Page 54 - Leverage and Learn

Leverage Allied Investments and Combat Learning Experience in Modernizing the U.S. Military

And the Wedgetail would not be showing up if not for the presence of your KC-30A, a point that could be
missed.

How important has the new tanker been to enabling Wedgetail to deploy and to shape its combat learning
process?

Group Captain Bellingham: You have raised a very good point.

The two came into the force at about the same time.

Without the tanker, we don't get the endurance and the ability to stay on task.
We would not have the reach and persistence.

And our part of the world we have vast distances and lots of open water, we need the expeditionary
capability that a tanker brings, and a good tanker that can offload a good amount of gas and has great
reliability.

The KC-30A, what it's demonstrated on operations over the last two and a half years has again been
phenomenal.

Whilst it had a few initial teething problems with the boom and other things, that tanker is going from strength
to strength.

Without it, we're irrelevant, because we can't do that expeditionary work which we need to be able to do.

That's important in the Middle East, but even more important in our part of the world.

Visiting Williamtown Airbase: The Wedgetail In Evolution
2016-08-22 By Robbin Laird

I revisited Williamtown airbase in August 2016, where I earlier visited the Wedgetail Squadron and the F-18
squadrons.

And during the last visit did a site visit and looked at the infrastructure modernization approach being
implemented on the base.

This time, I had a chance to talk with Group Captain Stuart Bellingham, the Officer Commanding 42 Wing.

During this visit as well I was able to talk with senior Army and Navy officers involved in the evolution of
Wedgetail as well and will discuss their perspectives in forthcoming interviews.

The Wedgetail is often referred to as an Aussie AWACS, but clearly is not.

The AWACs is an AIR battle managements system with the customers being largely the fighter community.
The Wedgetail is evolving towards a ground and naval engagement capability with naval and army officers
onboard and with virtual Wedgetail becoming part of the officer training for the Army and Navy this process
will deepen in the years ahead.

In many ways, what is being experienced with Wedgetail is what the ADF hopes to bring to the process of
overall force design and greater operational integration.

Second Line of Defense

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