Airforces

RAN retires

AS350BA and

S-70B-2 fl eets

Left: A fi nal six-ship formation

of AS350BAs performed a

fl ypast over HMAS Albatross

on November 1. This was

the last time that all of

723 Squadron’s remaining

operational Squirrels

took to the air together

before decommissioning.

Commonwealth of Australia/Jeff

Chartier/723 Sqn

Below: RAN S-70B-2 N24-

003 ‘(8)72’ arriving overhead

the Australian War Memorial

in Canberra on December 4

after leaving HMAS Albatross

to make the type’s fi nal fl ight.

Commonwealth of Australia/Jay

Cronan RAN

TWO SIGNIFICANT Royal

Australian Navy (RAN)

types, the AS350BA

Squirrel and S-70B-

2 Seahawk, were

simultaneously withdrawn

from service during a

ceremony at HMAS

Albatross, Nowra, New

South Wales, on December

1, 2017. The Seahawk had

been in the inventory for

29 years and throughout

its entire service history

had been operationally

deployed in the Middle

East. The Squirrel served

for 33 years, being used for

operations and training.

Squirrel N22-023 ‘823’

(callsign ‘Taipan 23’) made

the last official flight in

RAN service during the

retirement ceremony, flown

by LCDR Tony Reyne, who

retired on the same day

after 47 years’ service.

Just a couple of weeks

before final retirement,

one example of each type

was placed on display

on the Quarterdeck at

HMAS Albatross. These

comprised AS350BA N22-

018 ‘865’ (‘Taipan 65’) and

S-70B-2 N24-009 ‘878’,

which were put in place

on November 14 and 16,

respectively. Another

of the S-70B-2s, N24-

003 ‘(8)72’ (affectionately

known as Christine),

departed from HMAS

Albatross on December

4 for Canberra to make

a final flight over the

Australian War Memorial

before landing there to

go on permanent display

as part of the National

Collection. Dave Allport

Third

Australian

Lightning II

fl ies

THE THIRD F-35A

Lightning II for the Royal

Australian Air Force

(RAAF) conducted its

first flight on December

1, 2017. Serial A35-003

(AU-03) took to the air

from Lockheed Martin’s

Fort Worth, Texas, facility.

On November 24, the

Australian Department of

Defence announced that

the aircraft had rolled off

the assembly line. No

3 Squadron markings

had been applied in

early November, marking

the final stage in the

production process

before the aircraft

underwent several weeks

of ground and flight

testing at Fort Worth.

“The completion of our

third Joint Strike Fighter is

a significant achievement

for Australia’s F-35A

project,” said Minister

for Defence Industry,

Christopher Pyne. “It

is particularly exciting

that a key component

• the tail piece – was
  manufactured in Australia,
  by Australian company,
  Marand Engineering.”

C-2 visits New Zealand

FOLLOWING THE type’s

international debut at

the 2017 Dubai Airshow,

Kawasaki C-2 68-1203

arrived in Christchurch,

New Zealand from Miho,

Japan, via Guam and

RAAF Amberley, on

November 27 to begin a

short demonstration tour.

The C-2 is a contender

for New Zealand’s Future

Air Mobility Capability

(FAMC) programme to

replace the C-130H and

757 transports in the early

2020s. The C-2 flew on to

Wellington on November

28 and completed two

demonstration flights for

defence ministry officials

and New Zealand Defence

Force officers including Lt

General Tim Keating, the

Chief of the Defence Force.

The C-2 flew on to RAAF

Richmond on the 29th.

Other contenders for

FAMC have previously

visited New Zealand. RAF

Atlas ZM401 took part in

the RNZAF’s 80th birthday

celebrations in February

2017 and Embraer KC-390

PT-ZNJ was demonstrated

in New Zealand in July.

Jim Winchester

AP-3C A9-751 lands at RAAF Base Williams, Point Cook, on November 16 prior to going on static display at the RAAF Museum.

RAAF AP-3C fl own to RAAF Museum

ROYAL AUSTRALIAN Air

Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion

A9-751 has been delivered

to the RAAF Museum at

Point Cook to go on static

display. The aircraft made

its final flight from RAAF

Base Edinburgh, South

Australia, to RAAF Base

Williams, Point Cook on

November 16, 2017.

This aircraft, the first for

the RAAF, made its maiden

flight on January 5, 1978,

before it was delivered

to the RAAF at Naval

Air Station Moffett

Field, California,

on February 17,

1978. It was then
      ferried to Australia

and arrived at RAAF

Base Edinburgh on

May 26, 1978.

The type is being

replaced in RAAF

service by the P-8A and

MQ-4C. Dave Allport

Above: C-2 68-1203 lands in Wellington on November 28. David Evans

NEWS

30 // JANUARY 2018 #358 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com

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