Page 22 - Australian Defence Magazine April 2019

DEFENCE BUSINESS
AVALON
Japan pitches C-2 for NZ’s FAMC competition
NIGEL PITTAWAY | AVALON
THE Japan Air Self Defense Force (JASDF) flew one of its new Kawasaki Heavy Indus- tries (KHI) transport aircraft to Avalon for the very first time this year, for participa- tion in the daily flying display.
The aircraft is operated by the JAS- DF’s 3rd Tactical Airlift Wing, which has recently received its seventh aircraft from the Kawasaki production line in Gifu. The JASDF has an ultimate re- quirement for between 20 and 30 C-2s to replace the ageing (and smaller) Ka- wasaki C-1 transport.
The C-2 is between the Airbus A400M and Boeing C-17A Globemaster III in terms of size and it is one of the contend- ers for the Royal NZ Air Force’s Future Air Mobility Capability (FAMC) pro- gram. Under FAMC, the RNZAF will acquire one or two aircraft types to per- form both strategic and tactical transport roles, replacing the incumbent Lockheed C-130H Hercules and Boeing 757-200C.
According to KHI brochure figures, the C-2 can fulfil both the strategic and tactical role and is capable of carrying a 38-tonne payload over a distance of over 2,000 nautical miles. According to
KHI, the aircraft can carry a 20-tonne payload from Singapore to either Sydney or Melbourne.
Although the aircraft at Avalon was operated by a JASDF crew and not a formal part of KHI’s sales drive, the air- craft had been demonstrated in NZ in November 2017.
A KHI official confirmed the com- pany’s interest in the FAMC competition to ADM at Avalon and pointed out that
discussions around the C-2’s suitability and the RNZAF’s requirements had been underway ‘for several years’. With the air- craft now established in production, he said that Kawasaki is now actively market- ing the aircraft to a number of undisclosed customers besides NZ.
“We have just started marketing the aircraft (and) we expect the C-2 to be in production for at least ten years,” the of- ficial said.
NGJ progressing for USN and Australia
JULIAN KERR | AVALON
CONFIRMATION that a keenly-awaited boost to Australian capability is on the way came with the disclosure that the US Navy will receive its first five Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) Mid-Band pods in May. These will be used for chamber testing.
The AN/ALQ-249 NGJ is set to replace the legacy AN/ALQ-99 tactical jamming system and enhance the airborne elec- tronic attacks capabilities of the USN’s and RAAF’s EA-18G Growlers.
The USN and RAAF signed a Memoran- dum of Understanding (MOU) in October 2017 to jointly develop the NGJ. Then- Defence Minister Marise Payne had said earlier that Australia would invest $250 million to partner with the US in develop-
ing the NGJ to "future-proof the EA-18Gs' capabilities."
Pods would be received for flight testing in early 2020 and both activities would sup- port a Milestone C decision in August-Sep- tember 2020 on whether to proceed with low rate initial production, USN Captain Michael Orr disclosed.
Following that decision, developmental and operational testing would continue in support of initial operating capability (IOC) being reached with the USN’s elec- tronic attack squadrons in 2022.
Group Captain John Haly, director of the RAAF’s air combat transition office, said the RAAF would reach IOC with the NGJ in the 2025 timeframe.
22 | April 2019 | www.australiandefence.com.au
NIGEL PITTAWAY
NIGEL PITTAWAY