2016-09-19 By Robbin Laird On the Friday after the Williams seminar on air-sea integration, I had the chance to tour the headquarters of the Australian Navy’s Fleet Base East on Garden Island, Sydney. Garden Island is the largest historic naval area on Sydney Harbour, with use going back to the founding…
2016-09-17 Madama is a border settlement on the northeast frontier of Niger. Little more than an army post, the settlement serves as a frontier station controlling travel between Niger and Libya. It is also the site of a former French colonial fort, built in 1931. The army of Niger…
2016-09-03 By Robbin Laird I first visited the 33rd Squadron at Amberley Airbase in the first quarter of 2014 and had a chance to talk to the squadron about their new tanker. At the time, the KC-30A was “project of concern,” but now is a proven combat asset. What a…
2016-08-29 By Robbin Laird Prior to the latest Williams Seminar on shaping a 21st century joint force, I had a chance to meet and discuss the challenges with Rear Admiral Tony Dalton. He is the head of the Joint Systems Division of the ADF’s acquisition and sustainment group and has…
2016-08-18 By Robbin Laird When I last visited Amberley airbase two years ago, the KC-30A was a project of concern. Now it has become a key combat asset within the RAAF contribution to current Australian and allied Middle East operations. This time with those operations ongoing, Pitch Black 2016 ramping…
2016-08-19 During the Pitch Black 2016 exercise, a KC-30A refueled US F-16s coming from Japan to the exercise in Australia. On July 19, a RAAF KC-30A flew non-stop with six F-16Cs from Kadena Air Base, Japan to RAAF Base Darwin in just over six hours. RAAF Group Captain (GPCAPT) Adam…
2016-08-11 According to a story by the Royal Australian Navy, the MRH-90 operating off an Australian LHD has done its first replenishment of a US Navy ship. In a story by Leut. Andrew Ragless entitled the “MRH-90 Carries Her Share of the load and published on July 28, 2016: The first…
2016-08-11 Making its debut in a multi-national exercise, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has deployed its KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport to RAAF Base Townsville for Exercise Pitch Black 12. Measuring 58 metres in length and with a wingspan of 60 metres, the KC-30A is a heavily modified Airbus A330…
