Striking a balance

The C-17 and the delayed (but due in 2010) Airbus A330-based KC-30A have certainly taken the ADF up a notch in its ability to play with some of the big boys in the international deployment arena. Almost gone are the days when leased in Antonovs and Ilyushins were regular visitors at Townsville, Darwin or Pearce, although they can occasionally still be seen.

And arguments can certainly be made as to whether four C-17s are enough – if one is in deep maintenance, and one or two are away on deployments to the MEAO or an exercise such as Red Flag, then that leaves just one aircraft, assuming it’s healthy, for disaster relief or other urgent requirements.

In fact, when the C-17 project quickly jumped from the wishlist page to the active projects column in late 2005, it has been rumoured the government of the time which was awash with a huge surplus queried whether four aircraft were going to be enough, but the RAAF apparently didn’t want to appear greedy. Some within the RAAF transport world have since said they wish they’d asked for a fifth or even sixth aircraft, as most of that project’s costs were sunk into NREs such as base improvements at Amberley, Edinburgh, Darwin and Townsville, a new 36SQN headquarters and hangar, simulators and other training aides, while the extra aircraft could have been had for just the cost of the aircraft themselves – about US$200m each, thus adding much more flexibility and capability with little additional cost.

“And arguments can certainly be made as to whether four C-17s are enough.”

But not to be underestimated is the affect the KC-30s will have on ADF uplift as well. On an aircraft-for-aircraft basis a KC-30, when they eventually arrive from late 2010, will effectively quadruple the capability offered by a 707, the last of which was retired in 2008. Tanking abilities aside, a KC-30A can carry 250+ troops and sufficient kit for each of them to hit the ground running, anywhere in the world in just one stop. And, because it will be fitted with DIRCM and other self defence aids, it can do it into forward airfields such as Kabul or even Kandahar. And for tanking, the KC-30 can offload twice the fuel at twice the radius of a 707, and can drag six Hornets plus maintenance troops, spares and other kit from Darwin to Butterworth.

But the five KC-30s are likely to also be in high demand for to exercises, deployments and, especially in the first few years, training. With new Super Hornets and then JSFs, Wedgetails and other equipment coming board, the exercise and training tempos are likely to be very high, so perhaps a couple more of these might have come in handy too.

Back at the C-130 level, the government announced in last year’s Defence White Paper that it intended to buy two more C-130Js to add to the 12 already on strength with 37SQN. This was a curious decision considering the definitive Caribou replacement decision has been put off again (over and over again) until 2011-12, and that any new C-130Js are likely to be different in hardware and software configuration to the originals which were delivered more than 10 years ago, and will thus become a mini sub-fleet. Word is that some in the RAAF would be happy to let the C-130Js go altogether, as the new ‘hardened’ Army has outgrown the airframe in many ways, and instead opt for a few more than the currently planned 10 C-27Js at the tactical transport level. The C-27J has a similar fuselage cross-section to the C-130, operates at the same speeds but with better field performance, has more special forces applications and greater economics. No doubt the Air 8000 project team is hanging out for word on the US Joint Cargo Aircraft (JCA) program’s eventual structure and requirements so it can jump on board as soon as possible.

Other options to be considered could be to buy a couple more C-17s now, and then take a fresh look at what many consider to be the real C-130 replacement, the Airbus A400M when that program matures in a few years. The A400M can carry nearly twice the load of the C-130, 37 tonnes vs 20 tonnes, has a bigger cross section more compatible with the C-17, has jet-like cruise speeds and ranges, and yet can operate into just about any airfield the venerable Hercules can.