Page 48 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021

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CHANGING PRIORITIES
With the end of the Vietnam War, the strategic focus switched to defending the Australian continent from pos- sible aggression from its north and north-west. This think- ing had its roots in the Japanese advance during WWII (and later the perceived spread of communism throughout South-East Asia) and concentrated on the surveillance and protection of the ‘air-sea’ gap.
Since then, involvement in the first Gulf War of 1990- 91 and the following and ongoing ‘Global War on Terror’ has further evolved strategy. By the time of its 90th anni- versary in 2011 the RAAF was maintaining its traditional homeland defence roles but was also capable of seamless integration into operations with allied air arms.
The world was changing, both politically and in terms of weapons systems technology. The cost of operating sin- gle-role aircraft (no matter how superlative) was becoming increasingly prohibitive. The RAAF had first entered the world of modern, high technology multi-role fighters in the mid-1980s with the F/A-18 Hornet and began a journey of change that continues to this day.
The Hornet ushered in the world of the ‘electric jet’ and began the metamorphosis of the RAAF from the platform- oriented force it had become during the 1960s and 1970s into the interoperable, multi-role service it is today.
The global political balance changed dramatically from the end of the 1980s with the collapse of communist re- gimes in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. This marked
ABOVE: After WWII there was more conflict, this time in Korea 1950-53. No 77 Squadron was there, initially flying Mustangs and from May 1951 Gloster Meteors.
LEFT: The de Havilland Vampire fighter-bomber was the RAAF’s first operational jet (from 1949) and also the first jet aircraft built in Australia.
the end of the Cold War which had pitted NATO and Soviet forces against each other since the end of World War II.
The so-called ‘Peace Dividend’ that followed saw reduc- tions in manpower and equipment in most armed forces in- cluding the RAAF. Personnel numbers were cut and much of the support work contracted out to industry.
This meant the RAAF could in theory concentrate man- power in operational roles, bringing about an organisation- al change in the 1990s that saw squadrons become more autonomous and therefore more easily deployable.
The 1990s saw further increases in capability with the launch of upgrade programs for the Hornet, F-111 and P-3C Orion. Airlift capability was also the subject of over- haul with the introduction of the C-130J-30 Hercules to replace the 1960s-era C-130Es.
Projects to acquire new ‘force projection’ capabilities, such as Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) and a more capable air-to-air refuelling platform, were also launched during this period.
RESTRUCTURING, NEW TECHNOLOGY
With the arrival of the 21st century, the RAAF started to become fully immersed in this new era of high technology warfare. New platforms and capabilities were introduced and existing assets like the F-111, Hornet and Orion under- went substantial upgrades, reflecting changing times and the move from analogue to digital technology.
The early 2000s saw the first deployment of RAAF fight- ers to a war zone since Korea when 75 Squadron Hornets were sent to Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar for operations over Iraq. Other assets participating included Boeing 707 tank- ers, C-130H and J Hercules and AP-3C Orions. A decade later, the Hercules and Orions were still being deployed there on rotation.
RAAF
RAAF