Wallaby Airlines Returns to Air Force

The Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Geoff Brown welcomed the re-establishment of No.35 Squadron today at RAAF Base Richmond. 

“The re-establishment of No.35 Squadron will see it prepare for our fleet of ten C-27J Spartan Battlefield Airlift aircraft, due to arrive in Australia from 2015,” Air Marshal Brown said. 

“No.35 Squadron has provided combat airlift for Australia in several conflicts, and the C-27J is ideally suited to continue this legacy of support for personnel deployed on combat, peacekeeping, or disaster relief operations,” Air Marshal Brown said. 

No.35 Squadron will be re-established under the command of Wing Commander Brad Clarke with 25 personnel but will grow to approximately 250 members after the first C-27Js arrive in 2015. 

“Our first tasks are to work with the Battlefield Airlift Transition Office to map the required workforce structure, operating procedures and introduction plan for the C-27J Spartan,” Wing Commander Clarke said. 

“No.35 Squadron will send the first aircrew and maintenance personnel to train on the C-27J in the United States in 2014.” 

“Once in service, our C-27Js will greatly increase the number of airfields Defence can operate in to, increase the level of fixed wing support available on the battlefield, and synchronise with the existing C-130J Hercules and C-17A Globemaster fleet,” Wing Commander Clarke said. 

No.35 Squadron was first established in Western Australia in March 1942 and provided air transport around Australia and in New Guinea until its disestablishment in June 1946.

In July 1964, the RAAF Transport Flight Vietnam was formed with the DHC-4 Caribou transport to provide combat airlift throughout the conflict in that country. It was coined Wallaby Airlinesafter its callsign ‘Wallaby’, and re-formed as No.35 Squadron in June 1966. Throughout the warWallaby Airlines carried about 677,000 passengers and 36 million kilograms of freight, without a single fatality.

On return to Australia in 1972, No.35 Squadron was based at RAAF Base Richmond before relocating to RAAF Base Townsville in 1974, where it remained until its disestablishment in 2000.

Australian military testing new special forces fighting machine

Australian special forces are testing the latest machine from British military contractor Supacat.

The REDFIN 1B is a custom version of the company’s High Mobility Transporter (HMT) Extenda that’s built on a modular platform that can be outfitted as either a 4x4 or 6x6 while accommodating a host of weapons systems, as well as mine and ballistic protection kits.
The HMT is typically fitted as an open top vehicle to make entry and exit easy for crews wearing bulky battle gear. A turret with high-caliber rifle mount is positioned behind the driver, who is situated above the front wheels.
Many of the details on the REDFIN are still top secret, but the HMT Extenda is typically powered by a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel engine, has a top speed of around 75 mph and can ford water over a meter deep. Despite its size, an air suspension allows the big truck to kneel down in order to squeeze into a Chinook-sized helicopter for quick response missions.
The Australian Defence Force will evaluate the REDFIN over the next few months to determine if any
changes need to be made before putting it into production. Supacat says over 200 HMT-based vehicles are already in service around the world.

General Dynamics Delivers Digital Video Exploitation System to Australian Army

System helps manage large volumes of full motion video and turns data into real-time actionable intelligence for forward-deployed forces

CANBERRA, Australia - General Dynamics Mediaware has delivered two video capture and exploitation D-VEX systems to the Australian Army, enhancing the distribution of mission-critical, actionable intelligence among Australian troops and coalition forces. The systems have been integrated into the Shadow 200 Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) operating in Afghanistan.

D-VEX is a versatile and portable video exploitation system that captures and manages full motion video from airborne surveillance platforms. Designed for in-theater operations, the system also works with commercially-available compact mobile hardware, such as a laptop.

"D-VEX provides the Australian Army with next-generation tools for real-time and forensic analysis of airborne surveillance video," said Michael Manzo, director of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems' Geospatial Solutions Imagery Systems division. "It will enhance and streamline the Army's ability to derive timely, relevant and accurate geospatial intelligence from the Shadow TUAS."

With the ability to record and index video with metadata to derive real-time actionable intelligence, D-VEX provides users with detailed forensic analysis through its comprehensive search and mark-up capabilities. D-VEX also supports open defence standards, including the Motion Imagery Standards Profile (MISP) and STANAG 4609.

"Managing the thousands of hours of video collected by the Shadow 200 TUAS presented the Army with a sizable data processing and analytics challenge," said Dr. Kevin Moore, chief technology officer of General

Dynamics Mediaware. "With the D-VEX solution, the video archive is easily searchable, enabling analysts to identify, tag and analyze critical events in real-time for consistent, reliable and standards-compliant results."

Australian-based General Dynamics Mediaware,part of General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems, is a leading global provider of digital video technology. Please visit www.mediaware.com.au for more information about the benefits of standards-compliant compressed video and audio processing in an all-digital network.

Final assembly of the first C-27J Spartan for the Royal Australian Air Force started

The fuselage of the first C-27J for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has arrived at the Alenia
Aermacchi Turin plant for final assembly.
Manufactured at Alenia Aermacchi’s Capodichino Naples site, the fuselage, reached Turin both by truck
(from Capodichino to the Port of Naples and from Genoa to Turin) and sea freight (from Naples to Genoa).
The Australian order for 10 aircraft was placed through the US Foreign Military Sales Joint Cargo Aircraft
program last May.
The first C-27J will arrive in Australia in early 2015, and will be used for tactical airlift. They will replace the
piston-engine Caribou, which were retired in 2009 after 45 years of service.

In the tactical transport role, the C-27J provides the best possible integration with the existing Australian
Defence Force fleet. It will provide an airlift capability between the CH-47 Chinook and C-130J Hercules, as
well as integrating with the much larger C-17A Globemaster.​

The Australian Tiger bound to earth by drivers

The recurrent appearance of smoke in the cockpit prompted several helicopter pilots Tiger Australian Army to halt flights against the advice of their superiors. Twenty pilots have already left the army 

Dozens of drivers of the Australian Army conducted a mini-revolt up to "strike" by refusing to fly on their ARH Tiger attack helicopters. Several crews were hampered by smoke from the cockpit for the third time this year.

The last warning was held at the training center military Cultana in South Australia on November 4.Previous incidents had taken place in March and July 2012. Helicopter fleet has not yet been pinned down after the third incident.

"The crew applied the standard procedure in the event of smoke or fumes in the cockpit and landed safely at the airfield of El Alamein," said an official of the Ministry of Defence of Australia.

Angered by the decision of their superiors not to suspend the flights, the crews of the 1st Aviation Regiment based in Darwin voted against the continued operation until all safety issues are resolved. A rare occurrence in the army may be likened to the mutiny. Many drivers of the Australian Army have also been shocked that their colleagues can vote and refuse to fly, defying their superior officers who had found the helicopter operations.

"Usually, it takes rather fight to prevent a pilot to fly," said an anonymous army.

Tiger flights were temporarily paused in March and July 2012 due to smoke. But since 2007 the cockpit Tiger still recorded 24 incidents of smoke.

For its part, the Australian Department of Defence has refused to recognize that the pilots had refused to fly effectively. He nevertheless acknowledged the concerns and said that crews flying lull was not uncommon during the maintenance phase.

The Ministry of Defence also confirmed that the 1st Aviation Regiment had not flown since the incident at the training center of Cultana November 4.

"No flight ARH (Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Tiger) has been programmed by the 1st Aviation Regiment in Darwin since the incident Cultana to smoke," said he confirmed.

The crew breaks the ice

In the first incident, the crew in tandem Tiger helicopter had to open the windows inside the cockpit to circulate the air and dispel smoke. In the second incident in July, the cockpit window was stuck because it was not checked during pre-flight inspections and the crew has been forced to break the glass roof to ventilate the cabin.

According to preliminary analysis, the fumes come from a faulty capacitor on older models of a power supply system in the multi-function display. Initially, the army initially thought it was the air conditioning system.

Several drivers had to hire Tiger evacuation procedures to ensure safety. In 2012, 22 helicopter pilots have even left the army two of the first regiment to Darwin.

In September, the squadron commander of the 1st 162 Aviation Regiment, Major Hayden Archibald, had yet said he would like to fight in Afghanistan with the Tiger.

Australian Army but was criticized during the investigation into the death in Afghanistan of pilot Lieutenant Marcus where investigators had highlighted the inability of the military to respect the operational airworthiness regulations.

The Australian Army has 22 Tiger ARH helicopters which 16 are deployed to Darwin. They were built by Eurocopter, a subsidiary of the European giant EADS, and assembled in Brisbane by Australian Aerospace, a cost of $ 2 billion. The first model assembled in Australia is number 005 (pictured above).

Note: The Tiger is an attack helicopter and reconnaissance built 80% carbon fiber. It has a crew consisting of a tandem pilot and weapons operator (Hellfire anti-tank missiles, rockets and cannon 70mm/30mm) and an armored cab. Its unit cost is approximately $ 70 million. Three versions are produced: Tiger UHT (Germany), the Tiger HAP (France), the Tiger ARH (Australia), and the Tiger HAD (Spain, France).

Weapons stolen from Australian navy vessel

An intruder robbed an Australian navy vessel of a cache of weapons Friday after overpowering military personnel on guard, the defence department said, in an unprecedented security breach.

The Australian Department of Defence said the infiltrator "overwhelmed a duty member onboard a patrol boat" which was moored at HMAS Coonawarra, a naval base in the northern city of Darwin.

"The intruder overpowered the duty member, accessed the vessel's armoury and removed a number of weapons," it said in a statement, without specifying what arms were taken.

"The person then departed the vessel with the weapons."

Reports said firearms usually found on an Armidale-class patrol boat could include machine guns, assault rifles, shotguns and 9mm pistols, as well as ammunition.

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation said a single intruder armed with a gun tied up a crewman in the attack, which took place at the Larrakeyah Naval Base, which was later placed in lock-down.

"Police received a report just before 1:00 am that a Defence member had been assaulted and a cache of weapons had been stolen from a navy patrol boat moored at the base," Northern Territory police Commander Richard Bryson said.

"Police have locked down the base with all vehicles exiting being searched."

Navy chief Vice Admiral Ray Griggs ordered an investigation into security on all naval ships and bases in the wake of the incident, which was also being probed by the Australian Federal Police.

"It's certainly a breach of security and it's a very concerning one for me," Griggs told Fairfax radio, adding that it was the first breach of its type on an Australian navy vessel.

He said the assaulted crew member had his life threatened but was recovering well.

About 600 naval personnel are based in the Darwin region, many working at sea in border protection.

Tropical Darwin is a key defence hub for Australia, with rotating United States Marines based in barracks outside the city since April this year as Washington looks to deepen its presence in Asia.

Australia and Papua New Guinea Complete Naval Exercise

Defence ties between Australia and Papua New Guinea were strengthened during Exercise Paradise in waters off Cairns.

Two Royal Australian Navy heavy landing craft, HMA Ships Labuan and Tarakan, spent a week at sea with two PNG Defence Force patrol boats,  HMPNG Ships Moresby and Rabaul.  Armidale-class patrol boat HMAS Bundaberg also contributed to the exercise while in transit to border protection operations.

Lieutenant Commander Steve Woodman, Commander Minor War Vessel Sea Training, said the annual exercise is an important opportunity to develop teamwork between our two nations.

“During Paradise, our vessels undertook a range of exercises that became progressively more challenging and tested the seamanship and mariner skills of all participants,” LCDR Woodman said.


“We started with a valuable harbour phase which included a number of desktop forums.  The following week we commenced the sea phase and conducted a range of evolutions including coordinated patrols and combined maritime surveillance operations, safety of life at sea, search and rescue exercises and a spirited amphibious operation.

The RAN and Papua New Guinea Defence Force Maritime Element have a long history of close cooperation.  By training together in exercises like Paradise we build confidence and improve our ability to conduct joint operations to protect our common maritime interests.”

Exercise Paradise ran parallel to Exercise Triton Thunder 02-12, a bi-annual exercise which tests the preparation of smaller units in the RAN Fleet to meet their mission of fighting and winning at sea.

 

GE Delivers LM2500 Gas Turbines for Royal Australian Navy's Third Air Warfare Destroyer

GE Marine reports it has delivered two LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines to ASC in Adelaide, Australia. The LM2500s will power the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) third Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD).

ASC, the AWD project shipbuilder within the AWD Alliance, is constructing all three Hobart-class AWDs. Each ship features two LM2500s configured in a CODOG arrangement with two diesel engines. The RAN’s new destroyers are based on the design developed and used by Navantia of Spain for the Spanish Navy’s F100 frigate program.
The LM2500 gas turbines for the AWD program were manufactured at GE’s Evendale, Ohio, facility. The base and enclosure assemblies for the LM2500s were built by Thales Australia Limited, through a business component in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
The RAN currently operates 16 LM2500 gas turbines in two additional ship classes – the Adelaide- and ANZAC- class frigate programs. The RAN also will use LM2500s to power two Canberra-class LHD ships, to be named HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The RAN’s LHD ships, currently under construction, will rely on one LM2500 gas turbine in a COmbined Diesel Electric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) configuration.

GE D

GE Marine reports it has delivered two LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines to ASC in Adelaide, Australia. The LM2500s will power the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) third Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD).
ASC, the AWD project shipbuilder within the AWD Alliance, is constructing all three Hobart-class AWDs. Each ship features two LM2500s configured in a CODOG arrangement with two diesel engines. The RAN’s new destroyers are based on the design developed and used by Navantia of Spain for the Spanish Navy’s F100 frigate program.
The LM2500 gas turbines for the AWD program were manufactured at GE’s Evendale, Ohio, facility. The base and enclosure assemblies for the LM2500s were built by Thales Australia Limited, through a business component in Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
The RAN currently operates 16 LM2500 gas turbines in two additional ship classes – the Adelaide- and ANZAC- class frigate programs. The RAN also will use LM2500s to power two Canberra-class LHD ships, to be named HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide. The RAN’s LHD ships, currently under construction, will rely on one LM2500 gas turbine in a COmbined Diesel Electric And Gas turbine (CODLAG) configuration.

Controversial report recommends Federal Government lease nuclear subs to save $10b

AUSTRALIA could save $10 billion by leasing nuclear-powered Virginia Class submarines from the US, says a Centre for Independent Studies report.
Author Simon Cowan also claimed it could save up to $0.75 billion a year in operation and maintenance costs.
The Future Submarine Project Should Raise Periscope for Another Look report from one of the country's most influential think tanks, said arguments against buying nuclear-powered submarines didn't stand up to scrutiny.
And it found leasing the fast attack submarines could avert "a potentially disastrous capability gap developing" between when the six Collins Class are retired and the replacement diesel-powered submarines are designed.
The project is expected to cost $36 billion. The Government has previously ruled out the nuclear option.
Opposition leader Tony Abbott, who previously had a former Centre for Independent Studies research fellow as an adviser, deferred to Defence spokesman David Johnston for a response.

Senator Johnston showed no sign of backing its contents, saying: "The Coalition is not considering a nuclear-powered option" and "work on the project will centre around the South Australian shipyards".
The report went on to rebut claims that Australia could not buy nuclear-powered submarines because it does not have a supporting nuclear industry.
Using a leasing arrangement meant the US could service the subs and also get rid of spent nuclear fuel, it said.

Mr Cowan's report criticised the existing process to replace the ageing Collins Class submarines with 12 new craft, saying the Commonwealth Government's current path "was marred by indecision and waste, conflicts of interest and substandard procurement practices".
SA Treasurer Jack Snelling rejected the nuclear-powered sub plan, saying it would be a wasted opportunity for thousands of jobs.
Mr Snelling said the Commonwealth Government had committed to building the new diesel-powered submarines in Adelaide and "what the US wants from its Virginia Class is different".
"It would make our submarine capability entirely dependent on the US," he said.

Northrop Grumman to Build Cyber Test Range in Australia

orthrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has been awarded a contract to build a cyber test range for the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Canberra campus at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) in Australia.

The ADFA is a partnership between the Australian Defence Force and the University of New South Wales. ADFA's primary mission is training and educating the future leaders of the Royal Australian Navy, Army and Air Force. That training and education is supported by world-class research, including the burgeoning area of cyber research.

"We are proud to contribute our extensive cyber test range experience and capabilities to UNSW Canberra, at ADFA, and are looking forward to an enduring partnership," said Kathy Warden, vice president and general manager for Northrop Grumman's Cyber Intelligence division. "This award reaffirms our dedication to providing our allies with best-value cybersecurity solutions, and our commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education."

Landing Helicopter Dock Hull Arrived in Australia

Minister for Defence Stephen Smith and Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that Australia’s largest ever warship has arrived in Australia.

The hull of the first of two Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD) has been transported from Spain to Australia by a Heavy Lift Ship, Blue Marlin.

The Canberra Class LHDs are bigger than Australia’s last aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne.

The hull is 230m long and 32m wide, making it the same length as the Rialto Tower in Melbourne.

The height from waterline to the aft mast is just 40cm lower than the deck of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The flight deck on the LHD is as big as 24 tennis courts and could fit four ANZAC Class frigates.

The LHD will be equipped with a hospital that could treat a town the size of Warrnambool and it generates enough electricity to power a city the size of Darwin.

The arrival is a significant milestone and marks the next step towards a new era for Defence’s amphibious force capability.

Construction of LHD 01 began in September 2008. The first three blocks were laid down in September 2010 and the hull was launched in February 2011.

The hull was constructed in Spain by shipbuilder Navantia and has taken around nine weeks to complete the 13,000 nautical mile voyage to Australia.

The hull will now be unloaded and moved by tug to the BAE Systems’ Williamstown dockyard for consolidation of the superstructure and other critical fitout work.

LHD 01, to be commissioned HMAS Canberra, is the first of two LHDs being built for the Royal Australian Navy.

The introduction into service of these ships will mark a significant change in the way the Australian Defence Force (ADF) deploys its land forces and conducts amphibious operations.

The LHDs are the largest ships ever built for the RAN.

Each ship with its crew of around 300 personnel can also carry and embark a combined armed battlegroup of more than 1100 personnel, 100 armoured vehicles and 12 helicopters, and features a 40-bed hospital.

Work on LHD 02, to be commissioned as HMAS Adelaide, began in February 2010. The first hull blocks were laid down in February 2011.

The hull of LHD 02 was launched in July 2012 and is due to arrive in Australia for superstructure completion and fitting out in early 2014.

The LHD 01 is expected to be introduced into RAN service in 2014. LHD 02 is expected to follow in 2016.

BAE Systems is the Prime Contractor for the LHD project and is managing the overall project in cooperation with subcontractors Navantia, Saab and L-3 Communications.