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APORAWAN, Philippines — U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force–Darwin joined service members from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Australia Defence Force and New Zealand Defence Force in a combined counter-landing live-fire exercise on April 27, 2026, as part of the most expansive Balikatan to date.
“This was great training for the Marines that I’m responsible for as a part of this,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. George Flynn, commanding officer of MRF-D 26. “That interoperability is critical. It just demonstrates what we can do together.”
The event opened with M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems striking moving targets off the coast of Palawan. M252 81 mm and M224 60 mm mortar systems hit designated areas, while BGM-71 TOW and FGM-148 Javelin missiles engaged simulated enemy landing craft nearing the shoreline.
The MRF-D ground combat element—1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment with attached capabilities—provided suppressive fire with M2 .50-caliber machine guns. Philippine Marine Corps artillery augmented the defense, and low-altitude air defense systems countered threats from simulated enemy aircraft. For the first time in the Philippines, the MRF-D GCE fired live payloads with a first-person view drone.
Fires were coordinated across the multinational formation using the advanced field artillery tactical data system to manage deconfliction and maximize effects.
Through synchronized planning and integration of systems ranging from crew-served weapons to artillery batteries, the demonstration emphasized the interoperability and combined lethality of U.S., Philippine, Australian and New Zealand forces during complex defensive operations.
“The integration of these capabilities is the cornerstone of how this is done,” said Flynn. “Just seeing the integration amongst our allies to work the clearance of airspace, the clearance of the maritime domain, and the clearance by fires in the land domain really set the mark for what can be done in defense of the Philippines.”
Balikatan, a longstanding annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military, underscores the strength of the alliance, hones a capable combined force, and signals a commitment to regional peace and prosperity.
