As part of the Force Posture Agreement between the United States and Australia, U.S. military forces routinely deploy to Australian bases to conduct exercises and training missions with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) in northern Australia. At the direction of the Commander, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. aircraft will conduct combined exercises and training missions with Royal Australian Air Forces as part of the Enhanced Air Cooperation (EAC) under the Force Posture Initiative between the United States and Australia.
Two U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bombers and approximately 50 Airmen, assigned to the 96th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, concluded a combined exercise with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) at RAAF Base Darwin, Australia, Dec. 9, 2018, in support of exercise Lightning Focus.