Thousands of US Troops and Marine Forces Arrive in Philippines

US Military Channel: Thousands of US Troops and Marine Forces Arrive in Subic Bay Airport, PhilippinesShow more

U.S. Troops and Marines with 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment arrive at the Subic Bay International Airport, Philippines in preparation for Balikatan exercise.

Balikatan is an annual exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and U.S. military designed to strengthen bilateral inoperability, capabilities, trust and cooperation built over decades of shared experiences.

Balikatan is the largest annual exercise between the two allies and 2023 marks its 38th iteration and the largest iteration to date, with more than 17,600 participants. It provides an opportunity for the two militaries to enhance cooperation, increase capabilities and improve interoperability.

The Balikatan exercise has increased in complexity and high-end warfighting mission sets over the past several years. A focus point in Balikatan 2023 was bilateral integration of command and control, sensors, and multi-domain fires. This enabled expanded battlefield awareness, the sharing of targeting data between geographically dispersed units, and precision strikes in a contested maritime environment.