Thousands of Australian Defence Force (ADF) and Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel are training with Allies and Partners during Exercise Alon in August 2025. Staged around the Philippine islands of Luzon and Palawan, the exercise demonstrates the strength of the bilateral partnership.
“We’re proud to conduct our largest overseas exercise with the Philippines, and continue to build on our close cooperation,” said Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Vice Adm. Justin Jones, the ADF’s joint operations chief.
“Exercise Alon 25 is an opportunity for us to practise how we collaborate and respond to shared security challenges, and project force over great distances in the Indo-Pacific,” Jones said. “This exercise reflects Australia’s commitment to working with partners to ensure we maintain a region where state sovereignty is protected, international law is followed, and nations can make decisions free from coercion.”
Drills involve more than 3,600 personnel, including from the Royal Canadian Navy and the United States Marine Corps’ Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, which is based in Australia’s Northern Territory.
First held in 2023, Exercise Alon has grown to incorporate training across air, cyber, land, sea and space domains. Participating ADF assets in 2025 include the RAN’s Hobart-class destroyer HMAS Brisbane and Royal Australian Air Force Super Hornet fighter jets, Growler electronic warfare aircraft and Hercules cargo aircraft.
The ADF rehearsed a mass airlift of an Army battle group, comprising armored, engineering, health and artillery elements. Amphibious landing operations and maritime maneuvers also were planned.
“The value of this training comes from the people-to-people links and the opportunity to exchange practices,” Jones said. “We will come away from Exercise Alon 25 with experience that will enhance our interoperability with the Philippines, and ensure that we can work together [to] support regional security.”
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