Swan song?

End finally in sight for the long-serving Caribou

In our December 2008 issue interview with Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Mark Binskin, he confirmed that the RAAF has proposed to government that the retirement of the service’s 13 remaining DHC-4 Caribous be brought forward by two or three years to late 2009.
Apart from realising savings from the considerable cost and effort involved in supporting the 45 year old Caribous, the early retirement will also bring new efficiencies in the use of the 200 or so strong RAAF workforce tasked to provide that support.

The Air 8000 Phase 2 tactical transport/battlefield airlifter replacement program can trace its roots back to a 1986 Defence Capability Review which identified that the aircraft would be due for replacement by 1990. The Review recommended that additional C-130H Hercules transports be acquired which, along with Army’s CH-47 Chinooks and S-70A-9 Black Hawks, would adequately fulfil the Caribou’s tactical transport mission until emerging capabilities such as the V-22 Osprey and future derivatives were mature enough to be considered.