Australia has committed around 220 military personnel, F-35A fighters and the replenishment ship HMAS Stalwart to Exercise Bersama Lima 2026, joining Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The Australian Defence announcement on 7 October 2026 identified Singapore as host of the combined maritime, air and land training.
The contingent also includes P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft and Stalwart's embarked MH-60R helicopter. Australia described the exercise as an opportunity to connect capabilities across services and national forces, with procedures and professional relationships forming part of the intended readiness benefit.
Ships and aircraft train as a combined force
The British contribution includes patrol ships HMS Spey and HMS Tamar, each with around 60 sailors. The Royal Navy's announcement on 2 October 2026 listed planned scenarios including boarding and searches, submarine hunting, naval air defense and soldiers directing naval gunfire.
The navy also described an initial period for crews to learn about other ships, systems and working practices before the dynamic phase. A New Zealand boarding team was embarked on Tamar, adding a practical example of personnel working inside another country's ship rather than merely operating alongside it.
That combination explains why the composition of a naval task group can change with its assignment. Here, the announced force joins surveillance, combat and replenishment assets within the same training framework; a ship count alone would leave much of the exercise's purpose unexplained.
Civil aviation records show the training window
Singapore's AIP Supplement 167/2026, published on 20 August 2026, sets the exercise airspace period from 00:01 UTC on 12 October 2026 to 11:00 UTC on 21 October 2026. It covers portions of the Kuala Lumpur and Singapore flight information regions.
The notice identifies air-defense training windows and separate arrangements for naval firing and air-to-air activity. Airspace not needed by the exercise is returned to civilian air traffic control, showing that large military training depends on coordination beyond the participating forces.
It also schedules special restrictions affecting Singapore Changi Airport from 03:15 to 03:45 UTC on 20 October 2026. These are published planning arrangements; the notice does not establish which individual military sorties have flown or their results.
Participation and performance are different measures
The Five Power Defence Arrangements date to 1971. Singapore's defense ministry describes Bersama Lima as part of a wider FPDA exercise program, alongside Bersama Shield and the land-focused Suman Warrior.
The named forces and reserved training areas document a substantial multinational activity. They do not provide an independent score for how well the forces would perform in combat. As with other military exercises, that judgment would require evidence about objectives achieved, weaknesses identified and changes made afterward.