and 17 other nations was held in Situbondo, East Java, from August 26 until Deptember 6, 2024.
Less than a week before, the Indonesian Navy and the Russian Navy held a joint exercise, the Joint Exercise ORRUDA 2024 in Surabaya and off the Java Sea on November 4-8, 2024.
