Page 120 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

120 AIRPOWER
NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
OR, AS perceptively foreshadowed in the 5th Century BC by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”
Within the RAAF, responsibility for this crucial ISR ca- pability is held by the Surveillance and Response Group (SRG) - motto ‘Foremost Sentinel’ - formed in 2004 from the merger of the Surveillance and Control and Maritime Patrol Groups and headquartered at RAAF Williamtown.
At the tactical level, the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, F/A-18F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, P-8A, the RAN’s air warfare destroyers and MH- 60R naval combat helicopters, are increasingly adding to the air picture.
SURVEILLANCE IN THE MARITIME DOMAIN
The Poseidon fleet completed a series of modifications in July that included wiring upgrades to expand and en- hance the mission systems fitted to the aircraft and improve interoperability, as well as networking for air to air, air to ship, and air to ground communications
in support of the joint force.
Further upcoming modifications will
upgrade systems hardware, software and firmware components.
Two more P-8As are being acquired through the existing cooperative program with the US Navy that allows Australia to share USN tech- nical expertise and divide development costs, and will be
delivered in 2022.
This mix of airborne capabilities is now set to be boost-
ed by three new platforms that will further enhance the take of ISR strategic and tactical information.
ABOVE: An artist’s impression of a GA-ASI MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft system in RAAF markings
More than 2,400 SRG personnel are working across Australia in Air Defence (No 41 Wing, RAAF Williamtown); Air- borne Early Warning and Control (No 42 Wing, RAAF Williamtown); Air Traffic Control (No 44 Wing, RAAF William- town); and Maritime Operations (No 92 Wing, RAAF Edinburgh). All contribute to the ADF’s early warning and response capability.
In terms of airborne large area ISR, the
benefits from the multi-tasking capabilities of its 12 P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft together with the air de- fence input of its six E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warn- ing and Control (AEW&C) aircraft.
Also contributing are the specialised capabilities of two AP-3C(EW) Orions dedicated to the Signals Intel- ligence (SIGINT) role, along with the JORN over-the- horizon radar network and air-traffic control radar sys- tems linked with the EASTROC operations centre at RAAF Williamtown and NORTHROC at RAAF Tindal in the Northern Territory.
“BOTH THE SKYGUARDIAN AND THE SEAGUARDIAN VARIANTS OF THE MQ-9B ARE CERTIFIED TO OPERATE IN CIVILIAN AIRSPACE”
RAAF currently
GENERAL ATOMICS