08/11/2015: A pair of U-2 Dragon Ladies landing at RAF Fairford, United Kingdom.
Credit:501st Combat Support Wing:6/9/15
RAAF Deployment to the Middle East
08/09/201508/04/2015: During a visit to Australia in August 2015, Second Line of Defense had a chance to talk with senior RAFF personnel about the operations in Iraq and Syria.
There will be more to come as these interviews are completed, but a key point was that two new combat systems were deployed for the first time, namely Wedgetail and the KC-30A.
As the newly appointed head of the RAAF, Air Marshal Leo Davies, put it in the interview:
“We have deployed fighters far forward for many years.
But this is the first time that we brought an integrated tanker and battle management package along with the fighters.”
In the forthcoming interview, Air Marshal Davies described how these assets interacted with one another and changed how the RAAF has operated in the operation.
He also discussed the RAAF Super Hornets operating with the USAF F-22s and how that experience – which is the first time they have done this in combat rather than at Red Flag – is a precursor for what the RAAF is planning to do as their F-35s arrive.
The basic package has been six combat aircraft, originally the Super Hornets, along with a KC-30A and a Wedgetail.
In a companion interview, Air Vice-Marshal Warren McDonald focused on the operation in terms of what the KC-30A brought to the effort and how the process of introducing the KC-30A prepared the RAAF for the Plan Jericho transformation effort.
The photos in the slide show highlight the task group as of the Fall of 2014
Credit Photos: Australian Ministry of Defence
The first photo shows the leadership of the air task group.
(L-R) Commander Task Unit 630, Group Captain Rob Chipman; Commander Joint Task Force 633, Major General Craig Orme; Chief Joint Operations, Vice Admiral David Johnston and Commander Air Task Group 630, Air Commodore Steve Roberton, gather for a photo during VADM Johnston’s visit to Air Task Group 630 in the Middle East.
Group Captain Rob Chipman is now one of the co-leaders along with Group Captain Jake Campbell of the Plan Jericho effort.
The next four photos show the KC-30A.
The next few show the Wedgetail.
And the final seven photos show the Super Hornets, including being tanked by the KC-30a.
As the then Chief of the RAAF Air Marshal Geoff Brown put it with regard to the operation and its role as a harbinger for the future in a RAAF-wide conference to launch Plan Jericho in February 2015:
In the past year, Air Force has constituted the long arm of Australian policy….
In so doing, we exemplified all of the distinctive attributes of Air Power: speed, reach, agility, lethality, precision and discrimination, as well as allowing the government to calibrate our involvement in distant conflicts to a degree that is commensurate with our interests.
Over the past year, we have conducted strike operations and air battle management in Iraq, having already delivered humanitarian aid to internally displaced Yazidi civilians.
We delivered humanitarian aid to the Philippines after a natural disaster.
We led a multi-national coalition search and recovery operation after Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared over the Great Southern Ocean.
And when another Malaysian Airlines jet was shot down over the Ukraine, our Air Force provided the most visible, timely and decisive element of Australia’s response to that crisis.
In every case, Air Power exhibited those characteristics that have made it a unique and indispensable element of military power.
Our response was rapid.
It was calibrated.
It was relevant.
And it represented extraordinary global reach for a regional middle power.
Air Power provided the Australian Government with its most agile, flexible, potent, and visible strategic response to a diverse range of security challenges.
U.S. Marines, U.S. Army Soldiers Practice MV-22 External Cargo Lifts
08/08/201508/08/2015: A U.S. Marine landing support specialist and U.S. Army Soldiers attach a 1,000-pound cargo load to an MV-22 with a single-point hook during External Cargo Lift Training conducted by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron-165 (VMM-165), Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force -Crisis Response-Central Command, in an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, June 5, 2015.
The SPMAGTF’s organic MV-22 squadron, paired with its KC-130 refueling capabilities, allow it to respond to contingencies as a fully capable crisis response force across the USCENTCOM Area of Operations.
Credit:Marine Forces Central Command – Forward:6/5/15
USS Theodore Roosevelt Operations
08/05/201508/05/2015: U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF OPERATIONS (May 28, 2015)
Two F/A-18F Super Hornets launch from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
Theodore Roosevelt is seen deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the region.
In the second and third photos, an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Knighthawks of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 136 launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71).
In the final photo, Rear Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, watches as an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Knighthawks of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 136 prepares to launch on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71)
Credit:Navy Media Content Services:5/28/15
Crescent Reach 15
08/03/201508/03/2015: Members of the 437th Airlift Wing conduct a multi-ship C-17 Globemaster III formation May 21, 2015 during CRESCENT REACH 15.
This exercise tested and evaluated Joint Base Charleston’s ability to launch a large aircraft formation in addition to processing and deploying duty passengers and cargo in response to a simulated crisis abroad.
The 437th Airlift Wing launched 15 aircrafts as part of the multi-ship formation that flew to Pope AFB, North Carolina.
There they joined four additional C-17s, six C-130s, E-8 JSTARS and two F-16s to participate in the 82nd Airborne Division’s All American Week.
Credit:1st Combat Camera Squadron:5/21/15
3rd MAW Ospreys In Support of Insertion Force
08/01/201508/01/2015: U.S. Marines loading equipment into multiple MV-22 Ospreys with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 166.
The MV-22’s then takeoff, transporting equipment to U.S. Marine counterparts in the field, May 16, 2015, in support of Integrated Training Exercise 3-15 at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (MCAGCC) Twentynine Palms, Calif.
MCAGCC conducts relevant live-fire combined arms training, urban operations, and joint/coalition level integration training that promotes operational forces readiness.
Credit:4th Combat Camera Squadron:5/16/15
Fueling Partnerships: U.S. Marines, Spanish Pilots Test Aerial-Refueling Capabilities
07/30/201507/30/2015: U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa completed refueling operations from Morón Air Base, Spain, with Spanish Navy pilots May 15, 2015.
Two Spanish harrier jets departed Naval Station Rota, Spain, and tested their ability to complete inflight-refueling procedures with a KC-130J from SPMAGTF-CR-AF.
The two groups coordinated their aerial movement via radio, and carried out several training rehearsals while flying over open water.
The ability to complete bilateral refueling missions allows the U.S. and partner forces to significantly extend the range of their aircraft.
Credit: U.S. Marine Corps Forces Europe and Africa:5/15/15
2nd Division Centenary Parade
07/27/201507/26/2015: The Australian Army’s 2nd Division marked its centenary with a national parade at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Friday, 24 July 2015.
More than 300 soldiers travelled across Australia to take part in the parade, which displayed the colours, guidons and banners of 2nd Division brigades and direct command units.
The parade was reviewed by His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor-General of Australia, and was attended by Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, Chief of Army, and Major General Stephen Porter, Commander of 2nd Division.
2nd Division was first raised in Egypt on 26 July 1915 and deployed to Gallipoli later that year.
It went on to become the first Australian Army division to join the battle on the Western Front in 1916. Today, 2nd Division commands all the Army Reserve brigades across Australia.
Credit: Australian MoD:July 27, 2015