Defence Update

Awaiting confirmation are the firm indications that the RAAF’s Amberley-based F-111 strike force will have its aircraft upgraded with new digital avionics and new automatic test equipment.

The air defence exercise, Pitch Black 88 in July, provided an early operational trial for the reorganised Operational Command headquartered at Glenbrook near Penrith, NSW, and which in reality has become the Australian Defence Force’s Air Command Australia.

The joint Australian/US exercise was designed to enhance Australia’s air defence system. RAAF Hornet, Mirage, F-111, Chinook, Iroquois, Boeing 707, C-130 Hercules and Caribou aircraft took part.

The US forces contributed B-52, A-6, F-15, AWAC, EA-68, KC-130 and KC-135 aircraft and Stinger surface-to-air air defence systems.

Meanwhile, the McDonnell Douglas F-18 was proving itself a magnificent multi-role aircraft, Australia’s Air Commander, Air Vice Marshal Ted Radford, said in a recent interview. “It represents a quantum leap in operational technology,”.

AM Radford, the Air OfficerCommanding RAAF Operational Command, said the F-18 was having “a few teething problems” but said they would be corrected. There was an accuracy problem with the inertial navigation system which would be progressively fixed. A modification program was being undertaken on the GE F404 engines powering the F-18s. This work is being carried out at Hawker de Havilland Victoria’s plant following some problems in the US when F404 engines were getting close to 1,000 hours, modifications to correct minor deficiencies have been devised. The re-work involves fitting a Viton lining inside the bypass duct so as to contain damage should an engine catch fire as has been experienced in the US. This has been assessed as having happened on a few occasions when compressor blades broke off. The afterburner liner also was found as susceptible to vibration. Stiffeners are being put in. Worn parts are being repaired or rebuilt through welding. New compressor blades for Stages 1, 3 and 4 are being fitted and there is other minor work which includes replacing lever arms and bushes.

“It’s a relatively minor hitch or hiccup. ” HdH Victoria’s General Manager, Mr Tony Carolan explains, “In six months the RAAF won’t know it had a problem. AVM Radford describes it as “more an engine durability problem than an operational problem”. He said the F404 was a magnificent engine. “The aircraft engine mix is tremendous as regards flexibility of manoeuvre and engine handling over the full performance envelope. The engines provide outstanding slam acceleration at high angles of attack and yaw, quite superior to any other modern fighter,” he added.

As for the actual F-18 production schedule, Mr George Stuart, Managing Director of Aerospace Technologies of Australia (ASTA) expresses confidence that the backlog in deliveries, which by late last year had stretched to six, will be overcome in the September quarter this year. By mid-1988 deliveries were only two aircraft behind schedule. This has been achieved as the new company (which took over from the old Government Aircraft Factories) has settled down and reached the desired production rate of two Hornets a month.

To date No3 and No77 fighter squadrons at Williamtown have converted from Mirage to Hornet fighters and No75 squadron (previously stationed at Darwin) is undergoing conversion training. Initial No75 Squadron Hornets will transfer to Tindal air base in September. The base is to be operationally activated from October 1 when it will be formally opened.

Meanwhile, a new operational structure for the RAAF was officially sanctioned by the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Ray Funnell, earlier this year after functioning on a trial basis last year. The structure now contains five functional groups – Strike/ Reconnaissance, Tactical Fighter, Maritime Patrol, Air Lift and Tactical Transport. The reorganisation is designed to provide the structural framework and expert staff required for the effective and decisive application of air power in line with strategic objectives laid down by the Chief of the Defence Force. It involves improving operational coherence, cohesion and tactic development within the Air Commander’s HQ and the force element groups. It also requires the redevelopment of a National Air Operational Command Centre which includes a National Air Defence Operations Centre and an Air Intelligence Centre.

Air Vice Marshal Radford considers the new structure represents the most significant change in the RAAF since World War II, with the Air Force, for the first time, having a flexible command organisation under the Air Commander. (The two other, ‘environmental’ commands are maritime command and land·command).

An envisaged larger command centre, which needs to be placed underground if it is to meet wartime or defence emergency contingencies, would be a bigger version of the current Operational Command’s Operations R6om which, in normal circumstances, is manned even days a week, 24 hours a day. The proposed new command centre would provide facilities, including modern computerised command and control systems, for the Air Commander and his staff to plan and control air operations throughout Australia and even beyond our territorial sea boundaries. Information would flow into the centre to provide the Air Commander with a composite ‘air picture’ so that he could best deploy his assets to meet emerging threats.

The new Air Command structure has been designed to have sufficient flexibility to meet any emerging contingency while at the same time allowing the operational commanders in peacetime to concentrate on improving combat capability at squadron, wing and overall Air Force levels. It thus permits the framework for better control of operational training and forward looking tactics development. It also places more emphasis on the broader development of expertise. “Flexibility is important to meet a variety of contingencies,” AVM Radford explained. “One of the truisms of warfare is that if you design a structure to suit a particular contingency or group of contingencies, you may still not have provided for the contingency that happens,” he said. “So our structure has to be such that it can meet the contingency that actually occurs. ”

Under the new structure confirmed by Air Marshal Funnell, after some shortcomings were addressed during the trial period, the five Group Commanders concentrated on the major operational objectives. They are no longer involved in other base activities. There has been a significant devolution of responsibility for those base activities not directly related to operational performance. Such activities have become the responsibility of what has become new Officers Commanding (OCs) of Base Support Wings (mostly at Group Captain rank). The group commanders are basically of one-star Air Commodore rank. The OCs have responsibility for the base property, most of the financial arrangements and other delegations.

The Base Support Wing has three separate Squadrons, each with their own COs to cover administrative support, supply support and operations support. For example the operations support squadron handles air traffic control, the fire services and essential base operations. So the move has been away from a formation commander commanding everything at a big base. “I believe it was too much for a single man to do,” AVM Radford said. “Take Amberley, for example. We have the F-111 squadrons there, a big F-111 maintenance squadron, the medium lift (Chinook) helicopter squadron, a utility helicopter squadron (being re-equipped with Blackhawks instead of Iroquois and to move to Townsville early next year), a fighter radar unit and a very big aircraft depot. I defy any human being to have the knowledge necessary to give proper balance to such diverse areas of expertise,” he said.

The two helicopter squadrons now at Amberley have become the responsibility of the Tactical Transport Group headquartered at Townsville. The utility squadron, being re-equipped with Black Hawks instead of Iroquois, is to move to Garbutt base, Townsville next summer. The fighter radar unit has gone to the Tactical Fighter Group (based at Williamtown). The aircraft depot is commanded directly by the AOC of Support Command, Air Vice Marshal Alan Reed.

Within the groups, operational wings have been formed to bring together the flying squadrons in each force element. No92 Wing (P-3C Orions at Edinburgh) was the only wing established before the structure changed. Now 82 Wing (F-111s) at Amberley, 81 Wing (fighters) at Williamtown, and 86 Wing (transports) at Richmond have been formed and are numbered according to past history and tradition.

The Tactical Transport Group will not be fully developed because of the decision to transfer control of the Black Hawk helicopters to the Army. The other new wing, 41 Wing, brings the fighter radar units together. It was a radar unit during World War 2. “This wing is one of the success stories of the restructuring,” AVM Radford said. “It’s been given a new direction, and is achieving the objectives we’ve set. ”

There is considerable debate over where the Group Commanders and their staffs should be situated. To save on manpower and administrative overloading, it was decided that these group HQs would be lodged on another headquarters at the base, either on the Base Support Wing, or on the operational wing. While the group commanders would be deployed with their staffs on an ‘as required’ basis in wartime, in most circumstances three of them would relocate to Air Command HQ to form the Battle Staff under the Air Commander.

These three group commanders – Tactical Fighter, Strike/ Reconnaissance and Air Lift – with their staffs would form a very powerful Battle Staff, AVM Radford said. This would be not only because of their experience but also because they would be thoroughly familiar with the aircraft under their command, and have a first-hand knowledge of the operational procedures, capabilities and standards required. “They’d know what could and what couldn’t be achieved,” the Air Commander said. He explained that the Battle Staff would also include senior officers from the rest of the staff at Air HQ such as maintenance, supply, operations, plans and administrative branches.

In most foreseen circumstances, the Commander of the Maritime Patrol Group would deploy to Maritime HQ in Sydney. The Commander, Tactical Transport Group, would deploy either to Land HQ (at Victoria Barracks, Sydney), or into the field with the Land Force and wherever main land forces were deployed.

The Air Commander chairs the Battle Staff meetings. His Chief of Staff (currently Air Commodore Tom O’Brien also sits in on the Battle Staff meetings so that he knows what is required by way of backup, training and other support. But he also takes over coordination of the residual part of the command not committed to combat.