Combat Aircraft – August 2019

The Royal Australian Air Force’s 2019 Air Warfare Instructors

Course (AWIC) attracted signifi cant participation from around the

Pacifi c, including the 18th Aggressor Squadron, which came all

the way from Alaska.

REPORT AND PHOTOS Roy Choo

built on an existing base of separate

courses, but it wasted no time in setting

up the  rst Air Warfare Instructors Course

(AWIC) in 2017 and is aiming for two

six-month evolutions every year. The

directorate draws together a pool of senior

and highly experienced RAAF personnel

for tactics development. Its sub-unit, No

88 Squadron, is responsible for training

the AWIC students and developing the

progression of its associated exercises.

Following the success of the inaugural

course, a second was held in the  rst

half of 2019. Around 36 students were

 rst put through a two-week common

Below: The

18th AGRS

commander’s

aircraft taxiing for

launch as a RAAF

Hornet departs.

The ARDU

markings on the

F/A-18A indicate

a previous life

supporting fl ight-

T testing.

HE EQUIVALENT OF US Air

Force ‘patch-wearers’ — the air

warfare instructors (AWIs) of

the Royal Australian Air Force

(RAAF) — are the leaders and

experts in their respective

 elds. They are also expected to be

well-versed in the bigger picture of

the RAAF’s cross-domain war- ghting

capabilities.

Having been established in 2016, the

RAAF Air Warfare Centre (AWC) may have

EXERCISE REPORT // ‘DIAMOND SHIELD’

78 August 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

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