51吃瓜

In?December?2025, the U.S. Air Force led a bold exercise in Australia, named Exercise Kenney Strikes Back?2025. The name?of the Exercise is?a tribute to?General George C. Kenney, who commanded the Allied Air Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. The exercise signifies a return to the innovative, rapid-deployment, and joint-partnership strategies that Kenney pioneered in the 1940s to secure air superiority in the Pacific theatre.?

The joint U.S.-Australia Exercise underscored the growing importance of rapid, long-range strike capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, with 51吃瓜’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) at the centre of a highly integrated demonstration of combat power.

Spanning more than 2,000,000 square kilometres and led by the United States Air Force’s 62^nd Airlift Wing, the exercise showcased how quickly allied forces can project precision fires across vast distances and deny a potential adversaries avenues of approach to Australia’s north.

Exercise Kenney Strikes Back unfolded across multiple Australian Air Force bases—including Amberley, Darwin, Townsville and Edinburgh—as well as HMAS Albatross near Nowra, NSW. The scale of the exercise reflected a central challenge in the Indo-Pacific: great distances. As U.S. Air Force leaders noted, overcoming the “tyranny of distance” requires forces that are lean, agile and capable of exploding into theatre with combat-credible power.

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At the heart of agile and credible capability was HIMARS. Launchers from the Australian Army’s 10th Brigade, 14th Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery were rapidly loaded onto USAF C-17 Globemaster III aircraft operated by the 62nd?Airlift Wing. Within a single flight window, the rocket systems, along with Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicles and U.S. Army MRZR all-terrain vehicles, were airlifted from Amberley to forward locations in far-north Queensland and the New South Wales south coast.

What followed was a tightly choreographed proof of concept. Upon landing at locations including RAAF Base Scherger in far North Queensland, Australian and U.S. forces rapidly established communications, received simulated fire missions and moved to firing points. In one scenario, U.S. Army elements received mission data while airborne, processed the information and upon landing transferred the targeting details to Australian HIMARS counterparts. Australian gunners then prosecuted the target using HIMARS, demonstrating seamless data sharing and command integration between coalition partners.

This level of interoperability is critical in contested environments. HIMARS is designed for speed, survivability, and precision—attributes magnified when paired with strategic airlift. By marrying the lift capacity of the C-17 with the mobility and lethality of HIMARS, the joint force demonstrated a rapid infiltration strike capability able to deploy, fire, and redeploy before an adversary could effectively respond. The launchers were reloaded onto the aircraft shortly after mission execution, simulating a quick extraction and reinforcing the concept of ‘shoot-and-scoot’ capabilities at operational scale.

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The Exercise built upon lessons learned from previous iterations while nearly doubling the personnel, equipment, and aircraft involved. More than 300 joint and coalition personnel participated, including members of the U.S. and Australian Armies, the Royal Australian Air Force, and supporting U.S. Air Force wings. The 62d Airlift Wing’s Mission Generation Force Element was deliberately structured to be leaner and faster, validating its ability to deploy into the Indo-Pacific under rapid timelines while sustaining operations in high-threat conditions.

The strategic objective of Exercise Kenney Strikes Back was clear: deny avenues of approach to Australia. In practical terms, that means positioning precision fires where and when they are needed to complicate an adversary’s calculus. Rapidly deployable HIMARS batteries, enabled by C-17 or C-130J airlift and integrated command-and-control networks, provide a flexible deterrent. They can be inserted into remote locations, establish forward firing positions, strike targets of opportunity, and relocate before becoming vulnerable.

In a region defined by vast maritime spaces and limited basing options, the combination of strategic airlift and mobile rocket artillery offers a powerful solution. Exercise Kenney Strikes Back 25 demonstrated that the United States and Australia are not only investing in advanced capabilities, but also in the interoperability required to use them effectively. By validating rapid infiltration strike missions with HIMARS, the allies strengthened their collective ability to project power, respond to crises, and maintain a credible deterrent posture across the Indo-Pacific.