Page 32 - Australian Defence Magazine Sep-Oct 2022

32 DEFENCE BUSINESS AWIC22
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2022 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
ning II as an aggressor platform during Diamond Storm. The aggressor force – or ‘Red Air’ – missions were flown by 75 Sqn based at Tindal and also marked the first time the squadron had participated in a major exercise since transi- tioning to the F-35A from January 2022.
DIAMOND STORM 2022
Exercise Diamond Storm was conducted from 30 May to 24 June and represented the culmination of the gruelling six-month AWIC 22 process. The exercise involved 1,400 Defence personnel, together with around 60 aircraft from the RAAF and US Marine Corps and took place from RAAF Darwin and Tindal, and at Timber Creek, Douglas Daly region and the Delamere Air Weapons Range.
providing is conceptually the same as what we previously delivered with the Classic Hornet, but a generational step in difficulty,” WGCDR Parker said.
“When combined with some of our other Defence capa- bilities, we can be described as being aggressively obnox- ious with the F-35A. We can replicate the most advanced adversary platforms and weapons in the world [and] that’s why the US Air Force recently re-established the 65th Ag- gressor Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base as an F-35A squadron.”
MRF-D SUPPORT
The Aviation Combat Element (ACE) of the Marine Air- Ground Task Force (MAGTF) within the Marine Rota- tional Force – Darwin (MRF-D) participated in Diamond Storm 2022, providing critical support to the CCI course.
Although it’s not the first time the rotational US force has supported a Diamond Storm exercise, it is the first time it has directly played a role in the qualification of Combat Control Instructors.
AWIC 22 was the first in which the course has been con- ducted and is qualifying Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) instructors within 4 Sqn RAAF.
The Marine ACE this year is led by Marine Medium Tiltro- tor Squadron 268 (VMM-268) ‘Red Dragons’ based at Kaneo- he Bay in Hawaii, flying the Bell-Boeing MV-22B Osprey.
“As far as operational employment goes within Diamond Storm, our main role is providing assault transport for com- bat troops and supplies,” explained Captain Zachary Brown, Pilot Training Officer for VMM-268 during the exercise.
“We are one of two assault platforms that they’re utilising in the exercise, the other being (two) Royal Australian Air Force C-130J-30 Hercules. We’re providing all of the com- bat assault transport vertical lift from here (Darwin) down into our training area in Bradshaw.”
“WHEN COMBINED WITH SOME OF OUR OTHER DEFENCE CAPABILITIES, WE CAN BE DESCRIBED AS BEING AGGRESSIVELY OBNOXIOUS WITH THE F-35A”
“Exercise Diamond Storm 22 is the culminating force-level integration event, where all the platforms and ca- pabilities that we have on AWIC, plus a number of supporting elements, take part in the most complex activity that we do,” WGCDR Hagstrom said.
“On the scale of activities that we do across Air Force, the size of Dia- mond Storm is right up there with [exercises] Pitch Black or Talisman Sabre in the level of resources that we’re entrusted with.”
Speaking to Air Force news dur- ing the exercise, 75 Squadron’s Commanding Officer de- scribed the use of the F-35A in the aggressor role for the first time – a role in which they were supported by Hawk Mk.127s, civilian-operated Learjets and some of the assets
based in Darwin.
“We can scale our capability to meet the training out-
comes of each mission at Diamond Storm. The role we’re
NIGEL PITTAWAY