Page 114 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec21-Jan22

114 MAJOR PROJECTS REVIEW
DECEMBER 2021-JANUARY 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
the third will receive its first aircraft at Tindal by the end of the year and the first four F-35A pilots to complete their op- erational conversion course in Australia graduated in early July. From an industry standpoint, the first aircraft was in- ducted into BAE Systems’ facility at Williamtown in Febru- ary for modifications and TAE Aerospace announced that Initial Depot Capability (IDC) requirements for the repair of the F-35’s Pratt & Whitney F135 engine’s fan and power
modules had been achieved in July. On 30 December Minister Reyn- olds further announced the acquisi- tion of an additional two P-8A Posei- dons under Air 7000/2B, bringing the fleet to 14 aircraft. At the same time, Reynolds also announced the approval of sustainment funding for the cur- rently approved fleet of three Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned surveillance aircraft. “Together, the Poseidon and the Triton will provide Australia with one of the most ad- vanced maritime patrol and response capabilities in the world,” she said. “The Poseidon is a proven capability that will conduct tasks including anti-submarine warfare, mari- time and overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnais-
sance, and support to search and rescue missions.”
The inaugural flight of Boeing Loyal Wingman aircraft occurred at Woomera on 27 February and in early March the government announced a further three air vehicles to advance the air-teaming vehicle, payloads and associated support and training capabilities under a $115 million con- tract. The agreement will increase production to six air-
craft for the RAAF.
In September Boeing announced that it will establish a facility at Wellcamp Airport, near Toowoomba, for future Loyal Wingman production – the first facility the manu- facturer has established outside the US. Most recently the company began construction of the fifth air vehicle at its facility in Port Melbourne and the first flight of the second aircraft at Woomera.
Air Force’s Air 8000/2 (Battlefield Airlifter) program ap- peared to suffer a setback in July, with an on-line story from Defence quietly advising the role of the ten C-27J Spar- tan aircraft has been redefined to ‘enhance response and engagements’ by focussing on HADR, crisis response and regional engagements across the Indo-Pacific. Battlefield Airlift is no longer mentioned - instead, the aircraft is now being referred to more broadly as a Light Tactical fixed- wing aircraft.
The first aircraft was delivered to Australia in 2015, but the project still has not achieved FOC and this is not ex- pected to occur until at least the end of the 2021/2022 fi- nancial year. In January Defence said that even at FOC, several ‘residual activities’ will need to be completed, in- cluding delivery of training equipment, remediation of its Missile Approach and Warning System (MAWS) capability and completion of a C-27J Structural Substantiation Pro- gram. The aircraft has also reportedly suffered from poor availability rates since introduction, largely due to sustain- ment and supply chain issues.
“C-27J FOC was not achieved in December 2019 (a re- scheduled date, the aircraft was originally expected to be fully operational in 2017) due to challenges and complica- tions with completing the full scope of the original capa- bility acquisition,” a Defence spokesperson said. “As high- lighted in the recent ANAO report into major projects, Air
“THE INAUGURAL FLIGHT OF BOEING LOYAL WINGMAN AIRCRAFT OCCURRED AT WOOMERA ON
27 FEBRUARY”
DEFENCE