List of current Royal Australian Air Force aircraft

This is a list of the current Royal Australian Air Force aircraft in operation:

Current aircraft

Combat aircraft

A RAAF F/A-18A in 2010

• Boeing F/A-18A/B Hornet multirole fighter
  • The F/A-18A/B is operated by No. 3 Squadron, No. 75 Squadron and No. 77 Squadron and by No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (No. 81 Wing).
  • There are currently 71 aircraft in operation.

A RAAF F/A-18F in 2010

• Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter
  • The F/A-18F is operated by No. 1 Squadron and No. 6 Squadron (No. 82 Wing) at RAAF Base Amberley.
  • There are currently 24 aircraft in operation, 12 of which are wired for conversion to EA-18G Growler Electronic Warfare aircraft.
  • The 24 Super Hornets were ordered to fill the capability gap between the F-111C retirement in December 2010 and the introduction of the F-35A. IOC was achieved on 8 December 2010.

Patrol aircraft

• Lockheed AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft
  • The Orion is operated by No. 10 Squadron and No. 11 Squadron (No. 92 Wing), located at RAAF Base Edinburgh.
  • There are currently 19 aircraft in operation.

AEW&C aircraft

Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft of the Royal Australian Air Force

• Boeing Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft
  • The Wedgetails are operated by No. 2 Squadron and are based at RAAF Base Williamtown.
  • On 26 November 2009 the RAAF took initial delivery of 2 of Australia's 6 Wedgetails at RAAF Base Williamtown.^[1]

Transport aircraft

• Boeing C-17 Globemaster heavy transport
  • The Globemaster is operated by No. 36 Squadron from RAAF Base Amberley.
  • There are currently 5 aircraft in operation, with the 5th aircraft delivered in September 2011.
  • A sixth aircraft is to be purchased. A request for costs and availability for a FMS purchase has been made.^[2] It would cost $300 million.^[3]

An RAAF C-17 parked at Melbourne Airport, January 2009

A C-130J (at front) and two C-130H Hercules at RAAF Base Richmond

• Lockheed C-130H Hercules medium transport
  • The Hercules is operated by No. 37 Squadron, based at RAAF Base Richmond.
  • There are currently 8 aircraft in operation.
• Lockheed C-130J-30 Super Hercules medium transport
  • The Super Hercules is operated by No. 37 Squadron, based at RAAF Base Richmond.
  • There are currently 12 aircraft in operation.
• Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport
  • The KC-30A is operated by No. 33 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley.
  • There are currently 2 aircraft in certification testing by the RAAF at Amberley. Another 1 is due for delivery by the end of 2011.^[4]
  • The KC-30A will have the capability of transporting troops and cargo domestically or internationally, and refuelling F/A-18 Hornets, C-17 and sister KC-30A transports, Wedgetail AEW&Cs and future RAAF Joint Strike Fighters.
• Boeing BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) VIP transport
  • The BBJ is operated by No. 34 Squadron, based at Defence Establishment Fairbairn.
  • There are currently 2 aircraft in operation.
• Bombardier Challenger CL-604 VIP transport
  • The Challenger is operated by No. 34 Squadron, based at Defence Establishment Fairbairn.
  • There are currently 5 aircraft in operation.
• Beechcraft King Air 350 light transport
  • The King Air 350 is operated as a dedicated light transport aircraft by No. 38 Squadron at RAAF Base Townsville.
  • This aircraft is considered an interim capability to cover the retirement of the de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou and the introduction of its replacement under the much troubled Project Air 8000 Phase 2.
  • There are currently 8 aircraft in operation, including 3 that were handed over to the RAAF from the Australian Army in 2009.

Training aircraft

Pilatus PC-9As wearing the markings of the Roulettes aerobatics team

• Pilatus PC-9/A advanced trainer
  • The Pilatus is operated by Central Flying School at RAAF Base East Sale, No. 2 Flying Training School at RAAF Base Pearce^[5] and Forward Air Control Development Unit at RAAF Base Williamtown.
  • There are currently 67 aircraft in operation.
• BAe Hawk 127 lead-in fighter trainer
  • The Hawk 127 is operated by No. 76 Squadron at RAAF Williamtown and No. 79 Squadron at RAAF Base Pearce.
  • There are currently 33 aircraft in operation.
• Beechcraft King Air 350 multi-role trainer and transport
  • The King Air 350 is operated by No. 32 Squadron at RAAF Base East Sale.
  • There are currently 8 aircraft in operation.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

• IAI Heron UAV
  • 2 Herons are operated by a joint RAAF-Army unit in Afghanistan. The aircraft are both leased from the Canadian firm Macdonald Dettwiler and Associates.^[6]
  • Training on the UAVs is provided by a third aircraft operated by No. 5 Flight RAAF.^[7]

Future acquisitions

Air 6000 Ph2A/2B: Lockheed F-35A prototype

• AIR 6000: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter^[8][9]
  • A possible total of 100 F-35As are to be purchased under Project Air 6000 to replace the Hornets and Super Hornets.
    • AIR 6000, Phase 2A/2B, Stage 1: 14 F-35A fighters have been approved for purchase for service entry from 2014.
    • AIR 6000, Phase 2A/2B, Stage 2: 58 additional F-35A fighters planned for purchase. Stage 1&2 will replace all F/A-18A/B fighters in service.
    • AIR 6000, Phase 2C: around 28 additional F-35A fighters planned for purchase. These will replace all F/A-18F fighters in service.

Air 7000 Ph2B: P-8A and P-3C

• AIR 7000: ADF Maritime ISR capability replacement^[10]
  • Programme to replace the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft with a manned MPA/UAV mix.
    • AIR 7000, Phase 1B: Purchase of 7 high altitude, long endurance maritime surveillance UAV. The MQ-4C Global Hawk was originally selected for the role, but the decision has been delayed until after the manned portion is introduced.
    • AIR 7000, Phase 2B: Purchase of 8 Boeing P-8A Poseidon manned MPA has been given first-pass approval for service entry from 2018.

• AIR 8000: Battlefield Airlift^[11]
  • Programme to replace or purchase additional air transport aircraft.
    • AIR 8000, Phase 2: Purchase of about 10 tactical medium-sized aircraft to replace the de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou. Candidates are the C-27J Spartan and C-295 (procurement has dragged on for over a decade since original Air 5190 requirement, so may never happen).
    • AIR 8000, Phase 4: The purchase of a fifth C-17 Globemaster, which was delivered September 2011. The purchase of a sixth has been proposed by the Department of Defence.

• AIR 5428: Pilot Training System^[12]
  • Programme to replace PC-9/A training aircraft and training syllabus.
    • Air 5428, Phase 1: Unknown number of advanced training aircraft, along with flight training screening and syllabus. Aircraft numbers are to be determined by the winning bidder, but aircraft type selected by RAAF.

Notes

1. ^ Boeing Delivers 2 Wedgetail AEW&C Aircraft to the Royal Australian Air Force[1] Boeing, November 26, 2009.
2. ^ Clare, Jason. "Sixth C-17A Globemaster III – Letter of Request". Department of Defence. http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2011/09/23/minister-for-defence-materiel-sixth-c-17a-globemaster-iii-–-letter-of-request/. Retrieved 23 September 2011. 
3. ^ Australia likely to acquire sixth C-17
4. ^ "Second KC-30A touches down in Australia". Australian Aviation. 23 June 2011. http://australianaviation.com.au/2011/06/second-kc-30a-touches-down-in-australia/. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
5. ^ "Pilatus PC-9/A trainer" (url). RAAF Website. Archived from the original on 2008-03-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20080329045121/http://www.defence.gov.au/raaf/aircraft/pc9a.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-31. 
6. ^ Walters, Patrick (8 September 2010). "Heron on the wing to guide Diggers". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/heron-on-the-wing-to-guide-diggers/story-e6frg6so-1225770412272. Retrieved 7 September 2010. 
7. ^ McLaughlin, Andrew (April 2010). "Nankeen. The RAAF enters the UAV era with Heron lease". Australian Aviation (Fyshwick: Phantom Media) (No. 270): p. 31. ISSN 08130876. 
8. ^ "JSF Joint Strike Fighter". Royal Australian Air Force website. Archived from the original on 2008-02-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20080227030640/http://www.defence.gov.au/raaf/aircraft/jsf.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-13. 
9. ^ "Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B". Defence Materiel Organisation. May 2011. http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/jsf/. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
10. ^ "AIR 7000 Phase 1B/2B". Defence Materiel Organisation. June 2011. http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/asd/air7000/air7000.cfm. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
11. ^ "AIR 8000 Battlefield Airlift". Defence Materiel Organisation. December 2010. http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/id/dcp/html_dec10/air/AIR8000.html. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 
12. ^ "AIR 5428 Ph 1 Pilot Training System". Defence Materiel Organisation. December 2010. http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/id/dcp/html_dec10/air/AIR5428.html. Retrieved 27 June 2011. 

• http://www.airforce.gov.au/aircraft/index.aspx