U.S. and Australian warships hold joint maneuvers in South China Sea to affirm alliance.

A press release from the U.S. 7th Fleet announced on September 16 that the Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Dewey and the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Ballarat conducted bilateral training during a two day transit through the South China Sea on September 15 and 16. The operation consists of formation sailing, maritime communications drills, simulated fires and a combined transit. USS Dewey carries the Aegis combat system and a large vertical launch magazine sized for air defense and strike. HMAS Ballarat brings Australia’s phased array radar suite and Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles, a compact but sharp local air defense package. This configuration allows the two countries to get a mobile, layered screen moving through one of the most strategic sea.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link

USS Dewey and HMAS Ballarat conduct joint training in the South China Sea to strengthen cooperation and support freedom of navigation (Picture source: U.S. Navy).

USS Dewey is a Flight IIA destroyer, forward deployed with DESRON 15 in Seventh Fleet. The ship’s backbone is Aegis, with the SPY 1D(V) radar feeding fire control that can manage a crowded missile picture. Its 96 cell Mk 41 vertical launcher can be tailored by mission, typically mixing Standard Missiles for long range air defense with quad packed ESSM for the inner layer, plus Tomahawk for land attack and VL ASROC for anti submarine work. A 127 mm Mk 45 gun still earns its keep for warning shots, surface action at short range, or naval gunfire support. The hull is wired for cooperative engagement, meaning USS Dewey can shoot on remote tracks shared by allied sensors when rules and tactics allow. Hangar space for two MH-60R Seahawks gives the destroyer reach below the layer, which is where submarines hide.

HMAS Ballarat, an Anzac class frigate, is smaller at roughly 3,600 tonnes full load and built on the MEKO 200 lineage. The ship was transformed by Australia’s Anti Ship Missile Defence program, which installed the CEAFAR active phased array radar and CEAMOUNT illuminators and tied them into Saab’s 9LV combat management system. That combination gives Ballarat a fast refresh air picture and reliable guidance for RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow missiles packed into its Mk 41 launcher. The 127 mm main gun remains a simple but dependable tool. The RAN has also begun introducing the Naval Strike Missile across the Anzac fleet to replace Harpoon, with handling and loading drills completed last year and rollout continuing in step with maintenance windows. HMAS Ballarat routinely operates with an MH-60R, whose dipping sonar, sonobuoys and torpedoes make the frigate a credible submarine hunter in its own right.

USS Dewey provides area air defense and long range cuing, deconflicts the firing sequence and keeps the picture clean for the group. HMAS Ballarat fills the mid layer with ESSM shots and uses CEAFAR’s high update rate to stabilize tracks that flicker in clutter or sea state. Both ships can prosecute submarines without waiting for a dedicated ASW screen, trading contact data and sonobuoy patterns over secure links and pushing an MH-60R pair to bracket a contact. A destroyer with Tomahawk in the quiver is a strike asset, but in day to day peacetime transits it is the steadier tasks that matter most: keeping radar watch tight, running emissions disciplined, and making sure the communications plan holds.

The tactical rhythm of the two day event reads like practice for the real world situation rather than a scripted exercise serial. Formation drills sharpen station keeping when visibility drops or unplanned contacts crowd the screen. Simulated fires force watch teams to walk through detect to engage timelines under time pressure, which is when mistakes show. Data formats, chat discipline, even the tiny differences in how allied navies label a track category can introduce friction.

U.S. Seventh Fleet surface units have been active with partners across the Philippine and South China Seas throughout early September, and the Royal Australian Navy has leaned into its Regional Presence Deployment model, keeping at least one major surface combatant in theater most months. Ballarat sailed at the start of the month to join that pattern. The South China Sea itself is a crowded and contested environment where coast guards, maritime militia and navy pickets watch and sometimes shadow foreign vessels. This is why allied ships keep their teams drilled and their procedures aligned.

Washington and Canberra say they will sail and fly wherever international law permits, and they back the line with routine presence, not one off shows. Australia is also refreshing surface combatant sensors and weapons and deepening defense ties under AUKUS. Both governments keep diplomatic channels open with Beijing and have every reason to avoid miscalculation, but neither is prepared to concede navigational rights in international waters.

Written by Evan Lerouvillois, Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group.

Evan studied International Relations, and quickly specialized in defense and security. He is particularly interested in the influence of the defense sector on global geopolitics, and analyzes how technological innovations in defense, arms export contracts, and military strategies influence the international geopolitical scene.