Page 112 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

112 AIRPOWER
NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
KC-30A & WEDGETAIL – THE GREAT ENABLERS
The Royal Australian Air Force’s Boeing E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) and Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) share several commonalities, not least of which is their critical importance to ADF force projection.
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
ALTHOUGH very different capabilities, the both are derived from commercial airliners, both were immature platforms when selected and both subsequently experienced long de- velopment periods and a hesitant introduction to service. However, both are reportedly now regarded as the ‘plat- form of choice’ by the ADF and coalition partners in exer- cises and on operations.
The RAAF was the lead customer for Wedgetail and one of the early customers for the KC-30A (referred to as the MRTT by Airbus) and is a world-leader in their employ- ment. This has recently been evidenced by five years of op- erations in the Middle East supporting RAAF and coalition strikes in Iraq and Syria as part of an organic Australian Air Task Group (ATG).
The ATG deployed to the Middle East Area of Opera- tions (MEAO) in September 2014 and included single ex- amples of the Wedgetail and KC-30A. Their performance over the next five years not only dispelled lingering doubts of some within Defence of their suitability in their respec- tive roles, but earned the respect of allies and partners as the ‘go to’ capabilities.
The Wedgetail celebrated a decade of service with the
RAAF in May 2020 and the KC-30A followed suit in June this year. Today both look forward to a range of incremental upgrades to keep them at the cutting edge of their respec- tive capabilities until replacement, sometime in the 2030s.
WEDGETAIL’S VIGIL
The E-7A Wedgetail is based on the commercial 737- 700IGW (Increased Gross Weight) airframe, albeit with significant structural modifications to support the equip- ment and sensors required for the AEW&C mission. Not least of these is the dorsal-mounted pedestal for the air- craft’s primary sensor, the Northrop Grumman Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) surveillance radar.
Six Wedgetails are service with 2 Sqn RAAF at William- town and a similar solution has subsequently been selected by Turkey, the Republic of Korea and the United King- dom. The first two Australian aircraft were modified for
ABOVE: The Wedgetail’s primary sensor is the Northrop Grumman Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) surveillance radar
NIGEL PITTAWAY