Page 117 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

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Wedgetail and KC-30A will be decided around the turn of the decade – at least according to the Defence Force Struc- ture Plan 2020 (FSP2020).
The FSP2020 document forecasts up to $21.1 billion will be spent on a Wedgetail replacement program, to be deliv- ered in the second half of the next decade under Air 7002 Phase 1. What this will look like is open to conjecture this far out, but it may be worth noting the aforementioned re- ports of the US Air Force seriously considering acquisition of an E-7 capability in the near-term.
In the longer-term the US is seeking a space-based AEW&C capability but media reports in September suggest this may be some considerable way off into the future. Speaking at the Air Force Association’s annual Air, Space and Cyber con- ference in Maryland, US Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown reportedly told US-based media outlets that Washington was “looking seriously” at the E-7 as a “path” towards future space-based capabilities and revealed he has already held discussions with both the RAAF and RAF.
With respect to the KC-30A, the FSP2020 document al- locates up to $20.2 billion of investment for a replacement, beginning in 2032. “The KC-30A replacement project is scheduled for the mid to late 2030s and has funding for an expanded fleet size,” Head Air Force Capability Air-Vice Marshal Cath Roberts told ADM shortly after the docu-
ment’s release. “The project is pre-Gate Zero and options have not yet been determined or evaluated.”
Again, it may be interesting to note that the US Air Force’s KC-Y ‘bridging air tanker’ program is set to occur in the near-term, which seeks between 140 and 160 addition- al tankers from 2029. While one contender is likely to be the incumbent Boeing KC-46A Pegasus – which is smaller than the RAAF’s current KC-
30A – Lockheed Martin un- veiled its LMXT, based on the A330 MRTT, in September.
The LMXT will feature the increased MTOW of the ‘Next Wave’ Airbus tankers, coupled with an increase in fuel capacity of around 12 tonnes, taking the total to more than 123 tonnes.
“THE RAAF HAS PREVIOUSLY STATED THAT FIVE KC-30AS CAN CONCURRENTLY TRANSPORT OVER ONE THOUSAND PASSENGERS OR FERRY MORE THAN 40 F/A-18A/B HORNETS ACROSS AUSTRALIA”
With the US Air Force
looking to buy E-7As and pos-
sibly the MRTT-based LMXT before Australia’s respec- tive replacement programs kick off in earnest, it may just come to pass that the replacements for the Wedgetail and KC-30A may well be enhanced variants of the Wed- getail and KC-30A! ■
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