Page 77 - Australian Defence Magazine November 2021
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NOVEMBER 2021 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
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tween the KC-30A and F-15, when it conducted refuelling trials with USAF F-15s in the United States in 2015. It un- covered a tendency for the F-15’s canopy to drift towards the boom in some flight parameters, due to the receiver’s receptacle being mounted above its port air intake.
With a number of other regional nations selecting the MRTT, the RAAF has also worked with the tankers of these nations. Chief among these is Singapore, who oper- ates six MRTTs, which replaced its fleet of four ex-USAF Boeing KC-135R Stratotankers withdrawn in 2019.
The mid-air refuelling partnership between both countries preceded the MRTT/KC-30A though: Singapore had used its KC-135Rs to refuel RAAF F-111s and Classic Hornets at Exercise Pitch Black and Five Power Defence Arrangement exercises, as well as conducting refuelling trials with the RAAF’s Boeing C-17A Globemaster airlifters in 2016.
The refuelling partnership has continued to advance since the RSAF took deliveries of its own MRTTs from 2018 and since then the RAAF and RSAF’s MRTT/KC- 30s have refuelled from each other.
In late September another RSAF MRTT flew with four RAAF F/A-18E/F Super Hornets in tow from Darwin to Singapore for an FPDA exercise, after supporting a flight of RSAF Lockheed-Martin F-16s in the other direction for an RSAF exercise in the Northern Territory.
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) has also sent its MRTT crews to observe and study RAAF KC-30 opera- tions as it awaited delivery of its own four aircraft. There were ROKAF personnel on board some KC-30A flights during Exercise Pitch Black 2018, although further details about the program are not known.
STILL MISTRUST
Despite the potential for Australia to broaden and deepen its engagement with regional air forces in the air domain – and its efforts to do so are for the most part welcomed by regional militaries – it must be remembered that Aus- tralia can still be seen politically as an outsider by some in the region.
The cool reaction to the recent AUKUS partnership and Australia’s decision to go with nuclear-powered subma- rines from the political leadership in places like Indonesia and Malaysia is a timely reminder of this, with regional nations having to walk a fine line between the two increas- ingly confrontational regional powers given the economic and security stakes.
However, this is actually a sign that Australia would be best served by continuing its efforts to engage, and not withdraw, from the region, as there is nothing to gain from alienating regional countries. ■
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