RAAF AEW Programme Matures

The acquisition of an Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) capability for the ADF has been a contentious issue for many, many years. Australian Aviation’s TE column first covered the matter in 1982, at which time the Israeli triumph in the Bekaa Valley and the Royal Navy’s trauma in the Falklands were fresh in the minds of the public and the policymakers.

In the intervening period, politicians have repeatedly stated their intention to proceed down the track of AEW acquisition; indeed it was Kim Beazley, then Defence Minister, who uttered the prophetic words “…with AEW you win, without AEW you lose…”. Happily, it finally appears that the government is doing the right thing and proceeding to acquire this vital and long-missed capability. The 1994 White Paper, Defending Australia, indicated the long-awaited shift in policy position on this matter.

The ADF has followed a very cautious strategy in seeking an AEW&C capability, we can assume primarily to ensure that no spurious political arguments impede the project. In past years, the Jindalee Over the Horizon Backscatter (OTHB) system has often been touted as a panacea to all air defence needs in this country, and we can have no doubts that this argument was used repeatedly to deny the ADF the AEW&C capability it sought. Whilst Jindalee is a very useful long-range early warning tool, it cannot provide the unique capability inherent in an AEW&C platform, which combines a height-finding radar, secondary radar (IFF), passive radar, electronic surveillance (ESM) and a comprehensive suite of communications equipment, all in the one platform. The reality is that OTHB Radar and AEW&C complement each other in capabilities, and an effective strategic air defence system must have both.

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