A United States army unit “successfully sank a maritime target” on July 15, in the Northern Territory. It didn’t make headlines, but it should have, given the rulers’ war talk.

Reporting on Talisman Sabre, the biennial military exercises between the US and Australia, has been decidedly downbeat this July.

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However, the US defence department hasn’t held back, describing the live fire exercise as “a significant milestone”. This is because the US army “successfully executed” its Typhon missile system, which proved it could “forward deploy long-range precision fires”.

Together with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), the US now has the ability to “execute command and control of a land-based maritime strike”. An ADF commanding officer also enthused about this “milestone” on July 22, saying it provides proof “that if we had a real situation we can plan and operate together”.

These bilateral war exercises, costing upwards of $100 million........

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