A friend in need

Australia’s relationship with PNG – our closest neighbour – is vital. Australia became responsible in 1902 for overseeing parts of the territory, and eventually administered the entire country from 1945 until self-government in 1973, which was followed by independence in 1975. Military cooperation was a central component of that relationship; and at the time of independence, the PNG Defence Force was in good order. Regrettably that is no longer the case.

Mirroring today’s broader political scene in PNG, the PNGDF has become chaotic and undisciplined, to the extent that many of its members are sometimes involved in riots and civil disobedience, on occasions even clashing with police. Corruption is also a problem.

PNG is the single largest recipient of Australian overseas aid, which is directed primarily towards health, education, transport infrastructure, and law and justice. Those are all worthy nation-building causes. However, more could be done, especially with the PNGDF. In a country where geography will always make surface movement away from the coastline very difficult, aviation should be an obvious focus of attention.

In mid-2011 a joint Australian army/air force team reviewed the PNGDF’s air transport element, looking at command and control, flying standards, safety practices, and maintenance arrangements. Steps have also been taken for the RAAF to train pilots (at PNG’s expense), and possibly technicians. Again, however, it is questionable whether those measures are sufficient. They are certainly well below the degree of direct assistance and mentoring the ADF used to provide.

Coincident with independence, in 1975 the RAAF provided the PNGDF with four C-47s, followed later by two more. First-class young RAAF pilots with extensive in-country experience on Caribous were attached to the PNGDF to set standards and to assist with developing a sound organisational culture. In a sense, the C-47 program replaced the permanent detachment of RAAF Caribous from No. 38 Squadron which had been based at Port Moresby for the previous eleven years, and whose personnel and operations had served as a high-quality role model, in addition to providing a crucial airlift capability for the PNGDF. It is a model the Australian Government and the ADF should consider replicating.

For almost twenty years the C-47 arrangement was a great success. However, as the RAAF’s involvement gradually diminished, so too did standards in the PNGDF’s air wing. Matters were not helped by PNG’s capricious aircraft acquisition program, which seemed to be driven as much by the whims of local politicians as by rational decision-making. The end result was an untidy fixed-wing fleet which included the Israeli Arava, the Spanish/Indonesian NC-212 and CN-235, and the Australian Nomad. Almost inevitably, the associated maintenance demands proved beyond the capacity of a small, severely under-resourced force.

The opportunity now exists for Australia to help get PNGDF air operations back on the rails. The start point would be providing a new aircraft type, and establishing a long-term pilot and technician training program.

Essential characteristics for the aircraft would include short takeoff and landing, a rugged and reliable airframe/engine combination, good load-carrying, easy loading/unloading access, and low maintenance. Something like the highly-successful Cessna Caravan, with its single-engine (the peerless PT6A), fixed undercarriage, and useful load of some ten pax or 1500 kilograms, would be around the mark. In order to circumvent the interference of individual politicians, the RAAF should select the type in consultation with senior PNG officials, and then make the purchase, initially three or so aircraft. Simultaneously, arrangements should be formalised for training in Australia and, if acceptable to the PNG government, for long-term attachments to the PNGDF of RAAF and Army pilots and technicians.

The base price for a Caravan-type aircraft is around $2 million, to which would be added several millions each year for personnel and training expenses. But cost should not be an issue, noting that for the past twenty years, successive Australian governments have spent hundreds of millions of dollars fighting unwinnable wars of dubious relevance to our national security, on the other side of the world.
PNG’s stability is fundamental to Australia’s security; furthermore, the country is a friend in need. An Australian offer to help rebuild the PNGDF’s air transport capability could lead to a positive outcome for all concerned.