Page 13 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
NEWS REVIEW
INDUSTRY UPDATE 13
RAAF TO REPLACE DAMAGED GROWLER
NIGEL PITTAWAY | MELBOURNE
THE US State Department has approved the sale of a former US Navy Boeing EA- 18G Growler airborne electronic attack aircraft to Australia, to replace an almost- new example lost in a runway incident in the US in 2018.
Under the US$125 million deal Austra- lia will acquire one EA-18G in Lot 38 (or later) configuration from US Navy stock and it will then be modified to RAAF specifications to enable commonality with the remainder of the fleet.
“The proposed sale will allow Australia to effectively maintain its current force projection capability that enhances in- teroperability with US forces well into the future and maintain their original primary level of aircraft authorised,” the Defense Security Co-operation Agency (DSCA) statement reads.
“This aircraft would replace Australia’s EA-18G (A46-311) aircraft lost in an ac- cident at Nellis Air Force Base.”
Australia purchased
twelve new-build Growl-
ers under Project Air
5349 Phase 3, in lieu of
converting a similar num-
ber of its F/A-18F+ Super
Hornets into electronic
attack configuration. The
first aircraft (A46-311)
was handed over to the Commonwealth at Boeing’s Super Hornet and Growler produc- tion facility in St Louis in July 2015.
The Growler is operated by No. 6 Sqn, based at RAAF Amberley and provides a force-level Electronic Warfare capability – the only such capability outside the US Navy and US Marine Corps today.
The former US Navy aircraft will re- place an aircraft which suffered and un- contained failure of one of its two General Electric F414 engines during take-off for an Exercise Red Flag mission on 28 Janu- ary 2018. Although the crew were able
ABOVE: The RAAF lost a Growler in a runway incident in 2018.
to exit safely, the aircraft was extensively damaged by fire and the hulk was placed into storage at the US 309th Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (AMARG) at Davis Monthan, Arizona, in October 2018.
Defence is yet to announce or confirm the proposed sale, but has been consid- ering options for the restoration of the Growler fleet to its original size since 2018.
new organisation that replaces the Cen- tre for Defence Industry Capability as the one-stop shop for defence industry sup- port and guidance,” Minister Price said. “It will work with industry associations, state and territory officials, SMEs and primes to deliver the capability our ADF needs to keep Australians safe and secure.
“I look forward to launching this organ- isation and the system that will be put in place to support each state and territory across the country.”
Shadow Minister for Defence Indus- try Matt Keogh said more certainty was needed in defence industry following the cancellation of Sea 1000.
“New branding is not enough,” Minis- ter Keogh said. “At a time where the fu- tures of many defence SMEs and workers remains uncertain due to the scrapping of the ‘Future Submarine’ contract, it’s more important than ever that our local defence industry is supported.”
Defence acknowledged ADM’s request for comment but did not provide a re- sponse.
CDIC TO BE REPLACED
EWEN LEVICK | MELBOURNE
THE Centre for Defence Industry Capabil- ity (CDIC) will be replaced by the end of the year, Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price has revealed.
The CDIC was subject to a government review released last year, which recom- mended strengthening the alignment be-
tween Defence, defence industry and the CDIC by relocating it to the Department of Defence rather than resting in the De- partment of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources with Defence secondees.
Minister Price told ADM in January that the subsequent restructure was ‘pro-
gressing well’.
However, in recent com-
ments to AIDN, Minister Price revealed that the CDIC would be replaced with a ‘new organisation’.
“Finally, before the end of the year, I will also launch a
LEFT: Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price on a visit to RAAF Base Williamtown.
DEFENCE
NIGEL PITTAWAY