By Robbin Laird During my visit to Australia in August 2018, I was in country as the Pitch Black 2018 exercise was wrapping up and will have more on this exercise later. Very good coverage of Pitch Black 2018 was provided by Jaryd Stock on the website Aviation Photography Digest…
By Robbin Laird During my five years of visits to Australia, I have had the opportunity to meet with and to talk with Air Commodore Heap several times. As the Commander of the Air Force’s Surveillance Response Group, Air Commodore Heap has had the challenge of leading one of the…
By Robbin Laird Sydney, Australia During my visit to Fleet Base East in Sydney, I had a chance to talk with Captain Leif Maxfield, Deputy Commodore Warfare in the Royal Australian Navy. At Garden Island, two of the latest additions for the RAN can be seen, namely the new amphibious…
By Robbin Laird Canberra, Australia During my visit to RAAF Edinburgh on August 10, 2018, I had a chance to talk with Group Captain Darren Goldie, Officer Commanding 92 Wing. 92 Wing is described by the RAAF as follows: Headquartered at RAAF Base Edinburgh, No 92 Wing (92WG) has long…
By Robbin Laird Missile defense capabilities have grown over the years, and have become important elements of the joint force. But they have operated largely as organic assets supporting either tactical or strategic operations, but not as an element of C2 integrated force. As the US forces shift from a…
By the end of RIMPAC, the U.S. and Indian planes were sharing high-end missions, an Australian P-8A squadron joined in as a major step towards the Royal Australian Navy declaring final operational capability on their new planes, and the U.S. and Australian P-8s not only prosecuted submarines but also dropped Harpoon missiles on a decommissioned…
By Robbin Laird During my current trip to Australia, I started with the opportunity to visit the HMAS Hobart, the first Aegis Air Warfare destroyer for the Royal Australian Navy. This was my second visit to Garden Island, and it is always exciting to see the city of Sydney in…
During the RIMOAC 2018 exercise, RAAF air traffic controllers enhanced their experiences in managing maritime air traffic onboard HMAS Adelaide. According to a story published by the Australian Navy on August 3, 2018 and written by Stephanie Anderson: Two Air Traffic Control Officers posted to HMAS Adelaide are taking advantage of an…
