An Update on the Royal Australian Navy: November 2020

12/19/2020
By Marcus Hellyer With regard to the offshore patrol vessels and the continuing upgrades to the Collins class submarines, progress continues. Offshore patrol vessels The Australian National Audit Office’s recent performance audit of the OPV project was as positive as any ANAO report I’ve ever seen. When the government announced the winner…

Sustaining the Integrated Distributed Force at Sea: The Military Sealift Command Challenge

12/09/2020
By Robbin Laird With the strategic shift from the land wars to full spectrum crisis management, the sea services face the challenge of prioritizing maneuver warfare at sea. But it is impossible to execute maneuver warfare at sea if you have no fuel, or go Winchester with regard to weapons.…

Enhancing Range and Endurance of the ADF’s P-8 Fleet

11/19/2020
Recently, the RAAF completed its first round of air-to-air refueling trials. According to an article published by Australian Defence Business Review on October 22, 2020: The tests were conducted over seven flights in designated airspace off the Queensland coast from September 22 to October 1 using the MRTT’s fuselage-mounted boom…

The ADF Returns from the Middle East: The Challenge for No. 33 Squadron

11/05/2020
The job of packing up a six-year deployment in the Middle East Region has proven a massive test for No. 33 Squadron - in more ways than one. Almost 70 tonnes of equipment needed to be catalogued, prepared and transported when the squadron concluded its deployment of a KC-30A Multi-Role…

Ready Spartan Prove 2020

10/08/2020
The Royal Australian Air Force deployed C-27J Spartan aircraft and personnel from RAAF Base Amberley to participate in Exercise Ready Spartan Prove (RSP) in Townsville Queensland from 10 – 18 September 2020. No. 35 Squadron and No. 383 Squadron operated at austere airfields in a simulated uncertain security environment to…

Re-Shaping Infrastructure for the Defense of Australia: The RAAF Base Tindal Upgrade

09/14/2020
By Australian Defence Business Review An extensive construction program to upgrade RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory to be able to better support and operate new RAAF and foreign air power capabilities has commenced. The $1.1 billion project will see almost every element of Tindal’s infrastructure, services, and facilities…

An Update on the CH-53K from the U.S. Army Proving Ground: September 2020

09/10/2020
By Mark Schauer YUMA PROVING GROUND, Ariz.-- The CH-53 has been a potent member of the Marine Corps aviation community’s fleet for over 40 years, but the newest version takes the platform to a whole new level. Equipped with three 7,500 horsepower engines and built to carry a nearly 30,000…

Innovating in Support of RAAF C-17s: Leveraging Virtual Reality Systems

09/09/2020
In an article published on August 31, 2020 by Flight Lieutenant Clarice Hurren, a recent innovation driven by a need to overcome a COVID-19 induced barrier was highlighted. Aircraft technicians at No. 36 Squadron are now using Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality devices with Boeing-developed software to maintain C-17A Globemaster III aircraft. …