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03/22/2015: A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) C-17A Globemaster III aircraft has embarked medical personnel and equipment as part of the Australian Medical Assistance Team (AUSMAT).
Approximately 20 civilian personnel and 15 tons of equipment including a field hospital and water purification system will be delivered by the C-17 from Darwin to Vanuatu’s capital, Port Vila, following the destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam. Under the title Operation PACIFIC ASSIST 2015 the ADF is contributing air, land and naval assets.
The RAAF is moving humanitarian aid, civilian and DFAT emergency personnel and military advisers.
Also, the Navy’s amphibious operations ship is moving aid stores and Army engineer troops with plant equipment to Vanuatu as part of the broader DFAT-led Australian mission.
Credit: Australian Ministry of Defence:March 20, 2015
The role of Australia in Vanuatu is explained by the Australian government as follows:
Australia is an important economic partner for Vanuatu, providing the country with the majority of its tourists, foreign direct investment and aid. Australia is the largest aid donor to Vanuatu;
Our aid comprises more than 60 per cent of total ODA to Vanuatu (excluding China).
Aid agencies reported that around 90% of houses in Port Vila have been destroyed, many people displaced, and schools ripped apart. Oxfam Australia’s executive director Helen Szoke said:
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that we are now dealing with worse than the worst case scenario in Vanuatu. This is likely to be one of the worst disasters ever seen in the Pacific.”
Damage has been reported in other islands, including Kiribati –where New Zealand Red Cross reports that it is carrying out assessments of the damage caused by huge sea swells – Fiji and theSolomon Islands, though details are still scarce.
Military aircraft from Australia and New Zealand have landed in Port Vila, Vanuatu, at the devastated airport to begin immediate relief efforts and to assess the damage. Aid agencies are preparing further flights to deliver food, along with medical personnel and search-and-rescue workers.
03/20/2015: On 11 March 2015, No 37 Squadron (37SQN) flew a six-ship formation of C-130J Hercules transport aircraft on a tactical training flight over rural New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory, and western Sydney.
The purpose of the flight was to allow 37SQN to maintain currency in tactical formation flying as well as prepare for its role in forthcoming Operation SLIPPER Welcome Home Parades on 21 March 2015.
The flight on March 11 was also an opportunity for 37SQN and Air Mobility Group to utilisz a newly-installed Satellite Communications (SATCOM) capability, and demonstrate the C-130J airborne working environment to industry partners who support the aircraft.
Credit Video: Australian Ministry of Defence
In our interview with the commander of the Air Mobility Group Warren McDonald, he described the continuing and important role of the C-130Js in the RAAF.
We are looking not at just adding lift and tanking capabilities but are focused on how these traditional assets can connect to our forces in the battlespace and provided enhanced C2 and situational awareness for Australian and coalition warfighters.
We currently have disparate levels of communication capabilities across each platform within AMG.
To address this shortfall we are installing satellite links in 12 C-130Js by the end of 2016.
We are also working the ground station piece and are focused on having an AMG control center able to know where our aircraft are at all times in order to better support the force.
Similarly, we are focused on shaping a more effective rapid air tasking capability across the fleet and to do so we are adding significant situational awareness capabilities across our aircraft.
In doing so we will provide a very wide range of options for decision makers.
To your point about recrafting legacy assets as new air mobility aircraft enter service, the C-130J is a good example.
With broader lift needs now being met by the C-17s and the KC-30As we have the capacity to better tailor our training and capabilities, in the C-130J, to the needs of the Special Forces.
Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), board an MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, assigned to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 265, on the flight deck of the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship of the Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6).
Bonhomme Richard is the lead ship of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and, along with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), was seen conducting an Amphibious Integration Training (AIT).
03/17/2015: U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa completed an aerial refueling mission from Morón Air Base, Spain, Feb. 25, 2015.
Two MV-22B Ospreys connected to refueling lines on a KC-130J, which refueled the Ospreys over the Atlantic Ocean.
The ability to complete inflight refueling greatly extends the range of the unit’s aircraft, which are positioned in Spain to respond to crises across the geographically expansive area of northern and western Africa.
The speed, range, and vertical and horizontal flight capabilities of the Osprey allow it to provide rapid support to missions at the request of U.S. Africa Command.
03/16/2015: United States Army General Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with French General Pierre de Villiers, French Chief of Defense Staff, aboard the French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle.
During the visit, they toured the ship’s spaces, observed flight operations and met with French and U.S. military service members stationed aboard the ship.
