30 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com
NEWS
// AUGUST 2018 #365Australasia
CPL Tristan Kennedy/Commonwealth of AustraliaRAAF F-35As complete
1,000 sorties
RAAF F-35A fighters at
Luke Air Force Base,
Arizona, recently completed
1,000 sorties. The vast
majority of those hours were
clocked by A35-001 and
A35-002, the first two jets
to be delivered to the RAAF,
in 2014. The fleet at Luke
now includes six aircraft
(see Sixth RAAF F-35A
delivered to Luke, July, p30).
Four more aircraft should
be delivered this year.
The 1,000th sortie was
flown by SQNLDR DavidBell, the second Australian
to fly the F-35A. He said:
“The jets’ capabilities have
matured significantly. As a
team, we’ve learned many
lessons that will hold us
in good stead when we
bring our first two aircraft
home later this year.”Special
mission
Gulfstreamsunder
contract
THE US Department
of Defense (DoD) has
placed a contract for
two ‘green’ Gulfstream
G550 airframes to be
converted into special
mission platforms
for a Foreign Military
Sales (FMS) customer,
most likely Australia.
The US$83m contract
was awarded to L-3
Communications on
June 21 by the 645th
Aeronautical Systems
Group (ASG) at Wright-
Patterson Air Force
Base, Ohio. Work is
expected to be completed
in August 2021.
The 645th ASG, known
as ‘Big Safari’, handles
rapid procurement
and fielding of new
weapons systems,
sensors and platforms
for domestic and
international operators.
Australia plans to
acquire up to five
intelligence, surveillance,
reconnaissance and
electronic warfare
(ISREW) aircraft under
Project Air 555. The
existence of the
acquisition programme
was revealed by a US
DoD announcement on
December 28, 2015,
which detailed the
US$93.6m FMS contract
for the procurement and
maintenance of the first
two G550 aircraft for the
Australian government.
Last June the Pentagon
approved the sale to
Australia of as many as
five G550 ISREW aircraft
valued at up to US$1.3bn.Spartan on Exercise Hamel
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Air
Force (RAAF) C-27J A34-
010 operated by No 35
Squadron conducts a
personnel reinforcement
flight at Samuel Hill Airfield,
Queensland, as part of
Exercise Hamel 2018.
This was the first time
the RAAF Spartan hadoperated from a forward
operating base to support
the Australian Army. During
the manoeuvres, the C-27J
delivered troops and
cargo, deployed supplies
via parachute, conducted
aeromedical evacuations
and demonstrated its ability
to take off and land onshort dirt runways. The
army-led exercise was
designed to evaluate the
warfighting skills of the
Brisbane-based 7th Brigade.
Activities took place in
Cultana, South Australia,
and in airspace and
maritime zones adjacent
to Shoalwater Bay nearRockhampton, Queensland,
from June 18 to July 1.
The exercise also involved
aircrews, maintainers and
helicopters from the 1st and
5th Aviation Regiments,
operating as Task Group
Griffin, with aviation assets
including the CH-47F,
MRH90 and Tiger ARH.Left: WGCDR Darren Clare
climbs out of aircraft A35-002
after conducting a training
mission during which his
wingman, SQNLDR David
Bell, fl ew the 1,000th sortie in
an RAAF F-35A. USAFFirst new
RNZAF
King Air
certifi ed
NEW ZEALAND Minister
of Defence Ron Mark
announced on May 10
that the first of four leased
B300 King Air 350i aircraft
had been certified for
Royal New Zealand Air
Force (RNZAF) use.
The aircraft are replacing
the current No 42
Squadron B200 King Air
fleet to provide multi-
engine pilot training and
light airlift operations,
including transport,
humanitarian assistance
and disaster relief. The
remaining three aircraft
will be delivered by
the end of next year.
As previously reported,
the first of the new
aircraft arrived at RNZAF
Base Ohakea on March
24 – see First new
RNZAF King Air 350
delivered, May, p30.
Minister Mark noted
that the new fleet
will enable specialist
aircrew training to take
place in New Zealand
for the first time in two
decades. Previously,
air warfare officers for
the P-3K2 Orion and
C-130H Hercules were
trained in Australia.
In addition, two of the
new King Airs will be
configured to assist in
maritime surveillance
tasks across New
Zealand’s exclusive
economic zone (EEZ).
Dave AllportAustralia orders MQ-4C Triton
THE ROYAL Australian Air
Force (RAAF) will become
the first export operator
of the MQ-4C Triton
remotely piloted aircraft
(RPA). The Australian
Department of Defence
announced the award of an
AUS$1.4bn order for the
first example on June 26.
The Triton will be acquired
through a co-operative
programme with the US
Navy. As part of this
investment Australia will enter
into an AUS$200 agreement
with the US Navy for the
development, production and
sustainment of the MQ-4C.
In RAAF service, the Triton
will complement the P-8A
Poseidon in the surveillancerole. It will fly sustained
operations at long ranges as
well as various intelligence,
surveillance and
reconnaissance (ISR) tasks.
The Australian government
will spend AUS$364m on
new facilities at RAAF Base
Edinburgh in South Australia
and RAAF Base Tindal
in the Northern Territory,
as well as the necessary
ground control systems,
support and training.
Australia has already
taken delivery of seven
Poseidons and the RAAF
achieved initial operational
capability with the type
earlier this year. A fleet of 12
Poseidons is expected to be
delivered and in operationby 2022 and the last of
the AP-3C Orions will be
retired the following year.
The first of the Triton
aircraft should be
introduced into service in
mid-2023 with all six aircraft
planned to be delivered and
in operation by late 2025.
They will be stationed at
RAAF Base Edinburgh.
The total cost for the six
Tritons, including facilities
upgrades and support, is
set at around AUS$6.9bn.
Previously, Australia
planned to acquire seven
MQ-4Cs and 15 P-8As, but
the latest announcements
suggest these fleets have
been scaled back to six and
12 airframes, respectively.A computer-generated
image of the MQ-4C Triton
in RAAF service. Northrop
Grumman