AirForces Monthly – June 2018

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http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #363 JUNE 2018 // 29

Three more RAAF F-35As delivered

The latest Australian

F-35A under test is A35-

006, accompanied here by

Lockheed Martin’s chase

plane F-16D Block 50

90-0848. Henry B Ham

AUSTRALIA TOOK delivery
of its next three F-35As
from Lockheed Martin at
Luke Air Force Base in
Arizona in early March.
Serials A35-003 and A35-
004 touched down on
March 8 and A35-005
followed on March 18.
Minister for Defence
Marise Payne and
Minister for Defence
Industry Christopher Pyne
MP congratulated the
Australian Defence Force
and Lockheed Martin on
reaching the milestone.

“These latest aircraft

are fitted with the

programme’s final software

system, which unlocks

the aircraft’s full war-

fighting potential including

weapons, mission systems

and flight performance,”

Minister Payne said.

Australia is the first

international Lightning II

customer to receive jets

with Block 3F software

capability. The earlier two

fighters had the previous

Block 3I software installed.

Australia’s first two

F-35As were recently

inducted into the US Air

Force’s Ogden Logistics

Complex at Hill AFB,

Utah to receive various

structural, hardware and

software upgrades that

will bring them up to

the current standard.

The other three aircraft

are embedded with the

61st Fighter Squadron

for pilot and maintainer

tuition at Luke AFB’s

Integrated Training Center.

Five more are scheduled

for delivery by the end

of this year. After No 3

Squadron undergoes its

first F-35A airworthiness

board in August, the unit

will prepare to bring the

initial two aircraft to RAAF

Williamtown, New South

Wales in December to

commence Australian-

specific validation and

verification activities.

The Australian

government is acquiring

72 F-35As under Project

AIR 6000 Phases 2A/2B

to replace its current

fleet of 71 F/A-18A /Bs.

CHC wins

RAAF search

and rescue

contract

CHC HELICOPTER will

provide search and rescue

(SAR) services at five

bases around Australia

under a 30-month

contract continuation

with the RAAF. These

operations will involve

six new AW139s that will

replace the current S-76A+

SAR helicopter fleet.

The first of the new

aircraft have already

been introduced at RAAF

Base East Sale and the

remaining five will arrive

during the rest of the year,

providing SAR coverage

for the air force at RAAF

Bases Pearce, Tindal,

Williamtown and Amberley.

The SAR-configured

AW139s will feature four-

axis auto hover, enabling

hover operations over

water at night. The

crews will also use

white phosphorus night-

vision technology.

The contract extension

came into effect last

November but was only

announced by the CHC

Group on April 16. In

future, all three existing

Australian Defence Force

aviation SAR contracts

could be replaced with

a new single tender.

CHC Helicopter currently

provides services to the

RAAF, Royal Australian

Navy (RAN) and Australian

Army. A single AW139

with night-vision goggle

capability and four-

axis auto hover began

operations on behalf of

the RAN in May last year.

Three of the AW139s

to be used in the latest

RAAF contract were

already flown within CHC’s

Australian fleet, while the

other three previously

served with a CHC SAR

contract in the UK.

THE ROYAL Australian

Air Force (RAAF) took

delivery of its tenth and

final C -27J battlefield

airlifter on March 18.

A ceremony to welcome

the last Spartan took

place at RAAF Base

Richmond, New South

Wales. Built by Leonardo,

the C -27J s serve with No

35 Squadron, R A A F, in

the battlefield airlift role.

After check flights at

Leonardo’s Turin-Caselle

facility in Italy, RAAF

C -27J s were flown to

L3 Aerospace Systems/

Platform Integration in

Waco, Texas. As prime

contractor for the R A A F,

L3 undertook systems

integration for the

C -27J s before delivery

to the customer.

Minister for Defence

Marise Payne, and

Minister for Defence

Industry, Christopher

Pyne, both attended the

event at Richmond.

“The Spartan provides

flexibility to defence

operations, allowing us to

land at airfields that are

smaller or unsuitable for

our much larger transport

aircraft like the C -130J

Hercules and C -17A

Globemaster,” Minister

Payne said. “The Spartan

can carry up to five

tonnes of cargo and is

capable of moving troops,

equipment and supplies;

conducting aero-medical

evacuation missions and

conducting airdrops.”

Although No 35 Squadron

currently operates

the Spartan

fleet from

RAAF Base

Richmond,

the fleet will relocate to

RAAF Base Amberley

early next year.

“The relocation to

Amberley will allow No

35 Squadron to work

from facilities purpose-

built for the Spartan, and

to be more responsive

when deploying across

Australia and into the

Asia Pacific [region],”

Minister Payne said.

Initial operating capability

for the Spartan was

declared in late 2016, with

final operating capability

due to follow in late 2019.

C-27J A34-005 lands on the grass airstrip at RAAF Base Richmond during the ceremony. CPL David Gibbs/Commonwealth of Australia

Final RAAF Spartan handed over

NEWS Australasia

CHC Helicopter S-76+

VH-LHZ performs a training

fl ight in the Northern

Territory’s Katherine

region. CPL Terry Hartin/

Commonwealth of Australia