Front and centre

The primary role of the AM TU has been intra-theatre air movement for Australian and Coalition forces throughout Afghanistan and the wider MEAO, both personnel and cargo. It also includes the aero-medical evacuation of patients from within theatre to higher grade of care facilities.

In September 2013, the AM TU marked the movement of 100 million pounds of cargo around the MEAO.

But while the withdrawal will see a gradual lowering of workload forAustralia’s deployed personnel, the workload for the AM TU is about to ramp up. The C-130 detachment has been joined by a deployment of two RAAF C-17s.

Previously, C-17 deployments to the MEAO have been short-term, fly-in/fly-out, for around three days per fortnight. But RAAF C-17s will now have an ongoing role as part of Joint Task Force (JTF633), taking part in ‘retrograde’ operations of personnel and cargo.

On October 14, a second C-17 was slated to bolster the first, with both now based at AMAB to support the retrograde. A significant number of personnel will accompany the two aircraft, with such a significant surge in capability allowing for at least one permanently operational aircraft and crew.

It will be the first deployment of Australian C-17s for a duration longer than two weeks, and the longest C-17 deployment since Australian aircraft were used to provide humanitarian support to relief efforts in Japan following the 2011 tsunami.

The logic behind the increased fixed-wing cargo presence for the operational retrograde has been thoroughly assessed – flying cargo out reduces the risk and cost of overland road convoys, as well as providing mission assurance to meet the required timelines for transition.

The mission for C-130s and C-17s will continue to ramp up, even as the transition itself is drawing down. The RAAF must maintain the sustainability of the air bridge between Afghanistan and the UAE, and has consequently factored in a variety of potential factors to ensure the job is done.

This has included provisioning in schedule arrangements for aircraft maintenance – both scheduled and unscheduled – and particularly weather. Essentially an attempt to insure against those unpredictable elements, and increase the flexibility of the mission. That flexibility built into the schedule will also provide for RAAF assets to provide further assistance to ISAF partners should it be required and should Australian retrograde operations be ahead of the curve.

But the operational partnership will extend to more than Coalition cargo carriage. With the increased capability at AMAB also comes a bigger maintenance footprint. But Al Minhad has other C-17 operators – including, but not limited to, the UAE – allowing for knowledge transfer, part supportability and general maintenance commonality.

Australia’s inclusion in the global fleet sustainment program also means Boeing will manage the logistics of maintenance and sustainment for spares, meaning smaller stockpiles are required for the deployment. Instead, the C-17 maintainers will deploy with larger numbers of more frequently required spares, but require a smaller footprint for spares overall.

Beyond the primary mission – the support of ADF operations and particularly the retrograde of cargo – the deployment will also allow RAAF to assess the C-17’s capabilities in even more detail. Despite a heavy and consistent operational workload, the RAAF says there is still room to move to find the ‘efficiency high-point’ for the Australian C-17 fleet, and that the deployment of two aircraft and three crews working towards the ADF and ISAF retrograde will help further determine that point.

A feature on the RAAF’s role in the logistics and retrograde of Australian combat forces out of Afghanistan is scheduled to appear in the December edition of Australian Aviation.