RAAF C-17s in the Middle East

RAAF C-17 operations into the MEAO commenced in July, and up until November 29 the four aircraft had completed 120 sorties carrying 1,899,190kg of cargo and 1360 passengers. Initially long haul flights from Australia to the MEAO were weekly, but had dropped back to fortnightly from October.

“It’s been a heart warming situation seeing the C-17 in action compared to how we envisaged it would be,” GPCAPT Gary Martin, formerly the RAAF’s C-17 Transition Team head and now the ADF’s Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO) Air Component Commander. “As I sit here, it was the perfect combination of what we envisaged the aircraft for – the long range flights as well as the hub and node intra-theatre mode directly to the customer.”

GPCAPT Martin certainly brings an interesting perspective to the RAAF’s C-17 operations having been the first person appointed to the C-17 project in late 2005, through being intimately involved in the contract negotiations with the USAF and Boeing through early 2006, and seeing the first aircraft delivered just eight months after contract signature in December 2006. “Heavy airlift was what we were after,” he explained. “The Army had outsized the C-130, as it up-armoured and ‘hardened’ its vehicles, and the C-17’s MOTS (Military Off-The Shelf) acquisition was the fundamental strength of the process. The aircraft has a solid history of service with USAF, a very good track record, and a strong proof of concept. We very quickly gained a good idea of what equipment and basing infrastructure we’d need.”

The flexibility the C-17 now offers is exemplified in its shorter one or non-stop transit times to and from the Middle East, and its ability to operate directly into semi-prepared forward airfields such as those at the Australian bases at Kandahar and Tarin Kout. “The loads are prepared in Australia, the aircraft arrives at the hub, is quickly turned around with fuel and a fresh crew, and is then launched straight out to theatre,” GPCAPT Martin added. “It has an extremely high rate of reliability in flights and capacity. For example, we were able to quickly re-supply our forces when we lost several vehicles during the recent elections due to IEDs, with no resultant loss of capability on the ground. The troops know the stuff will get there and will be delivered when promised which is a huge bonus for the person on the end of the line.”

This flexibility is also emphasised in the ADF’s logistics chain which carefully plans the loads so that one of the 18 pallets loaded on a C-17 at an Australian base can become one of eight carried by the C-130 or, when turned sideways, will fit inside a CH-47 Chinook without having to be knocked down and re-packaged in transit. “Our normal load into Tarin Kout is about 42,000kg (93,000lbs) on each flight, or the equivalent of four C-130 loads in weight but with outsize loads the C-130 can’t carry such as armoured vehicles or Chinook helicopters,” he added. “The aircraft is very quick and easy to unload so is on the ground for a short time, and the fewer missions required compared to the C-130 means it is tactically incredibly sound in protecting the system from insurgents and from a flight safety point of view.”

All four of the RAAF’s C-17s have now been fitted with the Large Aircraft Infra Red Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system, providing a high degree of self protection against shoulder launched surface to air missiles that may be employed against them when landing at or departing from an airfield in a threat area. “The LAIRCM system offers far more flexibility than previous systems,” GPCAPT Martin said.

“The lasers are there all day and all night and there’s no expendable replacement process of chaff and flares after each mission. It’s very reliable and has an extremely high life of type and component reliability.”

Flights from the Australian MEAO hub near Dubai up into Afghanistan and back often carry coalition equipment and passengers if space allows. “We work with our partners on base for forward and back loading of equipment,” GPCAPT Martin explained. “We operate on their C-17s and C-130s, and they on ours, and if there’s load space available there’s never a shortage of somebody wanting space.”

When asked whether four C-17s were enough, particularly if one aircraft was in deep maintenance and another away for several days on along haul mission such as those to the MEAO, GPCAPT Martin was pragmatic. “It’s about balancing the fleet,” he said. “When we talk about airlift for the ADF, we haven’t even started to realise what we’ll be able to do when the (A330-based) KC-30 arrives next year. The KC-30’s uplift capacity will be amazing – 250 plus passengers and all their luggage and more.

“Not long ago we were a C-130 sized air force – the C-130 was the jack of all trades and there was a very high training burden that went with that. Now we’ll be able to pick and choose what aircraft takes what load, and the crews and aircraft will be able to specialise in their roles. We’re a far-reaching nation now –we’re at the forward line doing it away from Australia, so rapid transport by air is paramount. The C-17 is a massive leap in capability and capacity.”

https://www.defence.gov.au/opEx/global/opslipper/images/gallery/2009/1027/index.htm