Every year Defence hosts foreign military officials from the Service Attachés and Advisors' Group (SAAG) on a 10-day Long Tour of Australia, intended to foster transparency with international partners through shared understanding of ADF capabilities and emerging technologies.
The group visited a number of sites across South Australia this year, including RAAF Base Edinburgh, Woodside Barracks, Defence Science and Technology Group at Salisbury, the Australian Space Agency and several companies who contribute to the Defence Industrial Complex.
These displayed a range of Defence military and civilian capabilities while providing engagement opportunities with Defence and industry representatives.
Commanding Officer 24 Squadron Wing Commander Craig Keane acknowledged the importance of such engagement activities and the opportunity to showcase elements of RAAF capability, including a P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft as the centrepiece of a static display during the visit.
"These multi-lateral relationships are integral to our core business in Defence, so that when we coordinate international responses to a crisis, event or engagement, we already have that existing relationship of trust and mutual understanding," Wing Commander Keane said.
"The opportunity to host the SAAG during their visit to RAAF Edinburgh reinforced this to me."
The Malaysian Defence Advisor to Australia Colonel Mahammad Fazli said he enjoyed the experience immensely.
"This tour provided the SAAG an opportunity to better understand [and] to get to know more about Australia's military and technology development capabilities, while learning about Australian culture," Colonel Fazli said.
"The tour also reinforced the strong cooperation between the ADF and those SAAG members who attended, while allowing the SAAG members to better understand each other in a more relaxed environment."
The SAAG program varies from year to year and visits different Australian Defence establishments, industry partners, cultural sites and regional areas.
