Page 106 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

106 AIRPOWER
NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
it has supported cyclone relief efforts in WA in the wake of tropical cyclone Seroja and undertaken HADR and COV- ID-19 relief operations throughout the Indo-Pacific, includ- ing East Timor, Fiji, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Vanuatu.
In addition, 36 Sqn provides support to the AAD in Antarctica each year under Operation Southern Delivery, either by operating into the ice runway at Wilkins Aero- drome (known as Air-Land missions), or by aerial deliv-
ABOVE: A 37 Sqn C-130J-30 Hercules over Sydney
ment for the ADF, as Defence has not purchased HIMARS to date, Australia becomes the first nation outside the US to provide rapid air mobility for the system.
The trials were conducted at Amberley on 23 July and follow a similar series of testing performed by the US Air Force as part of its Advanced Battle Management System, which is exploring how systems across the four US services can be networked together to enable Joint Force operations.
“The HIMARS targeting trial has demonstrated yet an- other way that mobility aircraft directly enable the Joint Force in the fight,” explained Officer Commanding 86 Wing Group Captain Anthony Bull at the successful com- pletion of the RAAF trial.
“The advanced navigation and communication equip- ment in the C-17A can be used to pass targeting informa- tion to the artillery system in flight. This means the HI- MARS is ‘on’ the entire time and using the data to observe and orient itself, so when the aircraft lands, the HIMARS system rolls off ready to fire in a fraction of the time it would normally take.”
GPCAPT Bull said the typical time previously taken to offload HIMARS, fire the weapon and reload it back into the C-17A could take upwards of 45 minutes, but the new tactic reduces the chances of successful counter battery fire.
“FROM A MILITARY OPERATION STANDPOINT, THE C-17A FLEET ROUTINELY SUPPORTS RAAF EXERCISES AND DEPLOYMENTS ACROSS AUSTRALIA AND AROUND THE PACIFIC”
ery of supplies when Antarctic weather does not permit, or re- supply of deployed personnel is required. These latter missions are known as Air-Drop missions and the most recent example, flown concurrently with the be- ginning of the Kabul Airlift ef- fort, was conducted from Perth on 19 August (for further details see Ewen Levick’s story on page 100).
From a military operation standpoint, the C-17A fleet routinely supports RAAF exercises and deployments across Australia and around the Pacific and made news in July, when one aircraft was used to provide a targeting solution for a US Army Lockheed Martin High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) during Exercise Talisman Sabre.
Although such a capability is not an operational require-
NIGEL PITTAWAY