Over 2,000 US Army personnel will participate for Salaknib 2025 military exercises scheduled Monday, March 24, the Philippine Army has confirmed.
According to Philippine Army Spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala, the venue of the exercises will be in the Northern and Central Luzon areas.
Over 3,000 Philippine Army troops from 5th Infantry Division and 7th Infantry Division will also execute different drills with its US counterparts.
Dema-ala said Salaknib’s objectives, among others, were to enhance territorial defense operations, sustainment, interoperability and humanitarian civil assistance.
However, he noted that the US-made Typhon missile system, which they used in the last Salaknib iteration, will not be part of the exercises this year.
US Army Soldiers with the Division Sustainment Brigade (DSB), 25th Infantry Division are preparing for the Salaknib by testing and preparing their water purification system for upcoming training.
Service members with the DSB performed a Tactical Water Purification Systems (TWPS) operation at Fort Magsaysay, Philippines, March 17, 2025.
The TWPS was designed to provide potable water to the service members in a field environment by decontaminating and filtering it through a series of tests, allowing the water to be efficiently resourced from the training location.
“Right now, we’re using the local water source on Fort Magsaysay for our daily activities,” said US Army Sgt. Mario Lumpkin, a Water Treatment Specialist and the non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the TWPS Subject Matter Expert Exchange (SMEE).
“The intent is to filter the local water source using US Army equipment, making it safe for daily use as we train alongside our allies,” he added.
The TWPS operation was performed in preparation of Exercise Salaknib 2025 at Fort Magsaysay, where Lumpkin will spearhead a SMEE, allowing both the US and Philippine armies to exchange techniques of water purification systems and acquire skills from one another.
Salaknib is an annual bilateral exercise led by the Philippine Army and sponsored by the US Army Pacific. It is designed to enhance both armies’ capacity and interoperability across the spectrum of military operations while strengthening the ties between the two long-standing allies.
The exercises will run until May 9.