Page 97 - Australian Defence Magazine Dec19-Jan20

DECEMBER 2019 – JANUARY 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
PROJECTS AIR 97
The first C-130J was upgraded in late May with a further five due to be completed before the end of the year, and the first upgraded KC-30A tanker returned from Spain in August. The remaining KC-30As will be upgraded in Australia.
VIP MOVES
Shortly after Avalon wrapped up, ADM’s Deputy Editor Ni- gel Pittaway revealed that the first of RAAF’s new VIP air- craft fleet was nearing completion. The Dassault Falcon 7X used a RAAF callsign to fly from France to the US, where the interior was fitted before the aircraft was delivered to Australia two weeks later.
The new Falcon 7X fleet can carry up to 14 passengers any- where in the world with one stop, flying at Mach 0.9, and will continue to be maintained by Northrop Grumman Australia.
The year also saw a change of leadership for RAAF, with Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld moving from his post as Chief of Joint Operations to replace Air Marshal Leo Davies as Chief of Air Force (CAF).
AIRMSHL Davies told ADM that of all the achievements he was proud of during his tenure as CAF, the delivery of the F-35s last year was one of the greatest.
“We’ve continued to deliver the things that successive Chiefs have set in place. I haven’t messed it up to the point where something didn’t get delivered!” AIRMSHL Davies said.
OVERSEAS NEWS
In June, NZ selected the Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Her- cules to replace the RNZAF’s C-130H airlifters to fulfil the highest priority in the NZ Government’s Defence Capabil- ity Plan 2019. The aircraft beat Embraer’s KC-390 to the mark and will be acquired through the US Foreign Military Sales process for over NZ$1 billion.
Whilst more F-35s landed in-country over the course of the year, the biggest news from that program came from overseas. Turkey was formally ejected from the global F-35 community after receiving a number of Russian S-400 air defence systems in July despite receiving ‘multiple offers’ from the US to provide its Patriot equivalents. Russia has since offered Su-35 fighters as a replacement.
As Turkish companies made 937 parts for each F-35, the Australian government was quick to swoop on the opportu- nity to secure more local work for the program. Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price flew to the US to meet with Under Secretary of Defence for Acquisition and Sustain- ment Ellen Lord following a Defence review that identified 11 local companies with capabilities to take on some work from Turkish suppliers.
The visit bore fruit. NSW-based Quickstep was awarded contracts to supply 10 additional parts to each airframe’s centre fuselage, adding to the 35 parts the company already supplies to the global program.
P-8A POSEIDONS
RAAF’s P-8A Poseidon fleet continued to expand in 2019 with the latest aircraft joining the fleet in April and Sep- tember. Ten aircraft are currently based at RAAF Edin- burgh in SA and a fleet of 12 is expected to be operating from Australia in January. The Cocos/Keeling Islands air-
port is set to be widened and strengthened to support P8-A operations under Project 8219.
Each P8-A is also set to expand internally. In August, Boeing announced that all 60 previously-delivered US and Australian aircraft will be retrofitted with a sixth mission crew workstation. The contract is worth $34.5 million and will bring the US and Australian fleets in line with newer airframes, such as the four set to be delivered to the RNZAF.
AIR 7000 1B
RAAF confirmed this year that a seventh MQ-4C Triton remains an option. The purchase of the second Triton was approved in late March and Defence is due to make a deci- sion on the next tranche of aircraft in 2020.
This program will make early headlines in January when Northrop Grumman opens Australian program offices in Adelaide and Canberra.
“The offices will coordinate delivery activity, working closely with CASG and the US Navy because this is a coop- erative program,” Northrop’s Triton Program Director Aus- tralia Jake Campbell said to ADM. “There’ll also be direct management of risk mitigation activities.”
According to Campbell, Northrop Grumman hopes Defence will decide to purchase the next four aircraft as a single tranche. “It would provide program certainty,” Campbell said. “There’d be greater chance of remaining inside the funding envelope for
the entire program because of the efficiencies we’d gain.”
AIR 7003
The government announced in late November that it has down- selected the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft over the MQ-9A Reaper, the
same as the UK. The next
phase will focus on develop- ing the $1.3 billion MQ-9B acquisition proposal, which is scheduled for government consideration in 2021-22. The project will deliver Australia’s first armed Medium Altitude Long Endurance Remotely Piloted Aircraft System.
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“THE PURCHASE OF THE SECOND TRITON WAS APPROVED IN LATE MARCH AND DEFENCE IS DUE TO MAKE A DECISION ON THE NEXT TRANCHE OF AIRCRAFT IN 2020.”
“Local companies that provide a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities will have the opportunity to showcase their capabilities throughout this development process,” Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price said.
According to RAAF Director-General of Air Combat Ca- pability Air Commodore Darren Goldie, the down-selection means his team can now focus on what the acquisition will look like, providing advice to government on provisioning, aircraft numbers, cost profiles and more to inform the ac- quisition decision in 2021-2022.
“MQ-9 is more about support to the land force and the lit- toral,” AIRCDRE Goldie told ADM. “So more customizable payloads, which are all about going after close electro-optic IR and signals intelligence. The big difference between the MQ-9A and MQ-9B is that the MQ-9B is able to be certi- fied to fly in civilian airspace.” ■