The SAS is also said to offer “a special warfare school” at Swan Island to which “agents from A.K.I.A. and special police units” come for training in the use of a “wide range of weapons and, in some cases, explosives. The Fairfax press broke a story earlier this year revealing that Swan Island was home to a previously unknown 5th squadron of the SAS known as SAS 5
Originally formed as bodyguards for ASIS operatives, who historically have not been able to carry weaponry, SAS4 have more recently been deployed in secret operations in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria and Kenya, despite their dubious legal status in those places. This intelligence-collection role dovetails with ASIS’s work.