Royal Marines swoop on passenger ferry in front of Sydney Opera House

As part of Australia’s largest-ever military exercise – known as Talisman Sabre 25 – marines from 42 Commando worked with counterparts from the host nation, the USA, Japan and Singapore in Sydney Harbour.

The eye-catching training saw allies work on specialist boarding operations together, perfecting the skills needed to hunt down smugglers, terrorists and pirates around the world.

Plymouth-based 42 Commando are experts in this type of operation, recently scoring successes in the Middle East with HMS Lancaster, including seizing 1½ tonnes of illegal narcotics worth £30m.

The Commandos are required to board and seize control of suspect vessels – an extremely dangerous and complex mission which requires constant honing.

The training in Sydney concluded with the recapture of an iconic green and yellow New South Wales ferry using US Black Hawk helicopters, US Special Forces Chinooks and specialist raiding craft.

42 Commando have also taken part in building clearance training in state-of-the-art training facilities in New South Wales, nurturing skills in closed-quarter battle – something that is crucial when fighting through the tight confines of ships and boats.

Their involvement in Talisman Sabre is just part of the UK’s contribution to the major exercise, which included 2,500 Royal Navy sailors and marines, alongside 900 British Army soldiers and 600 RAF personnel.

Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales spearheaded the UK’s naval input into Talisman Sabre which involved some 35,000 personnel from 19 nations, spread across a vast area from Darwin to Brisbane, but also extending to Papua New Guinea.