Nations from the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA) have gathered in Malaysia for Exercise Bersama Lima 2025, a multilateral training activity focused on strengthening regional security through combined air, sea, and land operations, according to the Royal Air Force.
This year’s exercise was hosted by the Royal Malaysian Air Force at Joint Force Headquarters. The series, established in 1971, remains a core element of defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, promoting trust, transparency, and shared training processes among its members: Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.
Major Mohammad Irwan, the RMAF lead exercise planner, said: “It is a great honour for Malaysia to host this exercise and it gives us an opportunity to learn together with the other countries.”
A notable addition in 2025 was the integration of the UK Carrier Strike Group, which recently arrived in Singapore as part of Operation Highmast. The group’s presence allowed joint training alongside allied air and maritime assets, including 5th generation fighter aircraft.
The Royal Air Force confirmed that A400M and Voyager aircraft from the Air Mobility Force will contribute to the exercise in coordination with land activities and the carrier group. They will operate alongside RMAF A400 and C-130H aircraft, as well as a Royal Australian Air Force C-27J from 35 Squadron.
Wing Commander Mark Taylor, Deputy Exercise Controller, said: “The UK have pleasure of working with our FPDA partners in Malaysia whose lead it is this year, to build a programme of which Headquarters Integrated Area Defence is responsible for overseeing to make sure it is exciting, challenging and meets all of our training objectives from a national perspective.”
The RAF said Bersama Lima continues to address regional security challenges ranging from terrorism and cyber warfare to humanitarian assistance and disaster response. The full release is available here.
This is a good article, It’s a great partnership and a very worthwhile excersise. Time, Effort and Money well spent.
POW Is certainly getting amongst it out there. It shows we can do this still.
It’s why contrary to popular belief the carriers are so important, they turn an essentially tactical and at best limited regional asset ( F35 or other fighter) into a strategic asset and conventional strategic deterrent… no nation can ignore the threat of 3 squadrons of strike fighters being parked somewhere in the sea 600-1000kms off their coast, more than that very few nations could do much about it.
Apparently there were 24 x F-35 fifth gen stealth aircraft aboard at times on the current CSG25 deployment. Not even the US can do this.
Aus sent 4 F35A’s as well. As POW back to India maybe going to pick up that stranded F35B ??
Ha, I think you will find It flew back to POW some months back.
Do catch up!!
The FPDA exercise finished 26 September! Since Sunday 5 Oct CSG25 has been exercising with the INS Vikrant carrier group off the West coast of India, in the Bay of Bengal. That will be followed by a further one day exercise with the Indian Air Force on 14 Oct before the CSG heads back through the Red Sea and transits Suez, probably defended by USN destroyers. Note that the only remaining RN escort in CSG25 is Richmond. Dauntless has apparently developed some serious defects, after a short maintenance period in Singapore she left the port on 5 Oct to return directly to the UK, she should arrive back at Portsmouth around the end of the month – about a month earlier than expected. It is unclear if another T45 (Dragon?) will now join the CSG25 for its final exercises in the Mediterranean.