On 7 December 1975, the Indonesian Armed Forces launched an invasion of East Timor. At 3:00 a.m., the two Portuguese corvettes, the NRP "João Roby" and NRP "Afonso Cerqueira", anchored near Atauro, detected on the radar a high number of unidentified air and naval targets approaching. They soon identified the targets as Indonesian military aircraft and warships, which initiated an assault against Dili. Lemos Pires and his staff then left Atauro, embarked on the Portuguese warships, and headed to Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia.