Aircraft of the ADF — A26 Falcon 900

The RAAF Falcon 900s were bought from the US distributors, the Falcon Jet Corporation, by Hawker Pacific Pty Ltd of Sydney which leased the aircraft to the RAAF. In January 1989, the A24 identification prefix was allocated to the Falcon 900, with the last three digits of the serial number to be made up from the manufacturer’s serial number. However, during 1985 A24 had already been allocated to the RAN for the Seahawk, and as A25 had been allocated to the Black Hawk, the Falcons’ prefix was then changed to A26.

The RAAF Falcon 900s were first test flown by Dassault in France, and then ferried to Falcon Jet at Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. RAAF pilots and engineers were trained in the US by Flight Safety International, which continues through the life of the contract. This was an innovative step in contracting out support functions in Defence, before the Commercial Support Program (CSP) commenced in full swing during the early 1990s.

After final fitting out at Little Rock, the Falcons were flown from the Falcon Jet facility to Sydney using US civil ferry registrations. After acceptance checks and painting at Hawker Pacific at Mascot, the Falcons were then flown to RAAF Fairbairn in their RAAF markings.

The first RAAF aircraft, A26-070 (Dassault constructor’s number 70 and registration F-WWFN), was ferried via Hawaii and Nadi under the US registration N450FJ. This registration was then cancelled, but as the aircraft had not been formally accepted by the RAAF, it was flown from Sydney to Canberra using a temporary registration of VH-HPX, and was then accepted by the RAAF on September 21, 1989. An official ceremony to welcome the new type into service was held at Fairbairn on November 6.

A26-073 (c/n 73, F-WWFA, N452FJ) arrived in Sydney on September 19 and was accepted ten days later. A26-074 (c/n 74, F-WWFF, N453FJ) arrived in Sydney on October 7, and was delivered to 34 Squadron on October 17. A26-076 (c/n 76, F-WWFE, N454FJ) arrived on November 4 and was handed over to the RAAF on November 9. The last, A26-077 (c/n 77, F-WWFG, N455FJ), after delivery to Sydney at the end of November, was accepted by the RAAF early the following month, and flew its first 34 Squadron trip on December 12. This aircraft was the 999th aircraft in the Mystere/Falcon executive jet series.

A later version of the Falcon was the 900B, powered by 4,750lb (21.38KN) thrust Garrett TFE731-5B engines. This aircraft set a distance record in August 1991 flying nonstop from Paris to Houston, Texas, a journey of 4,350 nautical miles (8,060km) at 400 knots (755km/h).

The closest task to a war sortie to be flown by 34 Squadron for many years was in September 1990, just prior to the Gulf War, when Australian citizens needed rescuing from the Middle East. An RAAF Falcon 900 successfully retrieved the 13 Australians from Amman, Jordan, after they had been held and subsequently released by Iraq. The Falcon 900 then returned via Bahrain, Maldives, Cocos Island, Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney.

The ten-year lease, which has cost $26 million per year, is due to expire in 1999. The lease on these five aircraft may either be extended for another term, or possibly be replaced by newer models.