Australian authorities find debris from downed military helicopter that took part in Talisman Sabre

The Australian Police on Saturday said that debris from an Australian military helicopter, that crashed into the Pacific while taking part in the Talisman Sabre exercise, had been found in the ocean.

However, there is still no sign of the four missing crew members.

Militaries from at least three nations have joined police in looking for the crew of an MRH-90 Taipan that went down late Friday night in subtropical waters off the northeast coast of Australia.

“We have located a number of items of debris that would appear to be from the missing helicopter,” said Queensland Police Superintendent Douglas McDonald.

He insisted hope had not yet faded for finding the crew alive, saying “At this time it remains a search and rescue operation”.

He added that on Sunday planes and boats from the Australian, Canadian and US militaries  would join the search and rescue operations.

Talisman Sabre was paused after a defence helicopter that was part of the drills crashed into the Pacific.

Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said the MRH-90 Taipan went down late Friday night in sub-tropical waters near Hamilton Island, Queensland.

The chopper was taking part in Australia’s Talisman Sabre exercise which features over 30,000 military personnel from Australia, US and other nations.

The incident was, according to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, a “stark reminder of the risk that the men and women who serve us take, and the courage that they show every day in the service of their country.”

While both Australian and US officials expressed concern about the incident, they insisted drills were needed to ensure both militaries were “match fit”.

About Talisman Sabre

The Talisman Sabre exercise is a biennial combined Australian and United States (US) training activity that is participated by allied forces.

It is designed to train respective military force elements in planning and conducting Combined Task Force operations to improve combat readiness and interoperability between the ADF and its allies.

It is a major combined (ie international) and joint (ie Army, Navy and Air Force and Marines) exercise involving thousands of troops on the land, sea and in the air and major assets such as Australian and allied warships, fighters, bombers, helicopters and armour and artillery.

With inputs from AFP