Australian Air Power Today May 2019

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Winter 2019 Vol 1 No 2

Air Force | Air Power | National Defence

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2

index

Volume 1 No 2 Winter 2019

2 Cover story

The Challenges of FifthGeneration Transformation

10 14 20

Lightings over Delamere Premier air weapons range

Are there two pilots in a cockpit?

Control of the Air in Contemporary Conflict

18 Loyal Wingman to take air power to the next era 24 Snr Defence figure raises cyber attack concerns 26 The Beaufighter Team 30 Sharing opportunities with NASA

31 Australian Civil Space Strategy released 34 Defence Budget Summary 36 AUSINDEX 2019 38 Air Ambulances could become flying hospitals

40 Alf Barlow & Lancaster ‘Popeye’ 42 Power Play 48 Air Force Cadets 50 On The Radar 54 Transitioning Veterans

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Joint Air Power Competence Centre, RAAF News, Defence Connect, APSI, Pathfinder, ADF, ADF Journal

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Cover & Above: A Royal Australian Air Force No. 75 Squadron F/A-18A Hornet Pilot, flying in the skies above Andersen Air Force Base, as part of Exercise Cope North 19, Guam.

Photo SGT Kirk Peacock.

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C over Sto ry

The Challenges of FifthGeneration Transformation Wing Commander André Adamson, UK Royal Air Force Colonel Matthew Snyder, US Air Force Introduction Plan Jericho, published in 2015, outlined a strategy that would transform the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) into a fifth-generation air force by 2025 which, if delivered on schedule, would make it the world’s first. The transformation is not based on merely the possession of the next generation of aircraft technology including the F-35A, P-8 Poseidon, EA-18G Growler and E-7A Wedgetail, but on a reconceptualization of the RAAF as an integrated, networked force. Significantly, this new operating concept is based on working in a highly collaborative manner with the army, navy, industry and allies – especially partners in the F-35 programme – in order to achieve the full potential of the new technologies, and to ensure

that the networked force is capable of working effectively with them.

The Australian plan has given many air forces pause for thought. That an air force comprising fewer than 15,000 regular personnel is seeking to transition to an entirely fifth-generation air force within the next decade to meet its strategic and security objectives demonstrates an undertaking to conduct future air operations in a conceptually different way. The commitment to a similar transformation among other F-35 partners is firmly underway – both the US Air Force and the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) have pledged to transition to fifth-generation air forces.1 In contrast, for air forces that are not committed to a fifth-generation programme, or the transformational concepts that underpin it, the time is rapidly approaching where

a hard-nosed evaluation and decision will need to be made on where they want to be as an air force in the next 10–15 years. The choice is tactical, strategic and political.

This article analyses some of the stakes involved as the introduction of the F-35 increasingly acts as a driver for fifth-generation transformation. It will also consider some of the implications for air forces that have committed to fifth-generation programmes and, perhaps more significantly, for those that have not.

The Partners and Why They Joined the F-35 Programme Nine countries originally signed up as partners to the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF)

5th Generation transformation is not based merely on possession of next generation aircraft technology which includes the E-7A Wedgetail. Photo SGT Shane Gidall.

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The F-35 will enable partner countries to operate the same aircraft with all the evident advantages that brings in terms of interoperability, training, and logistics. Photo SGT Christopher Dickson

programme, the precursor to the F-35: the US; the UK; Australia; Canada; Italy; The Netherlands; Norway; Turkey; and Denmark. Three others committed through Foreign Military Sales: Israel; Japan; and South Korea. As the most expensive military development and procurement plan in history, the F-35 has attracted a great deal of controversy since the development contract was signed in November 1996.

From its conception, the JSF was to be an international co-development programme, a decision that was driven by a number of factors. All of the partners were either NATO countries and/or close US allies, and there was, from the outset, a clear imperative for interoperability and interconnectivity in coalition-based air operations. The partners had been operating a range of different platforms of varying levels of capability, and the F-35 enabled them to operate the same aircraft with all the evident advantages that brings in terms of interoperability, training, and logistics, among others. Furthermore, the partners were all involved, to varying

degrees, in the design, building and testing of the aircraft. This was a unique element of the programme that helped maintain domestic hi-tech military industries.

However, the F-35 programme and the cooperative and industrial advantages it confers are, as described above, more than the next-generation platform conceived at the outset of the JSF programme. It represents a commitment by the partner air forces to exploiting a range of new, highly advanced capabilities that constitute a step change in the gathering, processing and sharing of information, particularly in contested environments.

Indeed, it is the recalibration of strategic and operational thinking that has been driven by the requirement to operate in those increasingly contested environments, and against near-peer adversaries, which has proved so persuasive in winning the argument for the fifth-generation partners. It has required a shift in thinking and a reconceptualization of the conduct of air operations in the Joint and Combined

environment through the significantly enhanced surveillance, command and control, and information sharing that fifth-generation capabilities provide.

However, most of the air forces acquiring the F-35 have equally begun to realize that having a fifth-generation aircraft does not merely equate to having a fifth-generation capability as defined above. It also compels air forces to integrate and network with land and maritime forces in an unprecedented way – next-generation air forces will require next-generation joint forces.

Implications for F-35 Partners of Integrating Fourth- and FifthGeneration Fighters F-35 production is now firmly underway. This puts considerable pressure on those partner countries and Foreign Military Sales customers to prioritize the elements that will allow them to realize the full force5

C over Sto ry

multiplier potential of the aircraft.

This includes the enhanced data management, connectivity and bandwidth upgrades required to operationalize and fully exploit the capability that fifth-generation aircraft offer for information-centric warfare and cross-platform connectivity.

In this regard, the F-35 has a ‘forcing function’ for militaries looking to adopt a fifth-generation standard.

Naval and ground forces stand to benefit significantly from the networkcentric, cross-platform, multipleshooter concept of operations of which the F-35 will form such a significant element. As Justin Bronk suggests, given the almost unlimited scope of connecting the F-35 to every system in the battlespace, joint force commands will be compelled to invest in the connectivity and bandwidth for the platforms that stand to provide the greatest increase in combat power and flexibility. 2 This will drive the development of fifth-generation joint forces, a concept that has significant potential, particularly in contested

environments. It also is a key element in underpinning programmes such as Plan Jericho – the transformation to an integrated networked joint force that has combat power much greater than the sum of its parts.

Whereas the RAAF is looking to upgrade its entire legacy fleet over the next decade, the majority of the F-35 partners, including the US Air Force, will need to run their legacy fleets alongside their fifth-generation platforms for some years beyond that. The RAF and Italian Air Force, for example, possess the highly capable Typhoon, a fourth-generation aircraft with high performance, an active scan radar, Link 16 and a comprehensive air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons suite. As Bronk points out, in such cases investment in the F-35 and Typhoon should not be seen as a binary choice as ‘each aircraft offer strengths to complement the other’s capabilities. The combination of F-35 and Typhoon can be far more potent than a force composed entirely of either type in many operational scenarios’.3

As a US-led, but highly collaborative, programme, development of the F-35 has drawn the partners together. The sharing of technologies, concepts, tactics, training, maintenance, logistics and procedures represent a significant opportunity for fifth-generation air forces. With the F-35 being operated by so many states there are also substantial prospects for tactical, technical and conceptual innovation which will allow the aircraft to be highly ‘future-proof’ without compromising issues such as sovereignty, national defence industries or strategic autonomy. All these elements contribute to powerful forces drawing the F-35 partners into what might be described as a fifth-generation ‘club’.

The level of international cooperation is unprecedented, with pilots training together at the F-35 multinational pilot training centre at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, maintenance facilities being developed in Italy, Turkey, Norway and The Netherlands, and a global logistics supply chain. The result is a deepening of cooperation between the partner air forces, many of whom already possess

Driving development of fifth-generation joint forces is the almost unlimited scope of connecting the F-35 to every system in the battlespace, a concept that has significant potential, particularly in contested environments.

Photo SGT Shane Gidall.

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The aim is to create and operate a networked environment where the lines are seamless between sensors, shooters and operators. Photo SGT Mark Doran.

a strong ability to do so through links forged over the years through NATO and operating in coalitions since the end of the Cold War.

Implications of Integrated Fourth- and FifthGeneration Air Forces for Countries that are not F-35 Partners Air forces that have not yet committed, or do not have current plans to transition to fifth-generation systems, will need to consider the operational and strategic implications of such decisions. Four areas should be considered in light of future military operations: the ability to engage near-peer adversaries in a high-intensity environment; the military status and political parity with allied countries; the integration and collaboration capabilities with partner forces; and the potential limitation of the depth and breadth of defence technological innovation.

As previously discussed, fifthgeneration systems are not merely about employing stealth attributes, but rather about harnessing the substantial advancements in processing ability and data fusion capabilities inherent in such systems. Effectively, the aim is to create

and operate a networked environment where the lines are seamless between sensors, shooters and operators. As a result, air forces that do not possess these capabilities are likely to find themselves increasingly relegated to a supporting rather than a leading role in planning for, and executing, future contingency operations. Countries that are not able to contribute and operate effectively in high-threat environments will potentially find themselves not on an equal footing with their coalition partners, a position that may compromise their role in military and, increasingly, political decision-making.

Except Australia, all of the original nine partner countries are NATO members, allowing the smaller air forces of the Alliance – such as Spain and Belgium – to mitigate the limitations of their continued reliance on fourthgeneration assets by optimising the capabilities of the F-35 with their legacy platforms in a NATO context.

For larger Western countries not in the F-35 programme – such as France and Germany – there will be particular pressure to prioritize the optimization of their existing platforms with the capabilities of the F-35. With the possible exception of the RAAF, all the F-35 partners will be running legacy fleets alongside their new capability

for many years to come and will have to adapt, develop and deploy new technologies and concepts to achieve this. Clearly, for air forces not yet committed to a fifth-generation program, the imperative is to adapt to a future where coalition partners have already taken this step. In short, without fifth-generation aircraft, an air force risks being in a supporting role in a coalition air environment and will require a fifth-generation partner to provide mission success against a near-peer adversary.

Finally, the benefits of privileged access to the highest level of military technology enjoyed by the F-35 are substantial. The highly collaborative nature of the programme ensures that technology transfer occurs at an unprecedented scale and provides a wealth of opportunities for hi-tech defence industries across the partner countries. The fact that the F-35 will be operated by so many states will also boost the opportunities for innovation in disciplines such as engineering and avionics, as well as tactics and concepts. For air forces outside of the programme, technological advances can, of course, be pursued at the national level but they will not benefit from the exchange of ideas, concepts and innovation that are generated by this collaborative programme.

Conclusion After a decade and a half of delays, setbacks and bad press, the F-35 programme and the technological advancements linked to it are gathering momentum. The programme is driving the partner states not just to unprecedented levels of military cooperation and convergence, but developing the networked joint forces necessary to operate in an increasingly contested environment. For states that have chosen not to participate in the fifth-generation programme, the challenges will be tactical, strategic and political.

Countries not actively involved in fifth-generation transformation are starting to face a capability gap that will only continue to widen over the next decade. Other means – 7

C over Sto ry

An Australian F-35A aircraft takes off on a training mission at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, USA. Photo SGT Christopher Dickson

political, financial or industrial – will be needed to drive the change necessary to mitigate the divergence or offset its effects. Set against these challenges, these air forces might argue that their national security priorities over the next 10–15 years are perfectly well met by remaining outside the F-35 programme and the fifth-generation capabilities of which it is a core element. They might also credibly contend that legacy assets are inherently less vulnerable to disruption of the networks on which fifth-generation platforms rely and that the significant costs associated with the programme could be more efficiently apportioned elsewhere to meet those national priorities.

The arguments presented in this article suggest, however, that the implications of this approach in the longer-term are potentially serious and that there will be, sooner or later, a cost in terms of capability, operational effectiveness, 8

technological superiority and status.

1 . The RAF has decided to refer to a ‘next generation’ air force in its recently published Royal Air Force Strategy in order to emphasize the concept of integration and to reduce the risk of the strategy being seen to be platform based. See RAF, ‘Royal Air Force Strategy: Delivering a World-Class Air Force’, 2017.

Justin Bronk, ‘Maximum Value from the F-35: Harnessing Transformational FifthGeneration Capabilities for the UK Military’, RUSI Whitehall Reports, 1–16 (Feb. 2016), p. viii.

2.

Justin Bronk, ‘Maximum Value from the F-35: Harnessing Transformational FifthGeneration Capabilities for the UK Military’, RUSI Whitehall Reports, 1–16 (Feb. 2016), p. viii.

3.

André Adamson is a Wing Commander in the RAF and military desk officer for UK-France relations at the UK Ministry of Defence. His previous posting was as an exchange officer in the Strategy Division of the French Air Staff in Paris, prior to which he served in a wide variety

of operational and staff posts in the UK and overseas during a 26 year military career. He holds an MA and PhD in War Studies from Kings College London.

Colonel Matthew Snyder is the USAF exchange officer to the Strategy Division in the French Air Staff in Paris. His previous assignment was as Chief of Nuclear Deterrence Operations at the Pentagon. He has held joint, command, operational, maintenance, and test assignments including combat experience in the B-2. He holds a MSc in Space Systems from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a MA in International Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

This article reflects the authors’ own views and not the official policy of their respective organizations. It is an abridged version of a longer essay published in the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Journal in August 2017.

Courtesy Joint Air Power Competence Centre

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F eat ure Story

“Delamere is undoubtedly the premier air weapons range in Australia; all Aussie aircrew as well as visiting ones acknowledge that. The fact that we can provide the facilities we do and have virtually unrestricted airspace provides terrific training value for them.�

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LIGHTNINGS OVER DELAMERE One of Australia’s greatest but least known military assets is the Delamere weapons range in the Northern Territory.

It’s a large range located around 120 kilometres south of Katherine and RAAF Base Tindal. As the main air weapons range used by the RAAF, and with little or no civilian presence nearby, it’s the ideal playground for fighter pilots flying fast jets who want to ‘feel the need for speed’ and practice dropping live ordnance.

Delamere is not just used by the RAAF but is open to Australia’s close allies. And it’s not just a place for fast jets, but is also visited by heavy bomber platforms from the US Air Force like the B-52 and the B-1B. It plays a vital role in airpower exercises such as the biennial Pitch Black and Arnhem Thunder.

Its use should be significantly expanded as the F-35 Lightning comes into service with the RAAF and allied air forces.

The facility was described by a RAAF range safety officer: The absence of human settlement over a vast area means that live ordnance—like freefall and guided bombs, aircraft cannon and rocket pods—can be used, including against fake townships (known as ‘Tac Town’ and made up of shipping containers).

USAF bomber crews can train under realistic conditions; the missions they’ve conducted have included flying nonstop from Guam to strike at targets in Delamere, and then returning to base, with in-flight refuelling en route both ways.

One of the most important aspects

F e a tu r e Sto r y

of the Delamere range is that it’s also fully instrumented, which enhances range safety during missions. The instrumented range means that bombing can be monitored for accuracy and effectiveness against a variety of targets, and post-attack analysis can be done in high fidelity to consider how to improve tactical capability.

In addition, simulated threats can be exercised. For example, the fire control radar emissions of various adversary fixed and mobile ground-based air defence systems can be simulated, increasing the realism of training. This obviously has benefits for operational experience, as well as allowing planned missions to be practised before they’re flown. Testing models of systems in a real-world environment also contributes to greater understanding of red-force capability.

Delamere remains a well-kept defence secret, and one wonders if this is deliberately so. It will take federal government leadership to grasp the alliance and regional security value that will come from making these training facilities the hub of Asia–Pacific F-35 operational excellence. We should grab this opportunity.

With that in mind, how do we make better use of facilities like Delamere?

The introduction of the F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter into RAAF service from late 2018, with full operational capability of all 72 aircraft due by 2024, adds a new opportunity for developing Delamere for greater cooperative training with key allies in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

Practising similar and dissimilar 13

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F e a tu r e Sto r y

air combat training operations—for example, our F-35s flying alongside F-35s from the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, the Republic of Korea Air Force, and the US Navy and US Marine Corps, as well as the USAF— under realistic conditions would be a valuable operational boost for all partners. It could also help strengthen defence cooperation between partners such as South Korea and Japan. For other F-35 operators, like the UK and Singapore, that lack adequate weapons ranges and must operate in constrained airspace, the wide-openness of the Northern Territory would have real appeal.

Delamere, together with Bradshaw Field, and the Woomera test range further south, should be seen as key capabilities for defence diplomacy as Australia seeks to strengthen defence partnerships with its Five Eyes allies, and other key partners such as Japan, Singapore and Indonesia.

Australia does conduct major international exercises such as Pitch Black and Talisman Sabre on an annual or biennial basis, but it’s time to go beyond that approach and develop a more regular drumbeat of exercises that make full use of Delamere.

We could conduct regular multinational exercises similar to the USAF’s ‘Red Flag’ exercises, with Delamere and Bradshaw Field the focus of air operations. The Red Flag

exercises are run over two weeks several times a year. An Australian equivalent run out of RAAF Tindal and Darwin, focusing on F-35 operators, and practising fifth-generation airpower and multi-domain network-centric air operations, would link well with the recently announced arrangements for F-35 maintenance and sustainment.

Additional exercises could practise ‘fifth to fourth’ operations between the F-35, F-22 and fourth-generation platforms like the F/A-18F and E/A-18G as well as regional partner platforms such as the F-16.

With the announcement of an Australian development of the ‘Loyal Wingman’ unmanned air combat vehicle, it’s easy to see the Delamere range and others like it being the ideal testing ground for practising manned– unmanned teaming and developing UCAV capabilities for the RAAF, and potentially for export.

F i n a l l y, t h e e m p l o y m e n t o f

‘aggressor’ capability designed to fly and fight in a manner similar to possible future adversaries, notably China, should be part of such exercises. The US operates them, as do Japan and the UK. If we want to expand the use of our weapons ranges, operating in a contested air space, including with aggressor squadrons in the air, is a vital aspect of training.

Too often when we debate the current state, or the future evolution, of defence capability, we focus on platforms—sometimes at the expense of the more intangible command and control aspects. Australia’s vast and sparsely populated outback terrain is an asset in itself that we can promote as we seek to strengthen our defence relations with our key partners, given that we all confront a more dangerous and unpredictable strategic outlook.

Malcolm Davis is a senior analyst at ASPI. Images courtesy of the Department of Defence. Main image on previous page Flyaway Simulation of Delamere

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F eat ure Story

Ever since the early days of commercial aviation, flight safety has steadily improved. Considering the number of flights, accidents are now extremely rare, and 70% of them are attributable to human factors. This has led to research in psychology, cognitive science and, more recently, in neuroergonomics.

Researchers have been investigating factors such as drowsiness, stress, attention, workload, communication, and cognitive biases. One that has been surprisingly overlooked is that of social relations within the cockpit.

Commercial-airline crews are made up of one or two first officers and a designated leader, the captain. While all the pilots have the necessary skills to fly the aircraft, the captain is legally responsible for the flight. They are more experienced, better paid and often significantly older than first officers.

Before take-off, the captain decides who will pilot the aircraft and who will monitor the instruments, checklists and communication. The power imbalance between the two creates a hierarchical system. Depending on the situation and the pilots’ personalities, this imbalance can sometimes compromise communication and adversely influence decision making.

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Power and cognitive bias Being in a position of power increases the risk of cognitive bias. The halo effect – i.e., the tendency to judge people on the basis of their characteristics (such as ethnicity, age, cast, religion, etc.) or past events unrelated to the situation at hand – can severely affect captains.

This happened in 2011 during the approach of First Air flight 6560, when the relatively inexperienced first officer noticed that the aircraft was veering sightly off-course. The captain – who, unlike the first officer, had flown many times over the Arctic region – believed the instruments were simply adversely impacted by the proximity of the north magnetic pole. Blinded by his first officer’s relative lack of experience, the captain ignored the latter’s repeated warnings and suggestions to go around.

The mistake proved fatal to the captain, the first officer and 10 passengers.

Captains can also be affected by the false-consensus bias – the tendency to believe that those around us approve of our ideas and actions to a far greater extent than is actually the case. Also, the higher a person’s position in the

hierarchy, the less n e g a t i v e feedback he or she will openly receive from subordinates.

Therefore, the greater the power imbalance between the captain and the first officer, the higher the risk of falseconsensus bias in the cockpit.

First officers or passive observers?

Captains aren’t the only ones to be affected by this power imbalance. In the 1970s, a study carried out in a flight simulator showed that when the captains pretended to lose consciousness during a landing, nearly one in four first officers failed to take over the controls. Given the changes that have taken place

F e a tu r e Sto r y

off, killing everyone on board.

Finally, the halo bias can also affect first officers, who sometimes see the captain as all-knowing and infallible. They are less inclined to challenge the captains and more likely to bow to their decisions (conformity bias), which can have a negative effect on safety. in cockpit organisation since that time, it is unlikely that a new study would produce such worrying results.

However, it demonstrates that under certain conditions first officers can feel less engaged, responsible or legitimate than the captain, and fail to react appropriately.

An overly authoritarian captain can severely exacerbate this tendency and even paralyse the first officers to the point that they become mere bystanders. This occurred during the crash of Korean Air cargo flight 8509.

The captain, a domineering former military pilot, made a catastrophic error.

The first officer noticed but did nothing for fear of reprisal. The aircraft hit the ground less than 60 seconds after take-

What next?

So why not simply abolish hierarchy among pilots? There are sound reasons not to. First of all, the hierarchical structure has demonstrated, time and again, its effectiveness in cases of emergency. Take, for example, the January 2009 landing of US Airways flight 1549 on the Hudson River, or the management of 55 failures brought on by the explosion of an engine on Qantas flight 32 in November 2010. Moreover, a lack of hierarchy can prove just as disastrous, as it was for the two first officers at the controls of the Rio-Paris flight.

Eliminating pilot hierarchy is therefore not an appropriate solution.

Instead, it would be more effective to focus on pilot training. The first priority is to better educate pilots about the

issues associated with hierarchy.

Secondly, more research is necessary to better understand and deal with these complex phenomena. In the medium to long term, this should allow us to come up with innovative solutions to these problems.

Above all, it is vital to develop procedures that would allow: • Optimal communication between pilots. It can be adversely affected by the hierarchical power imbalance. • First-officer assertiveness. Problems arise when they are passive or when their work has been undermined or neglected.

This is particularly relevant as the boom in air traffic has led passengers to fly with airlines from countries where the culture of hierarchy is strong and therefore the risks higher. Furthermore, societies are evolving and the aviation industry is opening up to previously excluded groups such as women and people from lower casts, which may in some cases heighten problems linked to hierarchy. A detailed study of the impact of social factors on the way crews operate would be a boon to aviation safety.

Courtesy The Conversation

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F eat ure Story

Loyal Wingman to take Australia’s air power into the next era One of the hottest debates among airpower analysts is the role of unmanned systems in future air combat.

Australia may have just staked a lead in capability development of unmanned systems with the unveiling of the locally designed and built ‘Loyal Wingman’ unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) that is at the core of the Boeing Air Teaming System. The Loyal Wingman was unveiled in front of Defence Minister Christopher Pyne at the 2019 Avalon Airshow and Defence Expo last week.

Although it’s a Boeing platform, it will be designed and built entirely in Australia. That has some pretty significant implications for the future of Australia’s defence industry. It drives home the point that there’s more to this realm than just naval shipbuilding. It’s also a capability that is being planned with an export market in mind, to Five Eyes partners, and beyond. Australia will be able to position itself as a leading defence exporter of this type of capability as a result of the Loyal Wingman project.

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And with its first flight slated for 2020, this is a capability that is not way off in the future with decades-long acquisition cycles. With Loyal Wingman, the aim is to produce an operational capability quickly—within the next few years.

Let’s start with what the platform is and why it’s important. The Loyal Wingman is designed to act as a force multiplier for manned fighters like the F-35A, F/A-18F Super Hornet and E/A18G Growler, and larger manned aircraft like the E-7A Wedgetail or KC-30A refueller. Its primary role is projecting power forward, while keeping manned platforms out of harm’s way. It also seeks to protect ‘combat enablers’ like the Wedgetail from an adversary’s longrange offensive counter-air capability.

Although the planned aircraft is relatively small, according to Boeing it will have a range of more than 3,700 kilometres. That’s sufficient to operate over the South China Sea flying from RAAF Tindal near Darwin. It will carry integrated sensor packages to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and

electronic warfare (EW), and has an internal weapons bay that eventually could be armed with standoff weapons and precision bombs.

It will be able to fly autonomously, rather than being remotely piloted, which is vital. Exploiting trusted autonomy with the human ‘on the loop’ in an oversight role, rather than directly controlling the UCAV in every aspect of its mission ‘in the loop’, is a much more sensible approach to this sort of capability.

The Loyal Wingman can extend Australia’s air defence envelope much further north than would be possible using the F-35 alone. Imagine a swarm of Loyal Wingman UCAVs controlled by a four-ship formation of F-35s undertaking defensive counter-air tasks over the sea–air gap. The less stealthy UCAVs would be geographically located well away from the stealthy F-35s to avoid betraying their location, but close by in terms of being part of a resilient network. The F-35s in turn are networked to a Wedgetail to the rear.

The UCAVs are the forward sensor in the ‘sensor to shooter’ link, but can

F e a tu r e Sto r y

also be a forward shooter, against an adversary equipped with long-range airpower, while the F-35s and Wedgetail can stay out of harm’s way.

Alternatively, in a role to support strike missions, the UCAVs could use their long-range ISR sensors and EW capabilities, and potentially precisionattack munitions, to identify and supress enemy integrated air defences. That would open up a path for the F-35s and fourth-generation aircraft like the Super Hornet and Growler to strike at high-value targets.

In both cases, long-range power projection and protection are of key importance. The Loyal Wingman could restore a significant amount of the longrange strike power the RAAF lost with the retirement of the F-111C in 2010.

Although the Wingman is much smaller than the F-111C and carries a smaller payload, the emphasis on low-cost development means more UCAVs can be acquired. Local production will make it easier to keep on acquiring them as and when we need more. This will allow us to exploit combat mass and boost the potential of the RAAF’s future strike and air combat capability through swarming networks of autonomous shooters and sensors.

That’s a good move. One of the major challenges facing the RAAF is that by investing in very high-tech exquisite platforms like the F-35, which exploit technological overmatch against

an opponent, the size of the air combat arm is constrained. It becomes a boutique force. In a future crisis against a major-power adversary, that would be a disadvantage—we can’t afford to lose any because we have too few fast jets in the sky. A larger force is better able to exploit Lanchester’s square law to the RAAF’s benefit. The Loyal Wingman begins that process of building a larger, more powerful RAAF, and that’s precisely the path Australia needs to take in preparing for the next war.

The Loyal Wingman will allow Australia to effectively exploit future air combat technology developments coming out of US programs like the US Air Force’s penetrating counter-air and the US Navy’s ‘F/A-XX’ (formerly known as ‘sixth-generation fighter’ projects), which will be based heavily on manned– unmanned teaming technologies. We are taking our first steps towards the types of platforms that could one day replace the F-35, and we are getting there faster than originally planned.

Learning to operate manned and unmanned systems as a network—a ‘system of systems’—is crucial. The key is not just resilient data links that maintain networks, but also the development of trusted autonomy so that platforms like Loyal Wingman don’t have to depend on human control.

That aspect may generate controversy. Advocates of a ban on lethal autonomous weapons (LAWs) are

sure to challenge this project. Australia must resist calls for projects like Loyal Wingman to be cancelled on ethical or legal grounds. The platforms will depend on trusted autonomy, with humans ‘on the loop’, and any use of force will be made with human oversight. Unlike our adversaries who don’t need to adhere to legal and ethical constraints on LAWs, Western liberal democracies will always need to operate systems like Loyal Wingman with the laws of armed conflict in mind.

Finally, there are the defence industry and export benefits. Boeing Australia is designing and building the Loyal Wingman locally, establishing a sophisticated aerospace design and production capability. This could see Australia energise a new sector of its defence industry, complementing shipbuilding and other high-technology sectors. It would add to our defence export portfolio to key allies, including the Five Eyes countries. It would establish Australia as the leader in a global supply and support chain for Loyal Wingman operators around the world.

Loyal Wingman was the biggest story coming out of Avalon, and it may even surpass the F-35’s blazing performance in the skies as the cutting edge of future Australian airpower.

Malcolm Davis is a senior analyst at ASPI. Images courtesy of Boeing.

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F eat ure Story

THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL OF THE AIR IN CONTEMPORARY CONFLICT The first dedicated role that air power undertook as a military power projection capability was that of observation, which has over the years developed into the sophisticated capacity to carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). However, simultaneous to the development of the observation role, it was recognised that control of the air was a prerequisite for its success, since the safety of the Observer platform could only be ensured by controlling the air around it. From the very beginning of aerial warfare, the need to fight for, obtain and then maintain control of the air was understood by both tacticians and strategists.

From the need to protect a crucial asset in the air to ensuring that own surface forces were not subject to attacks from the air was a small step during the initial phases of World War I. By the time World War I came to an end there was an implicit understanding 22

within the military aviation community that the fundamental role of air power, its raison d’etre, would be to establish control of the air over the battlespace.

In the interwar years that followed, the battlespace by itself started to be defined in different ways and the concept of control of the air also started to become a more sophisticated idea. This was bound to happen with the technologyenhanced improvements taking place in the application of air power.

So what is control of the air? The Air Power Manual (RAAF) defines control of the air as ‘the ability to conduct operations in the air, land and maritime domains without effective interference from adversary air power and air defence capabilities’. Control of the air provides a military force with the freedom to attack, freedom from attack and freedom to manoeuvre, achieved through the disruption, degradation and/or destruction of the adversary’s air power

and air defence capabilities. Control of the air, therefore, is an essential criterion for the success of all military operations.

This fundamental premise has been a tenet of military planning since World War II. The nature of war—the quest to achieve political objectives through the application of force—has not changed over the years. However, in the past few decades the characteristics and conduct of war have altered significantly. Nations do not legally declare war anymore even when their military forces are engaged in brutal combat. More importantly, contemporary wars are in no manner similar to the wars that were fought up to the 1990s. Today, wars are better termed conflicts and are normally fought between the military forces of a nation-state and some amorphous non-state entity (ies) who pursue objectives that are intangible and adopt warfighting methods that pay no heed to the universally accepted

F e a tu r e Sto r y

laws of armed conflict. This new kind of conflict has been clubbed under the generic term ‘irregular war’.

The normal adversary in an irregular war, which typifies contemporary conflict, does not always possess significant air power capabilities. On the other hand, the regular military forces of the nation-state tend to use their air power capabilities as the first-choice weapon, emphasising air power’s ability to apply force with discrimination, proportionality and precision. Air power’s rapid reaction capability also becomes an asset in combating irregular forces. Under these circumstances, control of the air is not contested and the air assets of the nation-state are free to roam in a benign environment without having to fight to obtain the necessary control of the air.

This has been the case nearly for the past three decades.

This situation has led to the need to obtain and maintain definitive control of the air to being questioned in the planning and execution of normal military operations.

The inference from the current state of affairs in the battlespace is that the assets that have been specialised for achieving control of the air are better utilised elsewhere.

There are also viewpoints, often vociferously expressed, that air forces themselves could be abolished, based on the premise that control of the air is a given and therefore air power only needs to ‘support’ the surface battle through strikes when required.

This view is completely incorrect. It is

indeed true that the current set of adversaries do not have significant air power capabilities that could contest control of the air.

However, developments in air power have made it possible for irregular forces to contest control of the air through the concept of denial of the use of airspace in a designated area and for a pre-designated period of time. In an asymmetrical manner this is also control of the air delineated in time and space.

It will be necessary for the nation-state’s air power to neutralise such defensive bubbles and gain control of the air. This is only one aspect of irregular warfare.

The proliferation of missile technology and its ready availability to the non-state actors have created another challenge.

Surface-to-surface missiles create a situation where friendly forces come under fire and could be denied freedom to manoeuvre. Again, control of the air needs to be obtained in these circumstances with the degradation or destruction of the missile-launch facilities. The increasing sophistication of air defence systems that have also become available to irregular forces makes the need to establish control of the air a critical factor. The air losses inflicted by air defence systems to the Soviet air forces in Afghanistan during the erstwhile Soviet Union’s ill-fated, decade-long intervention there from 1979 is a classic example of the critical need to obtain control of the air before

launching air or surface campaigns.

Control of the air may not be contested by state-of-the-art, technologically sophisticated airborne systems in irregular wars. However, control of the air is an asymmetry that conventional military forces leverage in combating non-state entities. Therefore, the irregular adversary will always attempt to degrade the asymmetric advantage through multifarious activities. The proliferation and easy access to highly sophisticated and effective air defence systems aid the adversary to contest control of the air, in an asymmetric manner. In turn, one asymmetric advantage is being neutralise by another asymmetric capability.

The characteristics and conduct of war have changed; conventional air power ranges through benign airspace in unquestioned control; but control of the air and the need to fight to obtain and maintain it at the required level can only be underplayed at the one’s own peril.

Airpower Development Centre

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Christopher Prout with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 232, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing shoots a AIM-7 Sparrow missile from a F/A-18C Hornet aircraft near Tyndall Air Force Base Florida, 3D Marine.

U.S. Marines fire the Stinger® weapon system during Exercise Cold Response 16 in Orland, Norway, Feb. 24, 2016. (Photo: U.S. Department of Defense)

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C yber Se cu rity

Senior Defence figure raises concerns about future cyber attacks

One of Australia's senior military figures says the threat of cyber attacks against the nation's infrastructure and military networks is on the rise.

Major General Marcus Thompson leads the Information Warfare Division, which was set up in mid-2017 with the aim of providing both defensive and offensive cyber capabilities.

In his first media major interview, he told the ABC the job of protecting Australia from serious cyber threats was only becoming more challenging.

"What I'm seeing is a significant up-tick in the threats both from a criminal perspective as well as from state-sponsored [groups]," he said.

The primary responsibility of the Information Warfare Division is to defend the military's own systems, but Major General Thompson said he held concerns about the threat to civilian infrastructure.

That includes Australia's ability to respond if a major cyber attack were to be launched on critical systems such as banks, telecommunication or utility companies.

He said it was the broader Australian Government's capacity to respond to a big fight in cyber space that kept him up at night.

"I have a concern, and I know this concern is shared by many of my colleagues and mates throughout the national security community, 26

that in the event of a significant incident on Australia in cyber space, the resources that would be required to respond might not exist at the scale that might be required," Major General Thompson said.

The Australian Defence Force's ability to step in and protect such systems is limited, as the military is not allowed to conduct operations in Australia.

Major General Thompson said Australia was planning to step up its own offensive capability, particularly in foreign conflict zones.

But he has questioned whether the Defence Force could have a role to play if a major attack was launched against key infrastructure.

"Defence is not legislated to operate in a domestic setting [but] there are call-out provisions in the Defence Act," he said.

"All of that would be options for the Government to consider in the event of an incident."

"If a threat is coming at scale it would be a shame to have highly trained, incredibly professional soldiers, sailors, airwomen sitting on the bench while their civilian mates are trying to fight it off."

The threat is not hypothetical — Australia's intelligence agencies are currently responding to two recent attacks aimed at the nation's political system.

The Australian Signals Directorate and the Australian Cyber Security Centre were called in after hackers targeted the Parliament House computer network and also tried to crack into the systems of the major political parties.

As to where the weaknesses in the systems are, the Major General declined to point out any specifics.

"I speak with the banks and telcos routinely, [they are] very well defended," he said.

"But I think there are other industry, other government departments that are incredibly important for the continued functioning of government and society that perhaps aren't as well defended."

C y b e r Se cu r i ty

_______________

Key points: Major General Marcus Thompson has warned the threat of cyber attacks on the military is on the rise.

The senior Defence official has concerns about Australia's ability to handle a major attack.

Foreign hackers have gained access to the major political parties in a cyber attack. _______________

The threat to defence itself Major General Thompson said the number one priority of the Information Warfare Division was to defend the military system from attacks, which included the computer systems on planes and ships that could be hacked by the enemy.

"Our focus is on the development of defensive cyber capabilities ‌ for one good reason: the defence of our networks and mission systems is not only the most pressing priority, it's also the harder challenge," he said.

Major General Thompson said the weapons used by the Australian Defence Force were changing with an ever-greater reliance on technology into the future, which added an extra level of security concerns.

"When we consider it won't be too long before there is very little in the Australian Defence Force infantry drive in terms of hydraulics," he said.

"Everything will be fly by wire, sail by wire, drive by wire.

"The first thing that happens when that ship comes alongside or the aircraft is towed into a hangar is that someone is going to plug in an electronic device.

"So procedures around the hygiene of that device, both passive and active defence of those platforms and missions systems as well as our computer networks, that's where we are focusing our attention right now."

The Information Warfare division also oversees cyber attacks that Australia launches on foreign forces in war zones, and Major General Thompson said he expected the number of "offensive attacks" to increase.

"Whether that's stopping a drone from dropping a grenade, or [stopping] flying explosives into one of our locations, we need to be able to defend against that type of threat and we do."

He said there were two main reasons the nature of warfare was changing from soldiers with guns to soldiers armed with keyboards.

"The cost of entry into this area is incredibly low relative to other military capabilities, [and] there is a greater opportunity for the various uses of cyber space as a society becomes more dependent on information and our electronic devices."

Political reporter Stephanie Borys https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-19/australianarmy-under-cyber-attack-major-general-marcusthompson/10822966

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H istor ica l

THE BEAUFIGHTER

TEAM THE BEAUFIGHTER TEAM

Alan Brown (AWM: 2017.520.1.3922/ Australian Institute of Professional Photography)

A Brothers in Arms RIGHT: Pilot Officer Alan Brown and Navigator Vic “Possum” Whitfield.

routine WWII night fighter mission suddenly found 21-year-old Pilot Officer Alan Brown and 23-yearold Navigator Vic “Possum” Whitfield committed to a deadly duel as their BELOW: matte-black Beaufighter engaged a Alan and his German flak train they spotted. wife Edna.

With their night fighter’s limited When two ‘Colonials’ joined theammunition Royal Air Force, a only life-long loading, short friendship was forged and a stealth duooftook the night skies. bursts .303 to rounds from its six Browning machine guns were possible, Wayne Brown interspersed with 20mm cannon fire from the quad Hispano Mk 3s.

Wayne Brown Meanwhile, the Germans fired heavy streams of colourful 20mm tracered their morethe generous A routine WWII night fighter mission projectiles damagefrom and have aircraft back to reserves in response. suddenly found 21-year-old Pilot Officer operational status as soon as possible.

Reeling from multiple strikes, Alan Brown and 23-yearold Navigator the Both German and Japanese foes damaged “Beau” beat a hasty EDITION 05 2018 RSLQLD.ORG Vic 30“Possum” Whitfield committed to withdrawal, dubbed the Beaufighter hoping its twin Hercules a deadly duel as their matte-black engines were still capable of powering “Whispering Death” for its ability to back to base.arrive After a on long,the anxious Beaufighter engaged a German flak itsuddenly scene, creating flight they finally landed safely. train they spotted. havoc.

The ever-reliable ground crew had With their night fighter’s limited Dodging enemy flak and cannon fire to patch over 20 sizeable holes, check ammunition loading, only short for was a very different scenario to Alan serious structural damage and have bursts of .303 rounds from its six the Brown’s pre-war vocation – picking aircraft back to operational status Browning machine guns were possible, asapples soon as possible.

Bothfamily German orchard and on the near foes dubbed the Beaufighter interspersed with 20mm cannon fire Japanese Bapaume in South East Queensland.

“Whispering Death” for its ability to from the quad Hispano Mk 3s.

The nine-year-old first became suddenly arrive on the scene, apples on the family orchard near Having completed 100 mission Meanwhile, the Germans fired heavy interested in planes and flying as creating havoc.

Bapaume in South East Queensland. he was offered two choices – do streams of colourful 20mm tracered he climbed tall tofire prolong the Dodging enemyaflak andtree cannon The nine-year-old first became another 100 or go home. Say no projectiles from their more generous was a very different scenario to Alan Tiger interested more! It took two weeks to get fr magical sight of a buzzing Moth in planes and flying as he Brown’s pre-war vocation – picking climbed a tall tree to prolong the Athens to Bombay, via stopovers reserves in response. as it barnstormed in the district. school, aged 12, the fruit block magical sight of a buzzing Tiger Moth Cairo, needed Callia (the Dead Se Reeling from multiple strikes, the When Alan’s father, “Pop” Brown attention, as did hisAdem, relationship as it barnstormed in the district.

Habbinyah, Basrah,with Bahrein, Dub damaged “Beau” beat a hasty purchased an AstorWhen radioAlan’s lifelong father, “Pop” Brown Edna Jiwan and Karachi.Still partner, Chappell. withdrawal, hoping its for 10 pounds, with an Astor purchased radio for 10 at pounds, missing the Liberty ship fro inseparable 95, theyJust met as country twin Hercules engines part of the withdeal part of the deal including a fiveBombay, Alan was seconded into neighbours living only 12 miles from were still capable of minute joy in a Tiger Moth, Alan military postal system for six wee including a flight each on other. became hooked flying! until the next sailing. After two powering it back five really minute Alan’s service the in Melbo But when Alan finished school, agedduring weeksWWII at sea, was he arrived to base. After a joy flight 12, the fruit block needed attention, and jumped on a northbound tra only time they were apart.

Within a week long, anxious in as a did Tiger his relationship with life-home they alighting at Stanthorpe in Queen of returning were married, flight they finally M long o t partner, h , Edna Chappell. Still was finally home after a three with Alan in full dressHe uniform. landed safely.

A inseparable l a n at 95, they met as country a-half-year hiatus.

Having completed 100 missions, he19-year-o The everSigning up in 1941, r eneighbours a l l y living only 12 miles from was offered two choices – do another other.

Alan trained first in long-admir reliable ground b e each cam e Alan’s service100 during WWII was the Tiger Moths at Narromine or go home.

Say no more!

It took two in N crew had to hooked on they were apart. Within a only time South Wales.

Following weeks to get from Athens to Bombay, this, he patch over 20 flying! week of returning home they were flew Ansons in Alberta, Canada via stopovers at El Adem, Cairo, Callia sizeable holes, check B u t married, w h e nwith Alan in full then back to Moths and Ansons (the Dead Sea), Habbinyah, Basrah, for serious structural Wiltshire, England, as a sergean A l a n f i n idress s h uniform. ed

When two ‘Colonials’ joined the Royal Air Force, a life-long friendship was forged and a stealth duo took to the night skies.

Bahrein, Dubai, Jiwan and Karachi.

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EDITION 05 2018 RSLQLD.ORG

H i sto r i ca l

THE BEAUFIGHTER TEAM

EDITION 05 2018 RSLQLD.ORG 31 Just missing the Liberty ship from Bombay, Alan was seconded into the military postal system for six weeks until the next sailing. After two weeks at sea, he arrived in Melbourne and jumped on a northbound train, alighting at Stanthorpe in Queensland.

He was finally home after a threeanda- half-year hiatus.

Signing up in 1941, 19-year-old Alan trained first in long-admired Tiger Moths at Narromine in New South Wales. Following this, he flew Ansons in Alberta, Canada, then back to Moths and Ansons at Wiltshire, England, as a sergeant, before climbing into the pilot’s seat of Beauforts and Beaufighters in

September 1943.

By early 1944, he was flying familiarisation sorties in the Royal Air Force’s (RAF) 46 Squadron, based in North Africa. The ‘Colonials’ had arrived!

Alan and “Poss” were the only Australians embedded into the unit. The two like-minded airmen were soberly intent on getting on with the task at hand and each had a deep appreciation of the other’s particular skills.

Poss was married with one child and Alan was engaged to Edna. An engine failed on their second flight together, leading to a “safe” crash landing. Poss was impressed with Alan’s calm hand at the controls.

Many times, on night patrols, Poss’s innate knowledge of astral navigation directed them safely to one of several alternative Allied airfields dotted across North Africa. He’d been a boy scout, with a grounding in compass usage and star recognition, greatly assisting navigation when nocturnal landmarks were invisible. Poss’s nickname derived from his habit of curling into a ball, possum-like, while sleeping.

A total of 100 operations together welded them into a formidable team.

The only incidences of skylarking were a low-level flight between the pyramids and a couple of jaunts past Gallipoli, where Pop Brown served for several months after going ashore on the second day.

Convoy patrols, strafing trains, staff cars, lorries and Axis troops camped in Athens stadium were all in a night’s work. So, too, were clandestine insertions of agents behind enemy lines, ELAS underground missions and longrange reconnaissance.

On several occasions, return fire peppered the “Beau”, with some hot enemy rounds ripping between the pilot’s legs – tearing trousers, but missing flesh. Minor physical injuries did occur when their aircraft pancaked or crashed and burned on landing, due to battle damage.

Tolerating the invasive annoyance of frequent sandstorms, poor diet and makeshift accommodation was merely part of being in a RAF unit, which treated the Colonials as somewhat inferior beings. The pair simply got on

with the job, keeping apart from the reckless, carousing behaviour of their peers and survived.

Always looking forward to contact with home, they keenly awaited mail.

Once, 110 days lapsed between deliveries. The drought was broken when a sackful of 130 letters arrived between them!

On each mission, no personal identification was allowed, while silk maps were issued should they land behind enemy lines and tiny compass buttons fastened on flight jackets. Both sat on a parachute and inflatable life raft and wore a life jacket under their flight jacket.

Flights took up to five hours, with no toilet facilities; a plastic water bottle and a sandwich was their only sustenance.

Rapid preparedness for action was paramount. Their record “scramble” time was two-and-a-half minutes and their average was four minutes.

All missions were single aircraft operations; most with specific tasks, but with practical latitude to pursue and destroy Axis bombers, night fighters or ground targets of opportunity. Each

“TOLERATING THE INVASIVE ANNOYANCE OF FREQUENT SANDSTORMS, POOR DIET AND MAKESHIFT ACCOMMODATION WAS MERELY PART OF BEING IN A RAF UNIT, WHICH TREATED THE COLONIALS AS SOMEWHAT INFERIOR BEINGS. THE PAIR SIMPLY GOT ON WITH THE JOB, KEEPING APART FROM THE RECKLESS, CAROUSING BEHAVIOUR OF THEIR PEERS AND SURVIVED.”

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H i sto r i ca l

night fighter Beau had flame arresters grounded from driving his Holden ute.TEAM fitted to the exhaust, while oneTHEsmall BEAUFIGHTER I’m sure, however, that if hooded lamp each were the only visual aids for the crew. The matte-black he climbed into the cockpit of exterior camouflage colouring assisted a restored Beau and pulled on FUELLING AUSTRALIA in the aircraft being almost invisible until his leather helmet, he could still perform a few aerobatics and looparmament firing flashes gave away its RIGHT: routine WWII night fighter Pilot Officer mission done suddenly found the-loops. Well Alan – your presence.

Alan Brown 21-year-old Pilot Officer and Navigator family, friends, ex-servicemen and For almost three-and-a-half years, Alan Brown and 23-yearVic “Possum” old Navigator Vic “Possum” Whitfield this particular nephew are truly Alan flew a variety of aircraft in both Whitfield. committed to a deadly duel as their proudmatte-black of you. training and aerial combat at locationsAlanBELOW: Beaufighter engaged a and his flak train they spotted. around the world. Now, it was time to wife Edna. German With their night fighter’s limited ammunition loading, only short get married, settle down and enjoy a POSTSCRIPT Sadly,bursts Vicof “Possum” wasn’t .303 rounds fromWhitfield its six well-earned rest. guns were possible,life. able toBrowning enjoymachine much post-war interspersed with 20mm cannon But this was not to be the case. In Hefirepassed away from appendicitis from the quad Hispano Mk 3s.

1946, after the family farm as old, the complications Meanwhile, thejust Germans fired heavy a few weeks after streams of colourful 20mm tracered Browns moved to the Sunshine Coast, returning home via more America, projectiles from their generous and only reserves in response. where Alan’s love for being aloft soon two days after a fond reunion visit from from multiple strikes, found him heavily involved in regional Alan. theReeling damaged “Beau” beat a hasty On another sad note, Alan’s wife withdrawal, hoping its twin Hercules gliding clubs over several decades. engines wereaway still capable of powering Edna passed in November 2017 He flew, mentored trainees and it back to base. After a long, anxious following a brief illness, not long after flight they finally landed safely. piloted the towing planes on hundreds of ever-reliable ground had she hadTheproof-read andcrew approved this occasions, hauling gliders into the wide article.to patch over 20 sizeable holes, check for serious structural damage and have blue yonder, before casting them adrift This article first appeared the aircraft back to operational status in Edition Pilot Officer Alan Brown and Navigator as soon as possible. Both German to soar independently. At the age of 5, 2018 of Queensland RSLandNews and Vic “Possum” Whitfield.

Japanese foes dubbed the Beaufighter 95, he only recently became medically is republished withforpermission.

“Whispering Death” its ability to

A

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suddenly arrive on the scene, creating havoc.

Dodging enemy flak and cannon fire was a very different scenario to Alan Brown’s pre-war vocation – picking

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The nine-year-old first became interested in planes and flying as he climbed a tall tree to prolong the magical sight of a buzzing Tiger Moth as it barnstormed in the district.

When Alan’s father, “Pop” Brown purchased an Astor radio for 10 pounds, with part of the deal including a fiveminute joy flight in a Tiger Moth, Alan reallyutmost became hooked on flying! fuels and handles them with the But when Alan finished school, aged care. The aviation tanker fleet is fitted 12, the fruit block needed attention, did his relationship with lifewith specialised filtration assystems long partner, Edna Chappell. Still ensuring that we have no contamination inseparable at 95, they met as country neighbours and our customers can get back in living the only 12 miles from each other. air, faster.

Alan’s service during WWII was the only time they were apart. Within a Like the diesel stop network, IOR week of returning home they were married,at with16 Alan in full operates an aviation network dress uniform.

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Having completed 100 missions, he was offered two choices – do another 100 or go home. Say no more! It took two weeks to get from Athens to Bombay, via stopovers at El Adem, Cairo, Callia (the Dead Sea), Habbinyah, Basrah, Bahrein, Dubai, Jiwan and Karachi.

Just missing the Liberty ship from Bombay, Alan was seconded into the military postal system for six weeks until the next sailing. After two weeks at sea, he arrived in Melbourne and jumped on a northbound train, alighting at Stanthorpe in Queensland.

He was finally home after a three-anda-half-year hiatus.

Signing up in 1941, 19-year-old Alan trained first in long-admired Tiger Moths at Narromine in New South Wales. Following this, he flew Ansons in Alberta, Canada, then back to Moths and Ansons at Wiltshire, England, as a sergeant,

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C yber

Australia sharing opportunities with NASA renewed push for the moon NASA has cleared up its plans to get to the moon in 2024, four years sooner that it originally planned.

That will first involve speed in getting American boots onto the moon, with sustainability later. In a speech to the 35th Space Symposium in Colorado, US, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine said all the elements of getting man back to the moon in 2028 still existed but the order would change.

“The first phase is speed. We want to get those boots on the moon as soon as possible. Anything that is a distraction from making that happen we’re getting rid of,” he said.

Man hasn’t set foot on the moon since the last of the US Apollo missions in December 1972. No other nation has landed men on the moon.

NASA now plans to return. China also said it plans to land men on the moon around 2030.

N A S A’ s p l a n s h a v e been substantially accelerated by the current US administration, with vice-president Mike Pence declaring last month it was the stated policy of this administration and the US to return astronauts to the moon within the next five years.

However, to achieve that, much work is needed. There’s no moon lander yet, though there is a spacecraft, the Orion.

That will undergo an unmanned test flight next year and the first crewed mission soon after.

The US also plans to position a station in orbit over the moon as a

32

gateway for the moon landings. That facility may now possess just a few of the elements originally proposed for it.

NASA has also accelerated development of the lunar lander.

Once man has returned to the moon, NASA will focus on long-term sustainability. That includes enhancing gateway capability and ensuring key equipment like the lunar lander could be reused.

“We’re building a capability, we’re building an architecture that’s ultimately sustainable for the long run. All this was already planned for 2028. We’re just going to accelerate pieces of it,” Mr Bridenstine said.

He said NASA would be seeking more money, sending an amended budget proposal to Congress.

“We’re going to be going back to Congress with an increased budget request. If we could maybe ask our international partners to step up a little more, that would be great as well,” Mr Bridenstine said.

Could that include Australia?

“Great to meet with @NASA to discuss collaboration opportunities with the @AusSpaceAgency. Looking forward to building on over 50 years of collaboration on space activities between #Australia and the #UnitedStates,” tweeted Australian Space Agency deputy head Anthony Murfett.

“I met with over 20 of our international partners at #SpaceSymposium. The common thread is that everyone is excited about moving forward to the moon together, and we’re mobilizing support worldwide to make it happen,” Mr Bridenstine tweeted.

Courtesy Space Connet

C yb e r

Australian Civil Space Strategy released The Australian Space Agency (ASA) has released a 10 year plan to guide the growth of the country’s civilian space industry.

The plan lays out a number of ‘strategic space pillars’ that aim to create a competitive environment for industry: international, leveraging bilateral and multilateral partnerships to make Australian players globally competitive; national, to bring the benefits of a growing space sector into the wider economy; responsible, to guide activity under an appropriate framework and adhere to international norms; and inspire, investing in the next generation of space workers.

These will be developed in three phases –setting the conditions for growth in 2019, ‘engaging with opportunity’ between 2019-2021, and ‘delivering success’ between 2021-2028.

The second and third phases will see delivery of the $15 million International Space Investment Initiative, the $19.5 million Space Infrastructure Fund, the

finalising of legislation and regulations, and a focus on robotics, automation, launch, space situational awareness, and more.

The first two national civil space priorities – position, navigation and timing, and Earth observation – received $224.9m and $36.9m respectively to Geoscience Australia in the 2018 Federal Budget.

“With the rapid transformation of the sector the time is right for Australia to leverage its competitive advantages; with our unique location to connect with space; robotics, sensors and automation; and our capability in advanced communication, quantum technology, rocket propulsion, space medicine and astronomy, to take its place in the global space sector,” Agency head Dr Megan Clarke said.

Dr Clarke also went into specific detail on what exactly the Agency hopes to achieve.

“We will report every two years on our progress towards our goal of tripling

the sector’s contribution to GDP to $12 billion and creating an additional 20,000 jobs by 2030,” Dr Clark said. “We also aim to stimulate at least a $1 billion pipeline of inbound capital investment in Australia’s civil space industry sector between 2019 and 2028; [and] achieve year-on-year growth of the Australian space sector that exceeds 8.5 per cent.”

According to the strategy, the ASA also hopes to participate in a joint international mission before 2028.

There are a number of challenges ahead that the document acknowledges.

Foremost amongst these is the competitiveness of the global sector.

A u s t r a l i a ’s a e r o s p a c e i n d u s t r y, which underpins space presence, is significantly smaller than those of the US and Europe. This means Australian companies will need to focus on areas of comparative advantage, such as geography, in order to demonstrate value to cashed-up foreign players.

Courtesy Australian Defence Magazine

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D e fe n ce

Assistant Minister for Defence inspects HMAS Stirling construction works With work scheduled for completion next year, Assistant Minister for Defence David Fawcett has examined the works being delivered by Doris Contractors under the HMAS Stirling Redevelopment 3A Project.

HMAS Stirling's primary purpose is to provide operational and logistics support to Royal Australian Navy ships, submarines and aircraft based in Western Australia, and is the homeport for about half of the RAN's major combatant force.

“Defence is investing $366.8 million in this project to provide major upgrade works to address shortfalls in essential services and structures resulting from age and the continuing population growth at the base. The redevelopment will support current and projected operational and support capabilities," Senator Fawcett said.

“The project has provided significant employment opportunities for approximately 2,000 workers from the Perth and Rockingham region, with all subcontractors engaged on the project local to the area. Indigenous participation is at approximately 5.4 per cent."

The redevelopment, which has been planned since 2010, features the following: • Infrastructure upgrades; • New buildings; • Refurbishments; and • Expansions and repairs.

The $367 million redevelopment started in 2017, with the upgrades anticipated to meet requirements until at least 2030.

"The strong economic management of the federal Liberal government is allowing it to continue to restore Defence capability after Labor’s savage $18 billion defence funding cuts, which drove the budget to pre-WW2 levels. We are also ensuring that local companies, contractors and tradies have a fairer and bigger slice of the work through recent initiatives such as Local Industry Capability Plans,” Senator Fawcett added.

HMAS Stirling was commissioned in 1978 and features a Submarine Escape Training Facility, one of only six in the world and the only one constructed in the southern hemisphere.

Courtesy Defence Connect

HMAS Stirling provides operational and logistics support to Royal Australian Navy ships, submarines and aircraft based in Western Australia. Photo LSIS Richard Cordell.

ARH Tiger suppor t contr act extension announced

The Australian Government has announced an extension to Airbus Australia Pacific’s through-life support (TLS) contract for the Australian Army’s Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH).

The ARH Tiger, first introduced into service in 2004, has matured into a critical asset for the Australian Defence Force.

Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP said the extension of the current support arrangements for the ARH Tiger demonstrated the Government’s ongoing commitment to this important Defence capability while providing long-term certainty for hundreds of defence industry employees across Australia.

“With an anticipated value of up to $790 million, this contract will see the continued employment of 60 staff in Darwin who provide maintenance and logistics support services at Army’s 1st Aviation Regiment,” Minister Pyne said.

Minister for Defence Industry, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, said this investment would see the retention of 70 staff at the Army Aviation Training Centre in Oakey, Queensland, along with a further 130 skilled staff at Brisbane airport who provide commercial, engineering and logistics services.

“As part of this arrangement there is a provision for Airbus to provide long term labour to support the continued capability of Army aviation platforms across Australia.

“It allows Defence to exercise flexibility to continue its work with existing industry partners to support and improve the fleet whilst also meeting the capability requirements of the Army,” Minister Reynolds said. https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/minister/

35

D efence

Defence Budget Summary – Steady as she goes, but spending risk remains The government is on track to lift Defence funding to the fabled two per cent of GDP in 2020/21, but that could involve a substantial $3 billion jump which Defence may find difficult to spend.

For 2019/20, the total defence budget will be $38.7 billion – up from $36.4 billion in 2018-19 – which takes Defence’s share of GDP to 1.93 per cent.

This year’s Defence budget papers are free of surprises or any new spending on new equipment. The big projects are already under way and with an election looming, the government can gain better headlines with announcements away from the budget and during the election campaign.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the budget maintained the government’s commitment to grow the Defence budget to two per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2020/21.

He said this budget featured strong investment in national security with a particular focus on enhancing regional security, building defence capability, and supporting sovereign defence industry.

Minister Pyne said Australia would continue to make a meaningful contribution to the US-led international mission to counter the Islamic State group in Iraq. Australia has around 400 personnel in Iraq engaged in training Iraqi security forces under Task Group Taji. Similarly, he said Australia remained committed to assisting the government of Afghanistan to ensure the country never again became a safe haven for terrorists.

Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) senior analyst Marcus Hellyer said the 2019/20 Defence budget spending of $38.7 billion meant the government was on track to take defence spending to two per cent of GDP on 2020/21.

“But actually the budget has remained pretty flat from last year to this year. It is only a 1.2 per cent increase in real terms,” Mr Hellyer said. “To get to two per cent next year is quite a big 36

This budget featured strong investment in national security with a particular focus on enhancing regional security, building defence capability, and supporting sovereign defence industry. Photo CPOIS Cameron Martin.

jump. They actually need an increase of $3 billion to get to two per cent next year.

“Increasing spending quickly is always hard, particularly if you are relying on things like shipbuilding which are pretty slow to ramp up.”

Mr Hellyer said that could actually be quite challenging for Defence, as that involved a 5.3 per cent increase in spending in real-terms.

With the federal election looming, the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) and the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) have a special responsibility to protect government information networks from hostile intrusion, and to safeguard the integrity of the poll.

The government is investing in the creation of cyber security ‘Sprint Teams’, and a cyber security response fund, but won’t say how much this will cost “due to national security reasons”.

Minister Pyne said development of the Osborne North Shipyard was continuing in preparation for construction of the 12 new Attack class submarines, while the $535 million redevelopment at Osborne South was on track for completion next year in time for the

start of prototyping of the new Hunter class frigates.

The budget papers show the ramp up of spending on major acquisition projects. Heading the list is the acquisition of Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II fighters, with $2.389 billion to be spent in 2019-20. The first two of a planned 72 arrived in Australia in December and 19 more are to be delivered by the end of next year.

The remaining four of 12 Boeing P-8A maritime patrol aircraft will be delivered in 2019/20 with $360 million of the $5.3 billion project cost to be paid out, although there was no word on the three additional P-8As that were optioned when aircraft 9-12 were announced in early 2016.

Spending on the Hunter class frigates next year will more than double to $492 million. But somewhat curiously, spending on the Attack class submarine project falls from $456 million last year to $289 million despite the budget papers saying the submarine program will continue working with Naval Group and Lockheed Martin Australia on the submarine design.

Courtesy Australian Defence Business Review

D e fe n ce

Cocos runway to be widened as Defence looks north Defence is moving ahead on plans to upgrade the Cocos/Keeling Islands airport to support P8-A Poseidons, a move that would allow the aircraft to patrol significant stretches of the northern Indian Ocean.

An industry information session was held in Perth outlining the works required to allow the airport to accommodate the aircraft. This includes runway, taxiway and apron strengthening, widening, airfield ground lighting refurbishment, and ‘various compliance works’ under Project 8129.

The $100-$200 million project, noted in the 2016 Defence White Paper,

remains subject to government and Parliamentary approval.

RAAF regularly operated AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft from Cocos Island, which have a wingspan of 30.8 metres and a maximum weight of 61,200 kg. The Poseidons, however, are significantly wider (37.6 metres) and heavier (85,820 kg), necessitating runway expansion and pavement strengthening.

A wider runway might open the possibility of deploying the new MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime patrol aircraft to Cocos Island, which have a similar wingspan to Poseidons. The far greater

A wider runway might open the possibility of deploying the new MQ-4C Triton unmanned maritime patrol aircraft to Cocos Island. Northrop Grumman image.

endurance of the Triton would represent a significant step-up in Defence’s ability to conduct maritime patrol missions over virtually the entire Indian Ocean, which is seeing an increase in Chinese naval activity in recent years.

However, the Triton’s significant wingspan makes the fuel stored within vulnerable to the tropical heat, meaning operations would likely require a sun shelter in addition to permanent facilities for the launch and recovery crew.

Defence’s response to ADM suggests this is not planned under Project 8219.

“The upgrade will not include new buildings or shelters,” a spokesperson said. “The length of the runway will remain at 2,441 metres. The shoulder will increase from 3.5 to 7.5 metres.”

Defence also said that no P8-A support personnel would be permanently based at the airport, but did not mention staff for other aircraft (such as the M-55A Peregrine EW planes).

“The existing supporting infrastructure at the airport is currently sufficient to support P-8A Poseidon operations,” the spokesperson said.

“There will not be any P-8A Poseidon aircraft permanently based at Cocos Island, therefore there is no requirement to base P-8A Poseidon support staff there permanently.”

The move supports the operational role of the two aircraft, with the Triton acting as loitering surveillance and the P-8A as the response asset.

An improved airstrip on Cocos Island will also allow Australian P-8As (and possibly M-55As) to patrol much closer to India’s area of interest. Canberra has been seeking to improve defence relations with New Delhi through participation in multilateral military exercises such as AUSINDEX and Pitch Black, deployments like IndoPacific Endeavour, and high-level political visits. New Delhi, however, has repeatedly denied Australian requests to participate in Exercise Malabar, which it holds alongside the US and Japan, for fear of provoking China.

Courtesy Australian Defence

37

D efence

AUSINDEX 2019 commences in India A Royal Australian Navy (RAN) maritime task group has commenced AUSINDEX, a major bienial bilateral exercise, with the Indian Navy in Visakhapatnam, India.

The exercise was first held in India in 2015 with this year’s third iteration to focus on anti-submarine warfare, incorporating maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft, and more than 1,200 Australian personnel.

Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP said AUSINDEX 2019 provides an opportunity for Australia and India to hone their anti-

submarine warfare capabilities in support of a stable and secure Indian Ocean.

“By 2035, the Indo-Pacific region will see around half of the world’s submarines operating in its waters,” Minister Pyne said.

“India is a significant security partner for Australia in the Indian Ocean and in the broader Indo-Pacific region. We share a strong commitment to an open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific and to a resilient rules-based global order.

“Australia is committed to deepening our engagement with India and I’m

pleased that our bilateral defence relationship continues to go from strength to strength. We have gone from 11 defence exercises, meetings and activities in 2014 to 38 in 2018.”

Fleet Commander, Rear Admiral Jonathan Mead, AM, RAN, said AUSINDEX 2019 saw Indian and Australian navies working through a set of increasingly complex activities and scenarios involving command and control, communications and maritime manoeuvre.

“The ultimate aim of the activity is to practice maintaining sea lines of communications in a complex submarine environment,” Rear Admiral Mead said.

“AUSINDEX 2019 is far more complex than the previous two iterations and by enhancing our interoperability, including with allocated air assets, Australia and India will be better prepared to work together to address future threats to the regional order.

“This year we have drawn upon capabilities from our Indo-Pacific Endeavour Joint Task Force to demonstrate the importance of a fully integrated force to meet these future challenges.”

HMA Ships Canberra, Success, Newcastle and Parramatta, supported by the submarine HMAS Collins and a Royal Australian Air Force P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft participated in AUSINDEX 2019.

Engagement with India through AUSINDEX is the cornerstone of Australia’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor series this year. Indo-Pacific Endeavour 19 is the Australian Defence Force’s major regional engagement activity and delivers on the promise of the 2016 Defence White Paper to strengthen Australia’s engagement and partnerships with regional security forces. https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/

A Royal Australian Air Force P8-A Poseidon maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft participated in AUSINDEX 2019. CPL Kylie Gibson.

38

D e fe n ce

ADF’s largest networked simulation system virtually delivered April; Lockheed Martin Australia signed a contract with the Australian government to deliver Australia’s largest, networked simulation system.

In partnership with Calytrix Technologies and NEC Australia, this team will work to transform how the Australian Defence Force trains and develops future generations of Defence personnel.

Chief Executive, Lockheed Martin Australia Vince Di Pietro said the team of partners was providing a uniquely Australian solution for the ADF creating up to 100 jobs located in Canberra, Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth.

“The addition of 5th generation capabilities such as the F-35 and Aegis, means Australia has one of the most modern defence forces in the world,” Mr Di Pietro said.

“JP9711 will transform the ADF’s approach to training and simulation, ensuring the latest technologies are used to best prepare our service personnel for the complexity and challenges of the future.”

He said The partnership with Calytrix Technologies and NEC u n d e r p i n e d L o c k h e e d M a r t i n ’s continued commitment to developing and sustaining relationships with highly innovative high-tech local companies.

“Calytrix is a prime example of our commitment to Australian owned businesses, delivering not

just job opportunities but the further development of its cutting-edge virtual 3D training software – Titan – as a core element of our solution, thus enhancing local IP and export opportunities.

Amy Gowder, Vice President and General Manager, Lockheed Martin Training and Logistics Solutions based in Orlando, Florida, said, the Distributed Mission Training capability integrated live, virtual and constructive entities into one shared training environment, creating interoperability across all military platforms.

Minister for Defence Christopher Pyne said the contract Defence had entered into with Lockheed Martin Australia formed part of the Government’s total investment of $897 million in ADF simulation capabilities.

“The partnership with Lockheed Martin Australia will deliver Defence’s core simulation capability, and result in new simulation technologies integrating with existing ADF systems” Mr Pyne said.

“This important project will provide more simulation-supported training events on a broader scale, and ensure that simulation-enabled collective training is conducted in secure and realistic environments.”

Minister for Defence Industry Linda Reynolds said the Lockheed Martin Australia consortium required a skilled workforce, increased by 100 personnel for this project, to deliver this transformative capability.

“I congratulate the consortium for their continued involvement in science, technology, engineering and maths – STEM – programs,” she said.

“We want our soldiers, sailors and aircrew to be fully prepared for any situation they may face and simulation is a vital part of that preparation, and provides training opportunities that are not always possible in real-world situations.”

Lockheed Martin photo

Army and Navy Helicopter Aircrew Training System Achieves Milestone The Australian Defence Force’s Helicopter Aircrew Training System for the Army and Navy has declared an initial operational capability (IOC).

Designed to replace Navy’s Airbus AS350BA Squirrels and Army’s Bell 206B Kiowas with one training system, HATS is a combined Boeing/Thales team offering 15 Airbus EC135 T2+ helicopters, new synthetic training devices and courseware adopted under Project AIR 9000 Phase 7.

An Australian Army OH-58A Kiowa leads a Royal Australian Navy AS-350BA Squirrel and its replacement a Eurocopter EC-135 over the skies of Nowra, NSW. Photo LSIS Jayson Tufrey.

39

F eat ure Story

FUTURE AIR AMBULANCES COULD BECOME FLYING HOSPITALS

Leonardo Helicopters is working with international medical associations to study the technologies required for future emergency medical service (EMS) helicopters.

Use of helicopters is about speed, getting emergency medical providers to the scene of an incident as fast as possible, stabilizing the patient on-site and then flying them back to the hospital. Photo LAC Terry Hartin.

40

F e a tu r e Sto r y

The air ambulance has transformed health care systems, saving lives by speeding up the transit of emergency patients to hospitals, but also reaching them in places too remote or difficult to access by road.

But air ambulance service also has its limitations.

In most civilian EMS operations, use of helicopters is about speed, getting emergency medical providers to the scene of an incident as fast as possible, stabilizing the patient on-site and then flying them back to the hospital. Little or no treatment is usually provided while the patient is in flight.

Rotary-wing flight is not exactly conducive to treatment, as there is much vibration, noise makes it hard to communicate and the small size of cabins in some helicopters can make it difficult to work on the patient, especially when bulky medical equipment is onboard.

But Leonardo believes the right technologies could allow significant medical procedures to be performed in-flight, adding time to the so-called Golden Hour, the period after a traumatic incident when prompt medical treatment can prevent death.

Over the last two years, Leonardo has been working with Siaarti—the Italian Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia, Resuscitation and Intensive Care— on the publication of guidelines for helicopter EMS (HEMS) operations.

The company is also working with AAROI-EMAC, an Italian association of resuscitation and emergency medical anesthetists, to develop courses for HEMS doctors and nurses. This has also attracted the interest of several operators and associations in Australia, Europe and the U.S. In addition to working on its Future HEMS concepts, the company is developing its Helicopter Rescue and Operational System (HEROS) training facility, which will support both rescue and medical training courses.

“The earlier you can provide lifesaving care to the patient, the more chance you have of reducing permanent damage to the patients and saving lives,” says Massimo Quocchini, the company’s head of HEMS marketing.

Technology is already changing the

ability of helicopters to fly and navigate in all types of weather, notes Quocchini.

“If the hospital is open all the time, then the helicopter should be available all the time, too,” he says.

Enhanced vision systems, nightvision goggle compatibility and helicopter terrain awareness warning systems are increasingly becoming standard rotary-wing equipment to support safer all-weather operation, particularly at night. Leonardo is also developing a 3D version of its Obstacle Proximity Lidar System (OPLS), which provides aural and visual warnings of obstacles near the blades of the helicopter, enabling landings in more confined spaces.

Developments in performancebased navigation have also improved the capabilities of helicopters, but when crews need to pinpoint the exact location of an injured patient, one way to do that may involve tracking the location of a person’s cellphone. Such technology has already been developed for use by Norway’s search-and-rescue helicopters for government missions.

The company is also working to develop a full deicing system for its AW169 intermediate-light twin-engine helicopter to meet a Rega Swiss Air Ambulance requirement. The first AW169 for Rega is due for delivery in 2020.

Leonardo is also in the process of certifying its AW119Kx helicopter for single-engine instrument flight rules to meet the specifications for the U.S. Navy’s helicopter trainer. Such a capability will also likely be desired in the U.S. for EMS missions.

Smoother flight could become possible with the company’s work on active main rotor blades and electric tail rotors.

The marketplace for EMS helicopters is also evolving, with operators taking on increasingly larger aircraft for the mission. While most EMS helicopters in the U.S. are small single-engine types, specialist medical centers have purchased larger models, including Airbus H155 twin-engine medium helicopters for medical transfers, particularly suited for babies in bulky incubators. Operators in Australia, Canada and China are using or planning

to use Leonardo’s AW139 for that mission.

Another factor driving the move toward larger types is that patients are becoming both taller and heavier.

Critical to turning the EMS into a flying hospital will be the interior layout of the aircraft, notes Quocchini. Large cabins provide more space for doctors to perform procedures on patients.

On some air ambulance helicopters, patients are pushed up against a door, or positioned with their legs in the rear fuselage so they can be loaded and unloaded through clamshell doors under the tail boom.

“Doctors want to be able to provide basic surgical intervention in flight,” says Quocchini. Such interventions, he says, could involve anything from stitching of wounds to stop bleeding to intubation (as in a tracheotomy) and performing heart massages.

With the right configuration, it may also be possible to provide so-called ECMO treatments in-flight, a process of oxygenating the blood when the heart and lungs are not functioning well, he says.

Leonardo has already begun to study the use of an onboard wireless internet router to link medical devices onboard without the need to trail wires around the cabin.

Emanuele Bufano, HEMS technology specialist at Leonardo, says a direct real-time link to the hospital will also be critical so that patient data can be monitored not only in the air, but also by the doctors who will receive the patient on the ground. Such a link would also allow specialist doctors to provide advice to medical personnel in the aircraft. Another idea being studied is the use of helmet-mounted displays so that doctors have patient data accessible in front of them throughout the flight.

The company has also tested stretchers with anti-vibration systems built in, to improve comfort for patients with spinal injuries.

There are also proposals to see whether computed tomography scanner technology can be miniaturized or adapted for use on an EMS helicopter.

Courtesy Aviation Week

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H istor ica l

Alf Barlow and Lancaster ‘Popeye’

by Charles Page On 21 July 2004, the people of Papendrecht, Netherlands honoured the crew of Lancaster ND913, ‘Popeye’ which had crashed 60 years previous.

The Dutch people had an undying respect for Allied servicemen who gave their lives, and the townspeople had taken the seven crew into their hearts, and had tended the graves ever since the crash.

The crew came close to surviving the war, with only four operations remaining in their Bomber Command tour. Two of the crew were Australian. The pilot, Flying Officer Colin Clarey was a 30-year-old Queenslander, married with three children, while the rear gunner, Flight Sergeant Charles Alfred Barlow, was from Western Australia.

Charles (Alf) Barlow was born in Wagin on 17 August 1924. The family later moved to Mt Hawthorn, Perth, where Alf attended Perth Boys School and Senior Technical College. He excelled at football, cricket, and skating, and gained his Junior Certificate. After leaving school, he was taken on as a junior machinery assembler (tractors and harvesters) at Massey Harris, Maylands.

Alf was one of the first to join the Air Training Corps, enrolling with 77 Squadron, Claremont on 27 November 1941. He passed his Stage 1 Proficiency, was promoted to Corporal, 42

and discharged on 17 August 1942.

After turning 18, Alf enlisted in the RAAF on 6 October 1942, and was posted to No.4 Initial Training School, Victor Harbor. He trained at No.1 Wireless Air Gunners School, Ballarat and then No.3 Bombing and Gunnery School, West Sale, flying in Oxfords and Fairey Battles. He was above average in gunnery, and was awarded his Air Gunner badge on 24 June 1943.

Alf was destined for Bomber Command, and on 30 August 1943, he embarked at Melbourne, bound for UK. The usual route was by ship to San Francisco, train to New York, and then troopship across the North Atlantic to Firth of Clyde, Scotland.

He disembarked on 9 October, and travelled by train to 11 Personnel Dispatch Reception Centre, Brighton, where RAAF crews stayed at the Grand or Metropole Hotel, awaiting further posting. Alf enjoyed a short leave, with a visit to London, Australia House and the Boomerang Club, and there were always plenty of dances and cosy English pubs.

It was a short respite for Alf, who was soon posted to No.84 Operational Tr a i n i n g U n i t a t D e s b o r o u g h , Northamptonshire. There he was given further gunnery training on Wellingtons, and crewed up with F/O Colin Clarey (pilot), Sgt Edward Line (navigator), Sgt

Douglas Hancock (wireless operator), Flt Sgt Samuel Kirkland (bomb aimer), and Sgt Arthur Middleton (mid upper gunner). They were later joined by Sgt Herbert Luton (flight engineer). At 19, Alf was the youngest in the crew.

The crew flew fighter affiliation and cross-country exercises, ending with the ‘Bulls Eye’ night exercise. Final training was given on Lancasters at 1678 Heavy Conversion Unit, Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire.

On 29 March 1944, Alf and his crew joined 115 Squadron at RAF Witchford, near Ely, Cambridgeshire.

In preparation for the invasion, Bomber Command had switched targets from Germany to France. The new crew’s first operation was to the Paris area, and further ‘Ops’ included Wissant, Gris Nez, Courtrai, Boulogne, Aachen and Caen.

On 6 June, ‘D’ Day, they bombed the big guns near Lisieux with 18 x 500lb bombs. Navigator Ted Line wrote: ‘Dawn had just broken and it was a marvellous sight to see the solid stream of Lancs, black against the white cloud.

We were the privileged ones because ours was the last attack before the boys landed. As we approached, we could see the hundreds of boats waiting for us to finish. We bombed, and as we turned for home, the boats were approaching the coast. The guns we had bombed

H i sto r i ca l

were so very quiet.’

However, on 11 June they were on the receiving end, when hit by flak during an Op to Nantes. They were lucky to make it back with a heavily damaged tailplane and the rear turret out of action.

On 30 June, along with 266 Lancasters, Halifaxes, and Mosquitos they bombed a wood near VillersBocage, which was hiding a large force of Panzer tanks. Over 1000 tons of bombs were dropped and the target area was obliterated. Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery sent a signal to Bomber Command, ‘It was a most inspiring sight for the Allied soldiers in France to see the might of Bomber Command arrive to join in the battle’.

The squadron was later visited by King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and Princess Elizabeth.

On their 24th Op, Alf and his crew bombed the V1 flying bomb supply dump at Nucort. The now well experienced crew looked set to complete their first tour of 30 Ops, and were beginning to look forward to a well-earned break.

However, this was not to be. At 2330 hrs on 20 July 1944 they took off in Lancaster MkIII, ND913 (sqdn code A4-M2), with nose art ‘Popeye’, on an operation to bomb the well defended synthetic oil plant at Homberg.

At 0145 hrs on 21 July the Lancaster was badly hit in the right wing and caught fire. When the flames reached the bomb bay it exploded and crashed into a polder at Papendrecht on the north bank of De Merwede River, southeast of Rotterdam. One crewman baled out but the parachute was on fire. The Lancaster was claimed by nightfighter pilot Oberleutnant Gottfried Hanneck of 6./NJG 1, making him an ace at five kills.

The crash was witnessed by 15-yearold Peter Van der Giessen, who was on watch in Papendrecht that night, and raised the alarm.

All seven crew were killed, and the next day the villagers found the remains of six of the crew, with only one body intact. The six crew members were buried two days later in Papendrecht General Cemetery. The seventh crewman was found a week later in the crash site, and he too was buried

at Papendrecht. In the first instance only four crew could be identified, but in March 1946, all were identified by a RAF identification team. Alf was identified by his signet ring, engraved ‘CAB’. The graves were originally marked with white wooden crosses, but in 1950 these were replaced with individual headstones. Alf’s headstone reads, ‘Our Hero – A devoted son and only brother to Beryl’.

After 1945, Papendrecht contacted the crew’s families, and these contacts grew into warm friendships, with letters and visits. Then in 1997, the Popeye Lancaster Foundation was formed to commemorate the crew and establish a memorial. This took on great significance, when in 2001, the crash area was allocated for a housing estate, and the Royal Netherlands Salvage and Recovery Team began excavations. The aircraft had been loaded with 1 x 4000 lb ‘Cookie’ and 16 x 500 lb bombs, but no bombs were found in the wreckage. A large amount of wreckage was recovered, including an intact Merlin engine, propellers, main tyres and various components.

Some aircraft parts, including the Merlin engine, propeller blade, and machine gun, were placed on display in the local museum. One propeller blade was donated to the memorial at RAF Kirmington, Lincolnshire.

After the recovery, a Lancaster

Memorial was unveiled on 21 July 2004, sixty years after the crash. The unveiling was attended by the Australian Ambassador, the UK Ambassador, the Burgemeester of Papendrecht, as well as members of the Armed Forces, veterans, relatives, and townspeople.

The crash area was renamed Lancasterplein, and the nearby block of flats was named ‘Lancaster Popeye’.

A book on Lancaster Popeye was published in 2010 by Chris Meijers.

At the 70th anniversary in 2014, an information board was unveiled at the memorial. Every year, on 5 May, Liberation Day, the people of Papendrecht, together with veterans and relatives, commemorate the crew at the Lancasterplein Memorial, and the cemetery. Commemorations are also held on anniversaries of the crash.

Alf is honoured at the International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln; the Australian War Memorial; and the State War Memorial in Kings Park, Perth. He is also honoured by 7 Wing Australian Air Force Cadets, with a Book of Remembrance and Honour Board at RAAF Pearce, and an Honour Board at the Aviation Museum, Bullcreek. His story is included in the book Wings of Valour.

Opposite: Aircrew trainee, Charles Alfred Barlow.

Below: The Lancaster Memorial was unveiled in 2004.

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F eat ure Story

P O W E R P L AY FLTLT Jessica Aldred reveals what the Air and Space Operations Centre is today

Air power effects cover a broad geographic area, influencing multiple ADF areas of operation, from domestic through to global.

The dual-hatted role of Director General Air (in the joint space) and Director General Air Command 44

Operations (Headquarters Air Command), held by AIRCDRE Robert Denney, is responsible for ensuring these effects are realised.

Doctrinally, the Air and Space Operations Centre (AOC) is charged with the planning, execution

and assessment of air power effects via an air campaign.

AIRCDRE Denney said the AOC planned for these air campaigns through a centralised control point to then allow tactical units the ability to execute the plan

and employ their aircraft in support of the force. “The AOC ensures air power effects are apportioned throughout the joint environment as required.

This is particularly important for our low-density,

high-demand assets such as P-8A Poseidon and E-7A Wedgetail,” AIRCDRE Denney said.

The AOC plays a key role in deciding who and what can be supported, and with which asset, all while ensuring the broader aims of the air campaign are progressed.

With our RAAF assets involved in Middle East operations, shortnotice humanitarian relief operations, search-andrescue, and joint exercises, maintaining oversight of all tasks is critical to ensuring Air Force can deliver air power to where it is needed.

AOC Director GPCAPT David Smith said the AOC was permanently forceassigned to Headquarters Joint Operations Command (HQJOC), which meant the AOC planning was aligned with and informed HQJOC planning.

AIR OF AUTHORITY

F e a tu r e Sto r y

“Air power is the highest priority – there is never Plan, execute & assess are key components of Air & Space operations enough air power.” Centre Air Tasking Cycle We are persistently agile to the demands of the joint environment and feel we are able to maximise the employment of our RAAF capabilities across the board,” GPCAPT Smith said.

“The AOC brings together our Air Force subject-matter experts to deliver efficient and effective air power for Australia, our allies and the region.

“This will continue to improve as we stand-up the Combat Plans Division this year, and the Combat Support Division continues to evolve.”

For air power to effectively con-tribute to the joint environment, the AOC utilises the Air Tasking Cycle to plan, execute and assess the employment of air power effects. This also gives Air Force units the information they need to tactically implement their part of the air campaign.

Beginning with the Strategy Division, a number of inputs are considered before campaign objectives are developed. From this, the Air Operations Directive (AOD), is issued, underpinning the entire Air Tasking Cycle.

Combat Plans Division uses the AOD to identify specific targets, weapons allocation and asset or aircraft allocations, identifying the overall weight-of-effort for particular effects. This is captured in the Air Tasking Order (ATO).

The Combat Operations Division is then responsible for the execution of the ATO, providing updated direction to the units and assets involved as the situation evolves and priorities change.

Specialist teams within the AOC provide subject-matter

expertise into planning and execution stages such as targeters, air mobility, joint personnel recovery and aeromedical evacuation.

Once the execution of the current ATO has been completed, the Strategy Division conducts an operational assessment of key objectives, which informs future planning efforts.

Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Division provides intelligence assessments of adversary action, informing the entire AOC through all stages of the Air Tasking Cycle.

45

F eat ure Story

FORCE EXECUTION

ISR AIR TASK ORDER DEVELOPMENT

TARGET DEVELOPMENT

OBJECTIVES, EFFECTS & GUIDANCE

ASSESSMENT

WEAPONEERING & ALLOCATIONS

CAPABILITIES AND COURSES-OF-ACTION ISR Division’s core role is to analyse current and emerging adversary capabilities and courses-of-action in order to inform the Air Tasking Cycle.

In addition, the ISR Operations team plans all ISR effects across the air campaign.

ISR Operations Collection Manager FLTLT Samuel Baldock said the AOC was focused on an effectsbased approach.

“We aim to task subordinate elements with the effect we want

to achieve, not how to achieve it,” FLTLT Baldock said.

“They can make the tactical decision on how to achieve it, enabling effective air power.“ As the sensor tasking authority for DGAIR, ISR Ops works with Air Force units and HQJOC to ensure our RAAF ISR sensors are effectively tasked. The analysis, correlation and fusion team then determines the intelligence ‘so what’ for the air campaign.

“This informs the

2. ISR DIVISION 46

current fight and subsequent tasking and overall distribution of ISR sensors across the air campaign. ”FLTLT Baldock said the AOC was critical to ensuring air power could have the right effect in the joint environment. “ We e n s u r e a i r p o w e r e ff e c t s a r e effectively planned and executed in the joint environment – particularly important for our high-demand, low-quantity ISR assets,” he said.

1. AUSTRALIAN SPACE OPERATIONS CENTRE

SPECIALIST ADVICE Australian Space Operations Centre (AUSSpOC) provides space operational advice to DGAIR, CJOPS and the joint warfighter.

It works closely with coalition partners and external Australian agencies such as the Bureau of Meteorology and Emergency M a n a g e m e n t Australia.

NCO Space CPL Dane Reynolds said AUSSpOC supported all parts of the Air Tasking Cycle with specialist space advice.

“We provide

guidance on satellite vulnerability for the whole ADF, advising tactical units of any space-based risks to their mission,” CPL Reynolds said.

CPL Reynolds has completed a number of space operations courses and enjoyed working in the interesting AUSSpOC environment.

“I have really enjoyed working in AUSSpOC, particularly the confidence from my superiors in my expertise and experience on different tasks, despite my rank,” CPL Reynolds said.

F e a tu r e Sto r y

EXECUTING OPERATIONS Combat Operations Division is the ‘plan execution’ phase of the Air Tasking Cycle.

Former Deputy Chief Combat Operations SQNDLR Patrick Greentree said executing RAAF operations gave him a great insight into what our Air Force achieved every day.“ Combat Operations is a very dynamic environment – no day is the same. We execute operations

which have been meticulously planned from the strategic through to tactical levels, providing oversight and direction from DGAIR,” SQNLDR Greentree said.

“We also provide the Diplomatic Clearance function for our aircraft landing in other countries, and the search-and-rescue response for the entire ADF.” S Q N L D R Greentree said Combat

Operations Division played a critical role linking the wider Air Force to operations.

“We are the key linkage between all Air Force elements conducting operations, and HQJOC,” he said.

“As our Air Force units carry out their assigned tasks, we provide over-arching guidance to ensure they are clear with what we’re directing them to do, which is often at short notice.”

3. COMBAT OPERATIONS DIVISION HIGH ACHIEIVERS Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) is responsible for producing the Air Ta s k i n g O r d e r f o r Combat Plans Division.

Tactical Systems Operator LAC Troy Cannon said the Air Tasking Order outlined to all Air Force units what effects needed to be achieved for operations and exercises.

“With the Air

4. COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS & COMPUTERS

Tasking Order, we can conducting domestic and regional operations or exercises,” LAC Cannon said.

“The AOC is a good posting to gain an understanding of Air Force operations from higher headquarters.

“It helped me gain an understanding of the big picture and why commanders make the decisions they do.”

RESPONSE READY The Joint Personnel Recovery team covers the spectrum of recovery operations from search-andrescue (SAR) in non-threatening environments through to combat SAR and special recovery operations in hostile environments.

Staff Officer Joint Personnel Recovery SQNDLR Peter Fishpool said SAR is

a 24-hour-a-day job, with one of the team always on shift to coordi-nate requests for assistance. “ We c o o r d i n a t e SAR responses as they happen, including requests for assistance from civilian authorities and monitoring any ADF SAR beacon activations,” SQNLDR Fishpool said.

“As part of the Air Tasking Cycle, we

produce personnel recovery and SAR plans for ADF exercises and op-erations, and pass them on to relevant units. “ R e c e n t l y, w e coordinated a SAR plan for an injured civilian yachtsman off WA and our plans were used by the P-8A Poseidon crew to conduct their tactical search and rescue mission.

5. JOINT PERSONNEL RECOVERY 47

F eat ure Story

A CENTRAL CONTROL POINT

6. A ER OM E D I C A L E VA C U AT I O N CONTROL CELL

CLINICAL CARE IN THE AIR The Aeromedical Evacuation Control Cell (AECC) is responsible for the conduct of strategic aeromedical evacuation (AME) for ADF personnel, approved Australian civilians and foreign nationals from an area of operations.

S N C O A M E Coordinator FSGT Robyn McEnearney said the AECC provided specialist AME advice to the Air Tasking Cycle and Headquarters Joint Operations Command.

“When we receive AME requests from our deployed medical staff, we plan the best way

to move the member to their home location or the nearest appropriate health-care facility,” FSGT McEnearney said.

“We task No. 3 AME Squadron to provide clinical care in the air for members who need to be medically returned to Australia, both internationally and domestically.

“With our oversight of strategic, forward and tactical AME, we can make sure DGAIR and ultimately ACAUST have the right advice to plan and conduct AME support for any ADF operation or exercise.”

The Joint Airspace Control Cell (JACC) is the central point of airspace management for the ADF. Staff Officer Airspace Operations SQNLDR Ben Chaffey said the JACC was responsible for developing airspace control plans for the safe and efficient conduct of exercises and operations.

“Developing airspace control plans requires months of coordination and planning with

civilian airlines and air traffic control, Army and Navy, as well as other government agencies and international partners,” SQNLDR Chaffey said.

“For Operation APEC 18 Assist, we developed procedures to integrate unmanned aerial systems into civil controlled airspace in Papua New Guinea.

“For Operation Atlas (ADF support to Commonwealth Games), the JACC planned the airspace

procedures in conjunction with the Queensland and federal governments for more than a year, and were involved during execution.”

SQNLDR Chaffey said the JACC required lateral thinking and good negotiating skills.

“It is such a busy but rewarding place to work. I’ve learnt so much in such a short timeframe, and being able to contribute to operations has been invaluable,” he said.

7. J O I N T A I R S PA C E CONTROL CELL

DEVELOP & ASSESS

8. STRATEGY DIVISION 48

Strategy Division (SRD) is responsible for the Air Operations Directive and Force Generation planning, which outlines the Director General Air intent and priorities for Air Force activities – how the aircraft and assets are to be used.

Staff Officer Strategy Guidance SQNLDR Simon Longley said the SRD was uniquely placed at both the beginning and end of the Air Tasking Cycle.

“SRD is responsible

for developing the objectives for new tasks and assessing previously executed ones,” SQNLDR Longley said.

“To co mmu n i ca te this, we develop the Air Operations Directive, which describes the Commander’s intent and priorities, and which assets can achieve the campaign objectives.

“Any commander, aircrew or combat support staff member in Air Force can read this document to understand what the

senior air commander’s intent is for that task and how the plan fits with other campaign assets, including Army and Navy.”

SQNLDR Longley said working in the Air and Space Operations Centre was as close as you can get to conducting operations without physically being deployed.

“We play a critical role in ensuring the right platform delivers the right effect at the right time,” SQNLDR Longley said.

F e a tu r e Sto r y

Flo-Fast - Portable Fluid Transfer System

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PHOTO CAPTIONS Cover Photo: A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet flies over Mosul, Iraq, during an Operation OKRA mission.

Second Page: Royal Australian Air Force loadmasters, sergeants Paul Graham (left) and Jay Goggin, prepare to deploy a mock air sea rescue kit for the first time from a C-27J Spartan during Operation Resolute in Townsville.

1. Retired Air Marshal McCormack talks to Leading Aircraftman Dane Reynolds, Space Systems Operator at No.1 Radar Surveilllance Unit.

2. Royal Australian Air Force No. 11 Squadron pilots, Flight Lieutenant Rowan Lietch and Flight Lieutenant Grant Targett, fly the P-8A Poseidon aircraft into its assigned area of operations on a mission for Operation Resolute.

3. Aircrew from Royal Australian Air Force No. 10 Squadron prepare to deploy a helibox from an AP-3C Orion aircraft during Operation Resolute. The helibox contained a mechanical spare part being delivered to a ship below.

It’s the simplest, safest and most versatile product on the market for transferring fuels and other liquids.

Designed and produced by Minnesota group LLC, and distributed in Australiasia by Bruce McKenzie CPL-A and Margaret McKenzie, the system addresses many safety issues arising from the use of volatile and sometimes toxic fluids by eliminating direct exposure.

Flo-Fast has found broad acceptance in many industries including aviation, motorsports, marine and agriculture where the safe and efficient transfer of liquids is essential.

Fluid transfer is managed systematically within the system components, with a bidirectional pump allowing a single operator to draw into, or pump from, bulk storage or containers. A manual rotary pump allows a controlled pumping rate (up to 30 litres of fluid per minute) eliminating the need for an external power source. A sliding tether line and clamp on the fill/draw line eliminates the need for funnels or two-person operation. A clear fill/draw hose allows the operator to see into the opening, thus eliminating overfill spillage.

Bruce McKenzie believes there are significant benefits in commercial aviation operations, particularly the weight of the pump. ‘At 3.8 kgs, the opportunity to carry it with you in flight is very attractive. Wherever operations require regular refuelling, often in remote locations, there’s a big advantage in having a lightweight pump with a fast fuel transfer capability immediately available.’ www.flofast.com.au

4. Royal Australian Air Force Intelligence Officer Flight Lieutenant Adam Edwards and Air Battle Manager Flying Officer Kelly Leeson, monitor screens inside the Control and Reporting Centre at the Nevada Test and Training Range facility during Exercise Red Flag 19-1 held at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, USA. 5. A Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster III heavy transport aircraft comes into land at Williamson airfield in the Shoalwater Bay Training Area during Exercise Talisman Saber 17.

6. Critical Care Transport Team Medical Officer, Wing Commander Michael Corkeron, with his patient during the flight from Germany to Australia.

7. Joint Battlefield Airspace Control (JBAC) Officers, Senior Training Officer, Flight Lieutenant Ben Chaffey (left) and Flight Lieutenant Ben Neilson, speak about The Australian Advanced Air Traffic System (TAAATS) to a group of interested members at the Perth Terminal Control Unit Joint Facility during the Air Traffic Control open day at Number 453 Squadron Pearce Flight.

8. Air operations planners from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia discuss future mission profiles during Exercise Bersama Lima 2018.

REGISTER NOW

Visit www.defence.gov.au/casg/dplusi and follow the event page links to register for both of these fantastic events – registrations will close COB Wednesday 18 July. Enquiries about either event can be directed to defenceandindustry.conference@defence.gov.au

49

AFC

Young Eagles prepare to soar 6 Wing Radio-Controlled Aircraft Course In February, a preparatory weekend was held at the Gawler Air Force Cadets depot in South Australia, starting a small group of Cadets on their pathway to earning their ‘wings’. This training will now lead on to a formal radio-controlled aircraft course, a flying camp for those interested in learning about and flying radio-controlled fixed-wing aircraft.

Flying Officer (AAFC) Paul Rosenzweig, Public Affairs and Communication Officer for Aviation Operations Wing, AAFC said: “A pilot course was run in 2017 to assess the course structure and content, in order to make any necessary adjustments for future courses.”

On completion of the course, comprising theoretical instruction and practical flying experience, Cadets who achieve the necessary standards may be eligible to receive the Bronze Wings awarded by the Model Aeronautical Association of Australia (MAAA) for modellers flying models under 2 kg.

This preparation activity was run

by Sergeant (AAFC) Shayne O’Hara.

Shayne served as a cadet in the Air Training Corps in the 1970s and attained the rank of Cadet Flight Sergeant, and has now completed 17 years’ service as an Instructor of Cadets. He has a background in performance vehicles, and motor sport and classic cars, and through his active role in go-cart racing earned three medals in the Australian Masters. He maintains an active interest in aircraft modelling.

Sergeant O’Hara said: “We’ve put a lot of work into developing this course, and it’ll be great to see it get off the ground”.

As an air-minded youth organisation, the AAFC has the mission of developing young Australians in a military and aviation environment.

This training is being offered by No 906 Aviation Training Squadron in conjunction with No 608 (Town of Gawler) Squadron.

No 906 Aviation Training Squadron is always looking for qualified and 50

6 Wing Air Force Cadets learnt about radio-controlled aircraft during a preparation day at the Gawler Depot (L-R): Leading Cadet Connor Bonham (608 SQN, Gawler), Leading Cadet Adomas Neocleous (609 SQN, Warradale), Leading Cadet Tristan Hahn (605 SQN, Seaford) and Cadet Corporal Timothy Cox (608 SQN).

Aircraft (L-R): Apprentice-S SAFE high wing trainer, Hangar 9 ‘Alpha’ 40-size high wing trainer, and Seagull ‘Boomerang’ TF4050 40-size high wing trainer.

Seagull ‘Boomerang’ TF4050 40-size high wing trainer, with a .40 glow-powered engine, previously constructed by members of No 608 (Town of Gawler) SQN, AAFC.

motivated instructors to join the team – with excellent people skills and a passion for youth training, aviation and an appreciation of the military

lifestyle. Part-time volunteer positions are available now. Experience as a military officer or NCO is preferred but not essential.

AFC

Hamilton Hill teenager wins 2019 RAAFA Leadership Award A Hamiltong Hill teenager has won the 2019 RAAFA Leadership Award.

The accolade has given University of Western Australia student Alexander White the opportunity to do paid work experience with the Royal Australian Air Force Association as well as earning him a $1000 scholarship.

Mr White, who has been a member of the Australian Air Force Cadets from 2015 to 2018 and wants to be an astrophysicist, said he was honoured to be recognised.

“I was really chuffed as well as

surprised,” he said.

“I’m really enjoying the work experience where I’m currently at RAAFA’s IT department for one day a week, and the money will also come in very handy for buying books for my university course.”

The award joins a growing list of accolades given to Mr White, including the Returned and Servicemen’s League Spirit of Anzac Cadet of the Year 2018 and representing the Australian Air Force Cadets at the Commemoration of the Battle of Amiens in France.

RAAFA’s Patron Kim Beazley, Governor of WA, Alexander White and RAAFA State President Clive Robartson.

Air Force cadet Georgia Hand is encouraging teens to consider cadetship Georgia Hand said having a unique skill set is one of the best things about being an Air Force cadet.

While still deciding on her future career, the 16 year-old Warrnambool College student said the leadership, survival skills and camaraderie she has learnt in her three years with the group has been invaluable.

"I"m learning skills that not everyone has," she said.

"These are skills that can help me later in life."

Ms Hand joins 50 other Warrnambool Australian Air Force Cadets currently learning their craft at the Pertobe Road address.

The group is hosting a recruitment night on March 21 and are hoping more teens will consider joining them.

The 413 Squadron is for teenagers aged between 12 and 18.

Meeting once a week at the Tel El Eisa Barracks, the group learn leadership skills, field craft, bush survival, aviation, traffic control, radio communication and self-defence.

"It helps build your confidence and make great friendships," Ms Hand said.

"There's usually just as many boys as girls and there's no limitations to what you can learn. "There's so many opportunities as well."

The 413 Squadron Warrnambool Australian Air Force Cadets recruitment night will be held Thursday March 21 from 6.30pm.

The event will include a tour of the facility, activities, showbags and a question and answer session. www.standard.net.au

Happy Easter, Aviation is a Cadets' best friends... especially when there is chocolate involved! Our Australian Air Force Cadets from 10 Squadrons across No. 3 Wing (NSW & ACT) and No. 5Wing (TAS) on location at Bathurst Aviation Training Centre.

Cadet corporal Georgia Hand, 16 enjoys taking part in field craft survival sessions during squadron getaways.

51

On T h e Rad ar

Air Force receives latest P-8A Poseidon aircraft Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds recently welcomed the receipt of the Royal Australian Air Force’s latest Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

The P-8A Poseidon is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It is capable of broad-area maritime and littoral operations. It is also effective for humanitarian and search and rescue missions.

Minister Pyne said this was another milestone in this important project to enhance Australia’s maritime security.

"The Poseidon is a cutting-edge aircraft that will conduct a range of tasks including anti-submarine warfare; maritime and overland intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and support to search and rescue missions," he said.

A derivative of the 737-800 Next Generation, the P-8 combines superior performance and reliability with an advanced mission system that ensures maximum interoperability in the future battlespace.

The Australian government has committed to acquiring 12 P-8A Poseidon aircraft, with the final aircraft to be delivered by March 2020 and maintained at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

Minister Pyne added, "Aircraft number eight had been identified as RAAF’s long-term fatigue management aircraft and had been fitted with a raft of diagnostic equipment. This specially

equipped aircraft will allow RAAF to collect useful data to analyse the life of the aircraft and identify what can be done to sustain it further."

Minister Reynolds said the Poseidon fleet would not only play an important role in maintaining border security but also in boosting opportunities for defence industry and creating jobs.

"These aircraft will be based and sustained at RAAF Base Edinburgh in South Australia, creating over 120 jobs by next year. The project is part of a broader intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance precinct being developed at the Super Base, which will support and create highly skilled jobs in South Australia for decades to come," she added.

Australia maintains the singlelargest P-8A training facility outside of the US, located at Edinburgh, South Australia. The $470 million facility is part of the government's $5.2 billion investment in Australia's P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance and patrol aircraft.

"A workforce of over 4,000 Australians has already contributed to the broader infrastructure build happening at RAAF Base Edinburgh," Minister Reynolds added.

The eighth aircraft is now undergoing its verification and validation flying in the US, and will join the rest of the fleet in Australia in mid-June 2019.

Courtesy Defence Connect

RAAF to replace VIP transport aircraft Defence has announced that the Royal Australian Air Force will phase out its fleet of Bombardier CL604 Challengers, which are primarily used as VIP transport aircraft.

The RAAF currently has a fleet of three Challenger aircraft that were introduced in 2002, however they have an average age of 16.6 years and are due to be replaced.

“Following a review, Defence will lease three new Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft to replace the three existing Bombardier CL604 Challengers,” the Department of Defence said in a release.

“The Falcon will have reduced operating costs, larger passenger load, modern communication capability and increased range and endurance.

The Challengers are being replaced at a natural point in their ageing and maintenance cycle.”

A report from FlightGlobal claims that "the three Falcon 7Xs will enter service by the third quarter 2019, and operate under the existing budget for the special purpose fleet".

The Falcon 7X can accommodate 12 to 16 passengers, compared with the nine maximum that the CL604 Challenger can carry.

The Challenger, however, has a faster average speed than the Falcon, with the trade off of about half the range as its replacement.

The CL604 Challenger is part of the Special Purpose Aircraft fleet, which complements a collection of larger Boeing Business Jets that provide transport for the Australian government.

These are operated by No.34 Squadron from Defence Establishment Fairbairn in the ACT. One of the new Falcon 7X aircraft recently arrives at Defence Establishment Fairbairn, ACT. Photo SGT Rodney Welch.

The P-8A combines superior performance and reliability.

Photo CPL Craig Barrett.

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O n Th e R a d a r

Seventh Triton still on the table One of RAAF’s most significant unmanned acquisitions over the last year is the MQ-4C Triton. At the time of the announcement, the option for a seventh option had not yet been taken off the table, and was able to confirm this with representatives from RAAF and Northrop Grumman at this year’s Avalon Airshow.

The six aircraft will be based at RAAF Edinburgh in SA and RAAF Tindal in NT to undertake maritime surveillance operations - cruising at 310 knots for up to 24 hours at 46,000 feet, 11,000 kilometres from home, with a 400 kilometre sensor range. According to GPCAPT Jason Lind, Director of ISR, EW and Space for RAAF, the platform is also defined by ability to plug into other 5th Gen platforms: “It’s the networking we’re interested in – using the combat cloud to improve our decision superiority.”

MQ-4C Triton. Courtesy Northrop Grumman.

As part of the acquisition, Australia is entering into a $200 million cooperative program with the US Navy to develop, produce, and sustain the Triton: an

approach that requires RAAF to take on a degree of risk in exchange for a limited ability to tailor the program towards unique Australian requirements.

“The Cooperative Program is different to an FMS in that we’re a partner,” GPCAPT Martin Nussio, Director ISR for CASG, explained.

“In this case, the decision [to enter a cooperative program] was to do with where Triton is at in its development cycle. That means we share risk, but also share reward.

“It’s genuinely a cooperative partnership.”

The option for a seventh Triton is under consideration an attrition aircraft, although a decision on further platforms awaits the next White Paper.

“We’ve committed to six, but we’ll be looking at attrition aircraft,” GPCAPT Lind said. “If another White Paper were to come out then maybe it would be a different decision, but for now it is six with the attrition aircraft question down the track. That’s the government’s prerogative.”

The reason for the split between RAAF Edinburgh and RAAF Tindal, GPCAPT Lind explained, was that Defence intended to use the aircraft to fly further south than previously possible.

“This is an asset that can go down to Heard Island and Antarctica – places we haven’t been able to reach before,” GPCAPT Lind said. “We’ve got flexibility with this aircraft flying phenomenal distances. Certainly down in Edinburgh we’ll be going south.”

The expanded coverage towards A n t a r c t i c a m e a n s t h a t Tr i t o n will represent a unique whole-ofgovernment capability, with data from the platform theoretically accessible to other departments, such as the Antarctic Division and the Australian Fisheries Management Authority, in ‘near real-time’.

“We’re not doing this for ourselves,” GPCAPT Lind said. “We should be sharing our info as quickly as possible and to whom needs it in government.”

Courtesy Australian Defence Magazine

RAAF welcomes next Fifth Generation Fighters Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, together with Minister for Defence Industry, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC, announced the arrival of the next two F-35A Joint Strike Fighter aircraft into Australia.

“I’m pleased to welcome our newest F-35As, A35-011 and A35-012, bringing the total number of aircraft in Australia to four,” Minister Pyne said.

“After completing various validation and verification activities in the United States, these aircraft have now arrived at RAAF Base Williamtown and will be assigned to Number 3 Squadron.”

Minister Reynolds said the F-35A program has provided significant opportunities for Australian industry.

“More than 50 Australian companies have directly shared in over $1.3 billion in global F-35A production contracts to date, employing more than 2,400 Australians,” Minister Reynolds said.

“This also includes small and unique Australian businesses who indirectly benefit through the supply chain network.”

“More opportunities are expected for Australian companies as production continues, with Australian industry involvement expected to exceed $2 billion by 2023 and employ 5,000 people nationally.”

Australia will take delivery of eight F-35A aircraft in 2019 and at least 72 aircraft over the life of the program. https://www.minister.defence.gov.au/

The next two F-35As recently arrived into Australia. Photo CPL Craig Barrett.

53

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Expressions of Interest close on Tuesday 30 April 2019.

O n Th e R a d a r

HMAS Brisbane integrates with Air Force Fifth Generation Fighters Her Majesty’s Australian Ships Brisbane and Melbourne have successfully integrated into Exercise DIAMOND SHIELD, the Royal Australian Air Force’s Tier 1 air defence activity.

Operating off the coast of Newcastle, Brisbane embarked three Fighter Controllers from the Fleet Fighter Control Element, based at RAAF Williamtown.

Throughout the exercise, Brisbane and Melbourne contributed to high-end air warfare activities which tested the crew and greatly expanded collective understanding of complex warfighting scenarios.

Fighter Controllers had the opportunity to control a range of assets including F/A-18F Super Hornets and EA-18G Growlers, with up to 30 assets airborne at any one time.

Brisbane’s participation in DIAMOND SHIELD formed part of her Deployment Readiness work up as she prepares to conduct weapon firing and certifications in the United States later this year.

The large number of live air assets provided a number of challenges for the operations and sensors teams that far exceeds what can be generated in the maritime exercise areas in vicinity of Jervis Bay. Further integration of the Royal Australian Navy’s new destroyers into complex air environments will be a critical pathway to realising the full potential of the Hobart Class in the future.

LEUT Rory Tuit and LEUT Joshua Woodward from Fleet Fighter Control Element onboard HMAS Brisbane for Exercise DIAMOND SHIELD 2019.

A highlight of the exercise saw the most modern and advanced Air Warfare platform in the Royal Australian Navy integrate and operate with Australia’s new fifth generation fighter, the F-35A Lightning II. Fighter Controller, Lieutenant Kyle Livingstone said DIAMOND SHIELD was a great opportunity to prove the capability of the Navy’s new destroyers in a complex environment with the most

modern and advanced platforms in the Air Force.

“Exercise DIAMOND SHIELD showcased what’s possible when combining the lethality and advanced capability of the Navy’s Air Warfare Destroyers with fifth generation fighter aircraft,” he said.

The Commanding Officer of HMAS Brisbane, Commander Josh Wilson said DIAMOND SHIELD provided the perfect opportunity for the Australian Defence Force to achieve a significant capability milestone.

“Achieving the first integration of the Destroyer capability with the Fifth Generation Joint Strike Fighter is of particular significance.

“The opportunity to integrate cutting edge air and maritime assets in a high end warfighting scenario is rare and proved an invaluable experience for the Brisbane team,” Commander Wilson said.

The Fleet Fighter Control Element seamlessly integrated into the Brisbane operations room team, demonstrating the ease with which Fighter Controllers contribute to high-end warfighting activities.

The Fleet Fighter Control Element is based at RAAF Williamtown and is a lodger unit within 3 Control and Reporting Unit.

Navy Fighter Controllers are Maritime Warfare Officers and serve at sea as Officers’ of the Watch prior to subspecialising in air battle management.

Courtesy Navy Daily

Queensland Air Museum Caloundra Airport 7 Pa t h f i n d e r D r i ve , Caloundra, QLD QAM has among its large collection of historic aircraft, Huey UH-1H A2-310. It was the last Huey Helicopter delivered to the RAAF in 1973 and served with 5, 9 and 35 Squadrons before being transferred to the Australian Army in 1989, where it served with 171 Sqn. On 21st September the ADF Huey

fleet were retired and A2-310, in company with two other Hueys, made a final fly-past over Brisbane that day.

To c o m m e m o r a t e t h e s e t w o significant aircraft, QAM in company with Caloundra RSL have produced limited edition prints for sale through the QAM shop at $20.

More than 100 RAAF 5 Squadron veterans recently held a reunion at QAM with A2-310.

QAM is open to the public every day from 10am-4pm and experienced tour guides are on duty each Monday and Wednesday or by booking a group tour on the web-site.

Book at www.qam.com.au or call in to see Australia’s largest and diverse historic aviation display.

Mawson 65th Anniversary Celebration Hobart Function & Conference Centre 07 September The Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) Club is holding an anniversary in Hobart during September to celebrate 65 years since Mawson Station was established in 1954.

Meet surviving members of some of the early wintering parties together with associated support personnel, ship and air crews.

There will be dinner, speakers, photographic exhibition, archival film clips, sales of early and modern prints of the Station, veterans, the ice, huskies, wildlife, as well as commemorative memorabilia with a raffle and auction.

The event is open to all ANARE Club members and non-members, expeditioners and anyone interested in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic.

A special invitation is extended to veterans from 1954 -1965 to attend and recount their experiences.

Cost: ANARE Club Members: $90; Non-Members: $95. Tickets: https:// www.trybooking.com/448841 We also need classic photos of Mawson from any era - people, animals, landscapes and the Station for the photo exhibition. Email David Parer at mawson65@anareclub.org.au 55

Transition

Support for ADF members and their families Defence Community Organisation If you’re new to Amberley, Defence Community Organisation (DCO) has a range of information, support, and social activities that can help you and family settle in.

DCO has Australia-wide programs and services delivered nationally and from local offices, in all states and territories, including an Amberley office on base.

There’s support available at every stage of life, from young recruits away from parents for the first time, and partners managing member absence, to the time members leave full-time service. DCO is there in times of need and any time in between.

There is a wide range of services and programs available to help you and your family to make the most of military life:

24-hour support

If you need support, help, or advice at any time, the Defence Family Helpline operates 24-hours a day, seven days a

week and is staffed by qualified humanresource professionals including social workers and psychologist. Call 1800 624 608.

Partner employment

Funding is available for initiatives that contribute to the immediate employability of partners when they relocate due to their ADF partner’s military service. Defence’s Partner Employment Assistance Program (PEAP) is also available to partners of ADF members who are medically transitioning from the ADF.

Dependants with special needs

Families who have dependants with special needs can get information and practical assistance to reduce the impact of relocation. DCO staff at the Amberley office can also put you in touch with the Defence Special Needs Support Group who have a local coordinator here at Amberley.

Support during deployment and time apart

An integral feature of Defence life is time apart from families due to deployments, training or other Service requirements.

DCO services seek to inform and prepare ADF members and families for these times and to make these experiences positive and strengthening ones for the family.

Childcare

FLTLT Ali de Vries from No. 35 Squadron enjoying the Defence Community Organisation Expo with her husband Alex and daughter Charlie.

Photo CPL Jesse Kane

56

DCO maintains a network of childcare centres around Australia, with priority of placement for ADF families. Those facing difficulties accessing childcare, like when they move to a new area or change their work or care arrangements, can also access an individual case management service provided by Defence’s childcare service provider, One Tree Community Services, to help them find childcare.

Children’s education

DCO has dedicated Education Liaison Officers to provide advice to families, and school-based mentors to support Defence children through changing schools and times of parental absence.

DCO also provide financial assistance to eligible students from ADF families for some education costs incurred as a result of posting to a new location.

Emergency and crisis support

DCO provides a range of practical and emotional support programs for families facing unforeseen emergencies or crisis, including assistance in time of illness, injury, domestic crisis or bereavement. Members and their families can access 24-hour support, social work and assessment, or referral from the all-hours Defence Family Helpline on 1800 624 608.

Community connection

Families seeking to connect with or contribute to their local community can get personalised advice or access our directory of Defence and community-run activities and events in our local area.

Funding for community groups

Not-for-profit community organisations running programs in support of Defence families can apply for financial support.

There are a number of such groups operating in the area around Amberley including the Amberley Playgroup managed by Amberley Defence Communities and the Defence Special Needs Support Group.

Transition to civilian life

DCO provides a range of practical guidance and administrative support to help those planning to transfer to the Reserves or leave the Australian Defence Force make a seamless transition to civilian life. You can attend seminars or talk to our team about your options at any time and it’s an important

Tr a n si ti o n

process that families are encouraged to be part of.

Support for Reservists

When Reserve members are on continuous full-time service or away on deployment or exercise, the families of Reserve members can access a broad range of DCO support services.

Parents

DCO offers information and support services for parents of ADF members to help them understand and manage the challenging aspects of having a son or daughter in the Services.

Find out more about your local area

Your local DCO Amberley office host a range of social activities and information sessions for ADF families. All families are most welcome to attend their events and the local DCO Amberley team would love to meet you.

To find out more about the Amberley office’s social events and information sessions, you can follow DCO on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and can keep up to date with the latest events on the DCO Amberley page on Eventbrite. You can find information about upcoming events, like coffee morning teas, programs available or their events for kids on their Eventbrite page at DCOAmberleyIpswich.eventbrite.com.au.

Families can also access a wide range of information about support and the wide range of DCO programs from the DCO website. The website also features a calendar of events hosted by the local DCO Amberley office and local community groups, from coffee mornings and partner employment information sessions, to ADF Transition Seminars for families thinking about their future beyond the ADF. Another great way to learn more about the local area and what there is on offer, ADF members and families can visit the Defence Community Hub. The Hub is a Defence Housing Australia website, where members and families can find information about major attractions, and local amenities like, local council information, health information about hospitals and GPs

Royal Australian Air Force Pilot Flying Officer Laura McGeough, from No. 33 Squadron, shows Ruby and Maggie Coppin the controls of a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport at the Defence Community Organisation Expo. Photo CPL Jesse Kane

in the area and information about base locations and distances to other Defence locations. Families can check out their local area information at www. defencecommunityhub.org.au.

Meet your local DCO team

DCO’s Amberley team is made up of military personnel and civilian staff, providing a range of assistance and information including support for children to settle into new schools, partner employment and help for families experiencing unforeseen crisis or emergency.

Military Support Officers are uniformed officers who help with advice and assistance with military matters and support local ADF commanders with member welfare support.

Defence Social Workers are qualified professionals who are knowledgeable about the ADF and the lifestyle of its members. Defence Social Workers are able to help members and their families address personal, relationship or Service related issues.

They can provide assessment, shortterm counselling services or referral to support and resources in the local area.

Family Liaison Officers have extensive knowledge of the Ipswich area and help members and their families connect with the services

and support they need. They are also proactive regarding welcome activities and assisting families settling into a new location.

The DCO Amberley team would love to meet you, so come along and join them at one of their information sessions about topics that effect ADF families like partner employment, relocation or absence from home advice or the KidSMART and FamilySMART program. They also host social events like monthly coffee catch-ups, dinners out and family fun days.

Contact us

The DCO Amberley office is at Building 726, Hudson Road, RAAF Base Amberley, next to AAFCANS. You can call or email the Amberley team on 5361 1678 or DCO.Amberley@defence. gov.au, or call the all-hours Defence Family Helpline 1800 624 608 or email defencefamilyhelpline@defence.gov.au for an appointment.

Follow Defence Community Organisation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates and information from your local Amberley team. You can also email dco.amberley@defence.gov. au to be added to the DCO Amberley monthly bulletin email distribution list.

57

Tr a n si ti o n

Computer-based trial designed to assist veterans leaving military Computer-based tasks will form the basis of a trial program to assist Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel as they transition from military to civilian life, Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said April 2nd.

“The Stepping Out: Attention Reset (SOAR) trial is designed to test whether a brief attention training computer task improves adjustment to civilian life and may reduce the risk for mental health disorders,” Mr Chester said.

“Open Arms—Veterans & Families Counselling (formerly VVCS) and Phoenix Australia are partnering with representatives from Tel Aviv University to conduct the research nationally.

“Any current full-time ADF members who are transitioning from service in the next 12 months can participate in the trial.

“Our Government is putting veterans and their families first and provides more than $11.2 billion each year to deliver the essential services and programs they rely on. If you have served one full day in the Australian Defence Force you and your family can access free mental health care, through Open Arms – Veterans & Families

Counselling, whether that condition is service related or not.

About 5,500 people leave the ADF each year with most transitioning well, but for some there may be additional support needed. Our Government is committed to improving the transition services and programs ADF members and their families need, when and where they need it.

“Military training teaches you to pay close attention to your environment and the things that could be a potential threat – in many military settings this training is life-saving. Once you leave the military, if your attention is not re-balanced to suit a civilian setting, adjustment issues or mental health problems may develop.

“The findings from the study will play an important role in the Government’s action on improving veterans’ mental health and is just one of the many programs the Government is using to ensure veterans and their families receive the best possible support.”

To sign up to take part in the trial, visit the SOAR trial website www.soar. phoenixaustralia.org.au, t: 1800 945 089 or soar-trial@unimelb.edu.au.

Benefits of employing veterans Members of the ADF gain an extensive range of skills, abilities, recognised behaviours and attributes that make them valuable employees in the civilian workforce. They are good at solving problems, leading teams, and working under pressure. They retain core ADF values such as honesty, honour, initiative, integrity, respect and loyalty.

These attributes make them valuable employees in the civilian workforce.

Their talents are readily transferable to the civilian workforce and include: • learning new skills quickly • being highly motivated and punctual • communicating effectively to keep people informed • completing tasks efficiently and on time • working independently and as part of a team • demonstrating leadership but also being able to follow instructions • being well presented and courteous • w orking with a variety of people from different backgrounds and with varying levels of experience Many former ADF members will have acquired professional or trade qualifications that are recognised in the civilian workforce, for example mechanics, health professionals, carpenters and drivers.

Sign the Veterans Employment Commitment If you’d like to benefit from the skills and experience veterans can bring to your workplace, then you should sign the Veterans Employment Commitment.

When you sign the Commitment, veterans will be able to identify your business as a veteran-friendly employer. veteransemployment.gov.au/employmentcommitment

59

Tr a n si ti o n

Website launched to assist transitioning veterans to find employment A new website is making it easier for Australian Defence Force (ADF) members to transition to civilian work.

Minister for Defence Personnel, the Hon Darren Chester MP said the Australian Defence Force Transition and Civil Recognition website had been designed to assist ADF members seeking recognition of prior learning during service, and inform civilian employers of the professional skills, training and accreditation Defence veterans bring to the workplace.

“Employing a veteran is good for business,” Mr Chester said.

“The ADF provides highly skilled and professional personnel who have a lot to offer a potential employer.

“Giving our personnel an avenue to easily access their records and understand how their training and skills translate to civilian jobs will assist veterans to be re-employed sooner.”

Chief Executive Officer of Ironside Recruitment and former Army mechanic, Glen Ferrarotto, has worked hard to develop awareness of and confidence in veterans’ transferable skills within the mining sector and heavy vehicle mechanical trades.

“In early 2018, Ironside Recruitment embarked on what has now become the most successful intake of veterans into Australia’s mining industry in modern history,” Mr Ferrarotto said.

“The success of this program is due to a number of collaborative initiatives led by Fortescue Metals, with support from the Australian Defence College.

“The introduction of the Australian Defence Force Transition and Civil Recognition Project website is another way to support current and former service personnel in understanding how their skills and experience are transferrable in the civilian workplace.”

Major General Mick Ryan, AM, Commander of the Australian Defence College and CEO of the Defence Registered Training Organisation

(RTO), said the achievements of the Australian Defence Force Transition and Civil Recognition Project to date were outstanding.

“We’ve already seen the Australian Defence College’s ability as a RTO to retrieve documented civil accreditation for relevant trades substantially assist Ironside Recruitment in developing and delivering a veteran employment program with Fortescue Group,” Major General Ryan said.

“And now, with the introduction of this website, veterans will be able to contact the Australian Defence Force Transition and Civil Recognition Project team within the ADC to request individual Vocational Education Training advice and services, including recognition of prior learning for transferable skills acquired during service.”

Resources such as the Australian Defence Force Transition Training and Skills Guides and the Australian Defence Force Guides for Employers are now available to download from the website. www.defence.gov.au/adc/adftcr/Veterans.asp Defence image

Prior to Transition Prior to transition it is important to save copies of the following documents: • • • • •

Your ‘ADO Service Record’ from PMKeyS Your two most recent PAR/PPR (signed) Copies of any Qualifications and Statements of Attainment you hold A description of tasks/duty statement for recent job roles Copies of any awards or commendations

Recognition of Prior Learning RPL RPL is a process that converts what you’ve done in your profession, education, training, and extracurricular activity into recognised civilian accreditation. Within the confines of what the DRTO can issue, we will ensure you are provided with civilian recognition of your time in service, where eligible. Information is available on the RPL page.

61

Thank you for your service

Ba ck Pa g e

Indigenous Liaison Officer at 22SQN FLTLT Tjapukai Shaw. Photo: courtesy of DVA and Alex Ellinghausen

A remarkable photographic exhibition of 46 men and women who serve or have served in defence of Australia. On display at Sydney’s Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, from 5 April - 5 July 2019.

62

The exhibition comprises four themes: diversity of personnel, diversity of task and individual, transition into civilian life, and support of loved ones and respect and recognition. The exhibition has been put together by the DVA in partnership with the ADF, the New South Wales Government, The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

Indigenous Liaison Officer at No. 22 Squadron FLTLT Tjapukai Shaw said as an APS trainee he wasn’t treated any differently by his unit and was able to instantly feel a sense of family.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester said, “the images showcase men and women from a wide range of backgrounds doing a wide range of jobs in all three services and from a variety of deployments, as well as the family members who have supported them,”

“In the four months I’ve been in this position I’ve already had the chance to tag along with 37SQN and a C-130J Herc on a flight to Bathurst NSW,” he said.

Mr Chester said Alex Ellinghausen had been invited to photograph the exhibition after being awarded the 2018 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year.

FLTLT Shaw is one of nine serving personnel who appear in the exhibition of current and former members.

“With that I was able to invite a group of Aboriginal people to have a tour of the Herc.”

The other Air Force personnel represented are: SGT Lyn Farrier, FLTLT Anna Lovatt, FLTLT Daniel Myers, LACW Kylie Ahern, CPL Hollie Cartwright, CPL Yuhang Ding, SQNLDR Ajitha Sugnanam and LACW Kimberley de Haan.

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00493G P: 07 3262 0262 | A6E: enrol@clayfield.qld.edu.au | Code: www.clayfield.qld.edu.au CO-ED: PRE-PREP - YEAR GIRLSand ONLY: YEARS 7 - 12 Cricos GIRLS BOARDING: YEARS 5 - 1263

MILITARY ENGINES

OPERATIONAL READINESS TODAY. UNLEASHING CAPABILITY FOR TOMORROW. Pratt & Whitney’s F135 propulsion system for the fifth generation F-35 Lightning II continues to redefine what’s possible for our customers and their missions. And we’re not done innovating.

With a suite of unmatched propulsion technologies that can enable capability growth for the F-35, we stand ready to help take the world’s most advanced fighter to the next level.

FLY FURTHER AT PW.UTC.COM

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