Page 112 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22

112 MAJOR PROJECTS REVIEW
DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
this issue, may even result in a further Life of Type Extension (LOTE) program.
The Hunter-class frigate program notched up a milestone in October, despite the Sea 5000 build program slipping to the right during the year, with the roll-out of the first steel prototype unit. The 217 square-metre unit is now in the primary manufacturing hall at Osborne where it will be outfitted and consolidated with three additional units into the first prototyping block.
The cutting of steel for the first ship had been resched- uled by up to 18 months in June, but Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime Australia told ADM in October that he is confident the schedule can be recovered over the life of the build program.
Looking to the future, Defence released an RFI in Sep- tember for the acquisition of a sea mining capability from the mid-2020s under Sea 2000 (Maritime Mining), with an ‘enduring capability’ also required in the longer term.
Navy is also considering options to replace its MRH 90 Taipans in the support and logistics helicopter role under Sea 9100 Phase 1 (Embarked Logistics Support Helicop- ter Capability).
“With the Navy’s amphibious and afloat support fleet in- creasing in number and capability, a commensurate growth in the number of aircraft used by Navy in the support he- licopter role is required,” a Defence spokesperson said in October. “Defence is in the process of preparing project op- tions for Government consideration (but) Government has not yet selected an aircraft for the Navy’s future fleet of support helicopters.” On 8 October the US State Depart- ment advised Congress has approved the sale of an addi- tional 12 Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk helicopters (albeit without sonar equipment) to Australia.
Finally, one project expected to record a significant mile- stone during the year was Sea 1778/1 (Deployable Mine Countermeasures), which had been expected by Chief of Navy to achieve IOC in mid-year. However, in Mid-Novem- ber a Defence spokesperson told ADM that the project “has been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions” but did not pro- vide a revised timeline.
AIR DOMAIN
Although not as busy as recent years in terms of major mile- stones, the Air domain nevertheless appeared in the news pages of ADM throughout 2021. Indeed, the period be- tween Christmas and new year set the scene for 2021, with declaration of IOC for the RAAF’s Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters and the announcement of an addition- al two P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft.
On 28 December, then Defence Minister Linda Reyn- olds announced the F-35A IOC declaration, signifying that the fifth-generation fighter can now be deployed on opera- tions. While COVID-19 has had an impact on deliveries of new aircraft from the US, as well as the international supply chain, the F-35 enterprise (under various phases of Air 6000) continued to mature throughout 2021. By mid- November, the RAAF had 41 of its 72 F-35As at William- town, representing the largest fleet outside the US and De- fence says the program remains on track to achieve FOC on schedule by the end of 2023.
The second of the RAAF’s three operational F-35A fight- er squadrons is currently transitioning to the new aircraft,
ABOVE: The RAAF’s C-27J Spartan have been re-roled from battlefield airlift to light tactical fixed wing aircraft
NIGEL PITTAWAY