flightglobal.com 17-23 February 2015 | Flight International | 37
AUSTRALIA
SPECIAL REPORTThe aircraft will be operated by 35 Squadron
initially at Richmond, before moving north to
RAAF Amberley near Brisbane in 2018.
Initial operational capability for the C-27J is
planned for December 2016, with final opera-
tional capability to follow a year later. Sched-
uled to coincide with FOC is the addition of a
dynamic re-tasking communications capabil-
ity, while there is also reported to be interest
within the ADF in the palletised gunship
capabilities currently being developed by
Alenia Aermacchi for the MC-27J Praetorian.
MISSIONS
In the meantime, the RAAF’s current fleet of
six Boeing C-17A Globemaster IIIs operated
by 36 Squadron at Amberley will soon be aug-
mented with two to four more examples.
Funding for two additional aircraft has al-
ready been approved for delivery in the next
12 months, while two more C-17s will be con-
sidered as part of the Australian government’s
current Force Structure Review and 2015 De-
fence White Paper (FSR/DWP) process.
The C-17 is a major leap forward for
Australia’s ability to respond to military and
humanitarian missions at a strategic level.
Compared with a C-130, a C-17 can be em-
ployed twice as fast while carrying up to four
times the amount of cargo. Southeast Asia is
a full day’s flight away from Australia for a
C-130, but a C-17 can be in the Middle East
or Eastern Europe in the same time. Up-
grades currently planned include a secure
beyond-line-of-sight communications suite,
as well as a dynamic retasking communica-
tions capability.
The Airbus Military KC-30A (A330 MRTT)
has seen its operational debut in recent
months, with the deployment of an aircraft
from 33 Sqn, also based at Amberley, to the
UAE to provide air refuelling support to coali-
tion hose-and-drogue-equipped aircraft.
Australia was the lead customer for the
MRTT and the aircraft’s introduction was a
difficult and prolonged one due to develop-
mental issues with the advanced refuelling
boom system (ARBS) and other systems. But
ongoing development work by Airbus using
one of the RAAF’s five aircraft as a testbed has
resulted in new software and hardware for the
ARBS and other systems that are expected tobe incorporated into the RAAF’s fleet and
cleared for operational use from mid-2015.
In the meantime, the upgraded Cobham
905E wingtip hose-and-drogue pods will soon
be cleared for the full refuelling envelope after
the conclusion of a successful test program
last November, while the KC-30A will also be
equipped with MIDS/Link-16 for improved
voiceless situational awareness.
Former defence minister David Johnston
suggested in August that government was
considering the acquisition of an additional
KC-30, and this is anticipated as part of the
FSR/DWP process around the middle of the
year, possibly with a VIP interior fitted. ■country. In 2013/14 the fleet flew 54,700 pa-
tients 14.3 million nm (26.4 million km) – an
average of 39,100nm and 206 landings per day.
Today, the service attends to 290,000 pa-
tients a year – or one person every 2min.
PREVENTION
But the not-for-profit organisation is not just
about emergency medical retrieval, but also
conducts vital health clinics –16,100 health
clinics treated over 145,000 patients in
2013/14. In many remote areas, the RFDS is the
only provider of healthcare services.
“It’s not enough to fly patients to hospital
when they reach a critical health event – we
want to prevent these issues from occurring in
the first place,” says chief executive Martin
Laverty. “That’s why the Flying Doctor pro-
vides preventative healthcare services, includ-
ing mental health, dental health and chronic
disease prevention and management.”
Today the RFDS comprises Central Opera-
tions, Queensland Section, South Eastern Sec-
tion, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Opera-
tions. It has a federated structure with each
division having its own management, with fi-
nancial and operational independence. This
independence includes fleet decisions. Today’s
fleet of 60-plus aircraft largely comprises
Beechcraft King Airs (B200, B200SE, B200C
and B350C) and Pilatus PC-12s, with two
Cessna 208s and a sole jet – a Hawker 800XP.“Each section has different needs relating
to the services they provide and the patients
they help, so at this stage we are placing or-
ders separately,” says RFDS Queensland
Section, which operates 15 King Airs, three
PC-12s and two Cessna 208s from nine opera-
tional bases. Like all RFDS divisions, the
Queensland Section puts its aircraft through ❯❯ ❯❯Aircraft need to be able to operate from short and unimproved surfaces like dirt airstripsThe current fleet of six
C-17A Globemaster III
military transports is
expected to be increased
by two to four aircraftRFDSCommonwealth of Australia