Exercise Wallaby 2025: 'Realistic' airdrop operations training helps ensure safety, says crew
ROCKHAMPTON, Australia — Being able to have realistic training for airdrop operations helps the crew on board the C-130 military transport aircraft get familiar with safety protocol. Speaking to members of the media at Rockhampton Airport, Loadmaster First Sergeant (1SG) M Magenthiran stated that the operations conducted during the overseas exercise allow the crew to practise processes they are not able to do in Singapore due to land and airspace constraints.«In Exercise Wallaby, we get to drop multiple complex loads...(which) helps us to be comfortable (in real-life operations),» he said.Exercise Wallaby is conducted annually at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, which spans a distance over five times the size of Singapore.1SG Magenthiran also said that the «realistic training» he receives can be transferred into real life airdrop operations.His duties involve working with officers from the 3rd Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Transport Battalion, who pack the load into a container delivery system and attach the parachute before rigging it to the aircraft.