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The F-35 is already part of the USMC combat force.
It will join the USAF later this year. And next year the F-35C will come to the carrier air wing.
In contrast to the constant barrage of chants from the Greek Chorus of program critics, the program is rapidly maturing.
The F-35 has become tactically operational in the USMC while the aircraft is undergoing developmental testing by the Pax River and Edwards AFB with an F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) for the USAF and USN .
What is not widely understood is that the ITF is managing the ongoing developmental testing for the life of the program.
After all, as the head engineer of the Pax River ITF put it: “The F-18 is still undergoing developmental testing.”
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With the scope, complexity and concurrent global reach of the F-35 program, a new approach to testing was set in motion.
As Andrew Mack, the F-35 ITF chief test engineer put it:
When the F-35B Block 2B became cleared for IOC, (VMFA-121) there were many stories about what it cannot do; that really is not the point.
The plane will evolve its capabilities over time based on spiral development.
The point is that is a very capable combat jet at the block it has achieved already.
And the impact is immediate. —stealth from the sea is brand new for the Marine Corps and Navy.
In other words, the program is one of “spiral development” in which combat F-35 Type/Model/Series (T/M/S) airplanes emerge throughout the process to operate as effective combat assets, even while the developmental testing for all three types of F-35s continue.
Put bluntly, the F-35B in the hands of the Marines is a fully “up” combat aircraft (both airframe, sensors and weapon systems) addition to the USMC Air/Ground team.
All Squadron Pilots in Marines, USAF and Navy, and in partner Air Forces will be backed up by the best test community in the world at Edwards and Pax.
A key argument for buying newer platforms compared to older ones is the savings built into a new platform over the operational and logistics costs of the older platform.
In the commercial airplane business, both Boeing and Airbus design and build their newest platforms with significant enhancements in sustainability in mind.
According to one senior official at Airbus, “We have a design committee which reviews recommendations with regard to sustainment and logistics support from commercial customers to determine the most desirable enhancements we might then build into the new aircraft (the A350).
We then determine priorities and feasibility’s with regard to the design approach and manufacturing process to shape the new build aircraft.”
This is true as well for military aircraft as well and can be seen in platforms such as the F-35, the A400M, the KC-30A and in other 21st century air platforms as well.
And the CH-53K is being shaped in the midst of this maintainability focus on design and manufacturing.
In an interview with three key Marines involved in the program we started by focusing upon the maintainability and sustainability aspects of the new air system.
The three Marines were as follows: Col. Paul Fortunato, Branch Head, Weapons Requirements (APW-1); Col. Hank Vanderborght, Program Manager, PMA-261/H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopters; and Major Thomas Trimble, Heavy Lift Requirements (APW-51), Department of Aviation, USMC.
Question: How important has it been building in maintainability to the CH-53K design approach?
Answer: It has been central from the beginning.
We formed a maintainer working group at the outset as part of the design team which has met every quarter to provide their recommendations from a maintainer’s perspective with regard to ways to improve the design from a maintainability and sustainability perspective.
Question: These were veteran CH-53E maintainers providing operational experience to guide CH-53K design?
Answer: That is correct.
Even though the aircraft is quite different, we wanted that field experience built into the design process from a maintainer’s perspective.
For example, on the CH-53E when you have to work on or replace the fuel cell you have to do so through big trap doors on the top of the aircraft. And then one has to wait a couple of days to have the gas free environment on which to work on the cell.
A maintainer suggested that we build a port on the bottom of the K where one can access the fuel pumps directly and easily, and then if you have to change the fuel pump inside the tank, you could go underneath the aircraft, unscrew it, pop in a new one, connect it and off you go.
You don’t have to wait until a gas free engineering environment is ready.
There are several examples of this kind of input to the design of the new aircraft, which will enhance maintainability, which, in turn, enhances readiness and sortie generation.
And the design of the avionics systems is built around an avionics box for easy access to the cannon plug and wires, which the maintainers need to work on. Instead of having to have a flashlight, a mirror and another Marine holding something to get behind the systems, the systems are facing the maintainer directly for their attention.
Question: This means that you are shaping a maintenance culture change as well as those maintainers work inputs to the design and start to focus on how their job will change as well?
Answer: That is a good way to put it.
The team working the new maintenance approach are the future stakeholders.
You are generating buy in as their ideas are incorporated into the design.
Currently, we have 10 maintainers at West Palm working on the aircraft.
These are the seed corn for the new maintenance approach working with the new aircraft.
Their recent fleet experience has prepared them to act as a critical link between engineers and end users in the development the helicopter and the knowledge they gain during their time on the program.
We are counting on these Marines to reenlist and be our Staff Non-Commissioned Officers assuming leadership roles as future Quality Assurance Representatives and Division Chiefs of the first King Stallion squadrons.
Question: You are now in the test process, so where do the maintainers fit into that process?
Answer: The NAVAIR process is somewhat like a V where one side is design and the other is testing and fielding.
We are now largely past the design piece and we are now focused on test and aircraft performance under those test conditions.
The ten maintainers that are down at West Palm are actually maintaining the aircraft.
They are validating maintenance procedures while identifying best practices, while noting and correcting any discovered deficiencies.
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Credit Images: USN and USMC
Question: And the maintainers we are talking about for the K are part of this new generation of electronics or digital maintainers.
How do you see that fit?
Answer: That is a good point.
The airplane is much more digital; and so are the maintainers; there is an evolving fit between the 21st century aircraft and the 21st century maintainer.
They are shaping the integrated manuals we need to support the aircraft in the field. They going to make sure that the manuals are written correctly.
That is why it so crucial to have the maintainers down at West Palm and integrated into the process from the outset.
Question: We have been discussing digital systems.
How has the Sikorsky approach to a Heath and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) on its commercial helicopters affected the K program?
Answer: It is a crucial part of the program.
For example, Sikorsky has more than 10 years of experience with the HUMS on the S-92, a helo that is flown three times as much as we would fly the K.
It is used for fleet management, and provides significant information with regard to the operational performance of the aircraft, parts and reliability and overall real-time data with regard to the operation of the aircraft.
We are leveraging this approach for the K and clearly when the E was built there was no HUMS system or capability.
An example from the S-92 world provides some insight into where we think the K fleet can go as well using the HUMS system. They’re measuring every aircraft across the fleet and they understand the signatures for every parameter they’re measuring looks like.
So they understand what normal looks like and if something starts deviating from normal they can understand where the safety margins are.
One example that sticks in my mind was an S-92 that was flying for an oil company in the Singapore area doing globe plots. And they had a tail rotor gearbox in this aircraft that was showing some signs of wear and tear.
And they knew that the operator was going to need to have in about 20 flight hours dedicated base maintenance.
So before the operator even knew that there was something going awry with the aircraft, they called the operator and said, this scheduled maintenance period you need to change your tail rotor gearbox. By the way we shipped you a brand new one yesterday.
We certainly look forward to such a capability within the K fleet.
In short, the predicate for the K is 21st century aircraft materials, systems and approaches.
The E was built in the age of the Studebaker; the K is built in the age of the electronically-enabled car.
In and of itself, that makes it a very different animal.
Editor’s Note: This is the second in our series on the CH-53K.
The first article in the series:
The Coming of the CH-53K to the Amphibious Force: How to Describe a New 21st Century Air Platform and Its Impact?
03/03/2016 Although a CH-53, the CH-53K is not easily understood as an evolution of earlier models.
2016-03-05 According to an article published by Airman 1st Class Jessica Evans and published on February 22, 2016, Edwards has sent F-35s to the Mountain Home AFB to work integration with legacy aircraft.
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho – Six F-35As arrived at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, Feb. 8, 2016, from Edwards AFB, California, to begin an operational deployment test at a nearby range complex.
The test will help develop the concept of operations as well as validate the aircraft’s capability to deploy.
In order for the U.S. Air Force to declare initial operating capability for the F-35A, the aircraft must be able to execute three key mission sets: suppression and destruction of enemy air defense, air interdiction missions, as well as conduct basic close air support – to include alert launches.
Each of these functions will be executed in a limited capacity to measure the effectiveness of the weapons system in line with the IOC progress. The deployment test is designed not only to identify capabilities, but also any limitations the aircraft may have.
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As a 5th generation multi-fighter with electronic warfare and multi-spectral fused sensor capabilities the F-35 is designed to be comparable to current tactical fighters in terms of maneuverability, but optimized for stealth.
Mountain Home AFB offers the perfect environment and integration experiences to test the aircraft’s abilities, forming the foundation for deployed F-35 operations.
“Mountain Home offers excellent integration opportunities with F-15E and A-10 aircraft,” said Maj. Christopher White, F-35 project manager with the 31st Test Evaluation Squadron from Edwards AFB, Calif.
“This combined with outstanding airspace capable of providing F-35s with a robust threat laydown makes Mountain Home AFB the ideal location to assess the F-35s ability to operate while deployed.”
While here, the F-35s are scheduled to fly approximately four sorties a day with their 4th generation counterparts, dropping 20-30 inert weapons during multiple training scenarios throughout the test.
“Mountain Home is great because the ranges and airspace here allow us to drop weapons and fly sorties at rates we can’t back home,” said Maj. Colin Marshall, chief of standardization and evaluation, also with the 31st TES. “It’s fun to find a target by talking to ground controllers, drop a bomb on that target, and then watch an A-10 roll in and strafe it, all while an F-15E orbits supersonic above and prepares for the next attack…..”
Unlike the 4th generation aircraft, the F-35 uses multiple sensor fusion and integrated avionics to give pilots the ability to quickly and fully understand the environment through a 360-degree view of the battlespace.
Designed with the entire battlespace in mind, the aircraft is the most flexible and technologically sophisticated multirole fighter built to this day, with advanced stealth, speed and agility, fully-fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced sustainment.
By validating the aircraft’s proficiencies during this deployment test, policy makers will be able to make informed decisions about the readiness of the F-35A toward IOC.
More importantly, White explained, these tests ensure our brothers and sisters make it home safely from their missions…..
So far the testing is going better than expected; the results have been very satisfying from a test and pilot perspective, Marshall explained. With a few lessons already learned, the pilot hopes to continue to have successes during the deployment test.
2016-03-05 According to a story published February 17, 2016 on the French Ministry of Defense website, the French A400Ms are starting to provide support directly from French territory to Gao in Mali.
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On February 15, 2016, an A400M flew directly from the Orleans base to the regional capital of Northern Mali and carried a full cargo to the operational forces.
The plane can carry 21 tons over 5,000 kms. The plane allows the French Air Force to fly directly from Orleans to the entire logistics chain in region to support Operation Barkane.
In comparison, the A400M can transport three times the load in two times less than a C-160 Transall.
2016-03-05 According to a story on the French Ministry of Defense website, the combination of Reapers and Harfangs have exceeded 15,000 operational hours during the Operation Barkhane.
The RPA squadron Belfort deployed in early 2013, and now has flown more than 15,000 hours with its RPAs.
The French Squadron operates two Harfangs and three MQ-9 Reapers.
The aircraft were first used in the Mali operation (Serval) and then in the renamed and refocused operation Barkhane that was launched on 1 August 2014.
There have been more than a thousand missions to support intelligence operations by the RPAs.
These aircraft are used to support the armed forces of partner countries in their fight against the armed terrorist groups in the region and to prevent the reconstitution of terrorist sanctuaries in the region.
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According to Airbus Defence and Space, their Harfang RPA is described as follows:
Harfang is a Medium Altitude Long Endurance UAS for joint armed forces. It can fulfil a wide range of missions, from surveillance to sensitive peacekeeping.
Harfang provides real-time information at each level of the operational chain. It can be controlled either manually from the ground control station or autonomously.
Harfang is equipped with a SATCOM datalink and can operate with a 250 kg payload for more than 24 hours at a time.
And an article in National Interest provided an overview on Operation Barkhane:
Operation Barkhane began on August 1, 2014 and took over the precedent French mission in Mali, Operation Serval.
Operation Barkhane, “named after a crescent-shaped dune in the Sahara desert,” is to become the French pillar of counterterrorism in the Sahel region.
The French will use and deploy a 3,000-strong counterterrorism force over five countries: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger, also known as the ‘G5 Sahel.’
The purpose of Operation Barkhane is to “regionalize” the counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel, as well as bolster “cross-border and region-wide securitization efforts.”
According to the Ministry of Defense of France, Barkhane’s objectives are two-fold:
first, assist the G5 Sahel armed forces in fighting terrorist networks in the Sahel-Sahara region;
second, contribute to the prevention of terrorist safe-havens in the region.
In order to fight jihadists in this vast region, Operation Barkhane shall be seen as a reorganization of the forces already present in the region.
2016-03-05 In this video produced by the Japanese Ministry of Defense, the Japanese look back to 2015 and the evolution of the strategic environment and the evolution of the Japanese Self Defense Force.
2016-03-01 Part of the Australian re-set on defense is the construction of new submarines.
And these submarines will carry combat systems, almost certainly American, designed to be software upgradeable, like the Wedgetail or F-35, to evolve over time and to connect more effectively with a better connected Australian Defence Force or ADF.
As Greg Sheridan noted in a January 25, 2016 article in The Australian:
It is a critical feature of Canberra’s plan that the new submarines have an American combat system. Australia and Britain are the US’s two most intimate military allies and a certain amount of the highest-end defence technology is provided that is not given to other allies.
The combat system on the Collins-class subs, which have to be phased out of service from the second half of next decade, is among the most advanced in the world on any submarine, and has many points of resemblance to the combat system on the American Virginia-class nuclear submarines.
The Collins can fire on enemy ships at a range of tens of kilometres and possesses extraordinarily sensitive and powerful sensor and surveillance technology.
The Australian Defence White paper laid out in some detail the new submarine and how the ADF sees the evolution of the new submarine within the integrated force:
Modernising our maritime capabilities will be a key focus. The submarine force will be increased from 6 to 12 regionally superior submarines with a high degree of interoperability with the United States (page 19 Defence White Paper).
Modernising our maritime capabilities will be a key focus for Defence over the next 20 to 30 years. Our maritime forces will become more potent through the acquisition of more capable submarines, ships and aircraft and better integration of combat and supporting systems across Defence.
These forces will help to protect our maritime borders, secure our immediate northern approaches and proximate sea lines of communication and enable us to project force in the maritime environment. Increasingly, these capabilities will provide an ability to undertake anti-submarine warfare throughout the maritime environment (pages 89-90).
Submarines are an essential part of Australia’s naval capability, providing a strategic advantage in terms of surveillance and protection of our maritime approaches. The Government has determined that regionally superior submarines with a high degree of interoperability with the United States are required to provide Australia with an effective deterrent, including by making a meaningful contribution to anti-submarine warfare operations in our region.
The key capabilities of the future submarine will include: anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and support to special operations.
4.26 The Government will increase the size of the submarine force from six to 12 boats. The doubling in size of the submarine fleet recognizes that Australia will face a more challenging maritime environment in the decades ahead.
By 2035, around half of the world’s submarines will be operating in the Indo-Pacific region where Australia’s interests are most engaged. Australia has one of the largest maritime domains in the world and we need the capacity to defend and further our interests from the Pacific to the Indian Oceans and from the areas to our north to the Southern Ocean. Submarines are a powerful instrument for deterring conflict and a potent weapon should conflict occur.
Australia’s new submarines will be supported by upgrades to enablers and facilities such as wharves and port facilities, as well as simulators, training and submarine rescue systems.
The key strategic requirements for the future submarines include a range and endurance similar to the Collins Class submarine, sensor performance and stealth characteristics which are superior to the Collins Class, and upgraded versions of the AN/BYG-1 combat system and Mark 48 MOD 7 heavyweight torpedo jointly developed between the United States and Australia as the preferred combat system and main armament.
The new submarines will have advanced communications systems to link with other Navy ships and aircraft to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations.
Experts say Japan’s Soryu-class submarine appears to have emerged as the front-runner in the race to build Australia’s next-generation vessels. | DEFENSE MINISTRY / MARITIME SELF-DEFENSE FORCE
4.28 The acquisition of the 12 future submarines will commence in 2016 with the first submarines likely to begin entering service in the early 2030s.
Construction of the 12 new submarines will extend into the late 2040s to 2050 timeframe. The length of the construction process will mean that Australia will need to be planning the follow-on submarine well before the last new submarine enters service.
To ensure no capability gap and the ability to progress development of a replacement submarine in the 2050s, the Government has decided to implement a rolling acquisition program for Australia’s submarine fleet.
A rolling acquisition program will ensure that Australia is able to maintain a fleet of 12 regionally superior submarines as submarine and anti-submarine technologies develop over the coming decades.
4.29 During the long life of the new submarines, the rapid rate of technological change and ongoing evolution of Australia’s strategic circumstances will continue. As part of the rolling acquisition program, a review based on strategic circumstances at the time, and developments in submarine technology, will be conducted in the late 2020s to consider whether the configuration of the submarines remains suitable or whether consideration of other specifications should commence.
The future submarine program is the largest defence procurement program in Australia’s history. The Government has already committed to maximising Australian industry involvement in the submarine program, without compromising cost, capability, schedule or risk. The Government will announce the results of a Competitive Evaluation Process in 2016.
4.31 The Government will also continue to make appropriate investments in the existing Collins Class fleet, including priority capability enhancements, obsolescence management and fleet sustainment, to ensure Australia’s potent and agile submarine capability is maintained until the introduction of the future submarine fleet.
This will include upgrades to the Collins Class communications and sensor capabilities.
4.32 This investment will build on recent improvements to Collins Class availability. In 2011–12, Collins Class availability was about half that of the international benchmark and in the past there had been up to three submarines undergoing long-term maintenance.
Following the 2012 Coles Review and implementation of a comprehensive and innovative transformation plan, there has been a major improvement in the availability of the Collins Class, and Defence is on track to reach the international benchmark for submarine availability by mid-2016.
By mid-2016, the submarine HMAS Farncomb will have completed the first two-year full cycle docking in Adelaide – a maintenance activity that formerly took over three years to complete. From then onwards only one Collins Class submarine will be in Adelaide for full cycle docking. Defence will continue to work closely with industry to implement reforms to optimise Collins Class availability, reliability and capability (pages 90-92)
The evolving Australian-Japanese defense relationship is such that Australia might well prioritize the purchase of a Japanese submarine, notably with an American combat system onboard.
In our book on Pacific strategy, we referred to the Japanese to Singapore/Korea and Australian area as the strategic quadrangle, from Japan to South Korea, to Singapore to Australia.
The U.S. and its allies need to shape a new attack and defense enterprise in the Pacific. Credit Image: Breaking Defense.
The notion that the outreach from Japanese defense industry put in place by the current Japanese government as part of its defense reform strategy to Australia which would in turn provide dry-docks and other repair facilities for an expanded Australian-Japanese fleet operating in the area could well make a great deal of strategic sense.
In a piece written by Jesse Johnson and published in The Japan Times on March 1, 2016, the Australians purchasing Japanese submarines was analyzed in some detail.
With Australia’s release of its defense white paper last week, the race to build the country’s next generation of submarines enters the home stretch — and some experts say the Japanese bid appears to hold an insurmountable lead…..
“First and foremost, we’ve made a big strategic commitment to Japan based on this view of where the region is heading,” said Nick Bisley, a professor at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia.
“There is bipartisan support … both sides think this is a really good idea. … That plus the operational side — the Japanese submarine is most similar to ours — will tilt the balance very heavily in their favor.
“And the Japanese are also saying they are now open to the construction process in Australia, so that the government will be able to present a package that says ‘we’ve got jobs, we’ve got something we want, and we’ve got this friend in Japan.’ Together, I think that makes it overwhelmingly the choice that will be made.”
Japan has said it is willing to build at least some of the submarines in Australia, a key economic factor that until recently Tokyo had been apparently unwilling to commit to. Tokyo has also reassured Canberra that if it wins the sub bid Japan will also share with Australia its naval crown jewels — its most secret stealth technology…..
During a visit to Tokyo last month, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said her country’s relationship with Japan is at an “all-time high,” and acknowledged that the Japanese side has “emphasized the strategic importance” of the submarine bid…..
2016-03-04 Given the capabilities of the KC-30A in terms of fuel loads, reach and range (including its own capability to be refueled) and the reach of a fleet of F-35s in terms of their interactive capabilities, the combination will be a powerful one.
We are visiting Edwards AFB next week and have a chance to look at both air systems and discuss with the participants the emergence of this new 21st century air combat capability.
Last Fall, saw the two planes fly together for the first time.
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The refuelling boom of a Royal Australian Air Force KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport makes contact with the receptacle of a United States Air Force F-35A Joint Strike Fighter flies during boom refuelling trials in the United States.
The F-35A is equipped with symmetrical external stores for this trial.
A total of 59 contacts were conducted of which five contacts transferred 43,200 pounds of fuel during the four hour sortie.
Operating from Edwards Air Force Base in the California desert, the RAAF KC-30A flew 12 sorties with a United States Air Force F-35A from 23 September to 26 October.
Using the 18-meter-long Advanced Refuelling Boom System (ARBS) mounted on the tail of the KC-30A, the RAAF crew made a total of 479 ‘dry’ and 24 ‘wet’ contacts with the refuelling receptacle on the F-35A, and transferred more than 95 tonnes of fuel.
KC-30A Transition and Receiver Clearance Manager Wing Commander Grant Kelly said the trials would allow RAAF and foreign F-35As alike to be refuelled.
“These trials are another important step in building KC-30A capability and the results will inform the training practices of current and future RAAF personnel on both aircraft types,” WGCDR Kelly said.
“Air-to-air refuelling will be an important ‘force multiplier’ for the F-35A fleet, considerably boosting their range and endurance, or allowing them to carry bigger payloads.”
As well as the ARBS, the KC-30A is also equipped with hose-and-drogue refuelling pods that are compatible with Air Force’s Hornets, Super Hornets and Growlers. A single KC-30A can carry a fuel load of more than 100 tonnes and remain 1800 kilometres from its home base with 50 tonnes of fuel available for offload, for four hours.
“The impact of the KC-30A is already being felt in the Middle East Region, where the ARBS and hose-and-drogue capabilities are enabling RAAF and Coalition aircraft to fly sorties of more than 10 hours,” WGCDR Kelly said.
“After more than a year of deployed KC-30A operations, it has built a reputation as the ‘Coalition tanker of choice’.”
Throughout the trials at Edwards Air Force Base, the KC-30A was operated by personnel from No. 33 Squadron. A flight test team from the RAAF’s Aircraft Research and Development Unit, supported by flight test instrumentation engineers from the Aerospace Systems Engineering Squadron, was integrated within the USAF Test Centre to work on a dynamic test program.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has completed the first fuel transfer with the air refuelling boom from a RAAF KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) to a US Air Force (USAF) F-35A Joint Strike Fighter at Edwards Air Force Base in California. A total of 59 contacts were conducted of which five contacts transferred 43,200 pounds of fuel during the four hour sortie.
Chief of the Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies AO CSC, described the trial as a significant step in the development of the KC-30A’s capability.
“Our KC-30A is an essential force multiplier. Mid-air refuelling is critical to ensuring global reach for our aircraft, our people and our equipment,” Air Marshal Davies said.
“Refuelling between the KC-30A and F-35A is an important step towards the KC-30A’s achievement of Final Operational Capability (FOC) and represents continued progress in the development of the F‑35A.
“This achievement is significant because the future of Australia’s air combat capability is reliant on the successful partnership between these two aircraft and our ability to be interoperable with our international partners,” Air Marshal Davies said.
The KC-30A has two refuelling systems – the hose-and-drogue and Advanced Refuelling Boom System (ARBS). The two different refuelling systems allow RAAF to support a wide range of coalition aircraft on Operation OKRA where a KC-30A is currently deployed to support combat operations against Daesh in Iraq and Syria.
The five KC-30As are based at RAAF Base Amberley (QLD) and Air Force will receive an additional two in 2018. A single KC-30A can carry a fuel load of more than 100 tonnes and remain 1800 kilometres from its home base with 50 tonnes of fuel available for offload, for four hours.
Australia has committed to 72 F-35As for RAAF Bases Williamtown and Tindal, with the first aircraft arriving in late 2018. The F-35A will replace the ageing F/A-18A/B Hornet with a 5th-generation networked fighter aircraft.
