A meaningful contribution

It’s probably fair to say that Middle Eastern states need to play a bigger part in halting ISIL’s spread than they have done in other recent conflicts in the region. Despite the alarming but unconfirmed rumours of unofficial support to ISIL in the form of arms and finances by some of them, as the suffering inflicted by ISIL on moderate minorities in northern Iraq has demonstrated, some of these countries bordering Iraq or on the Arabian peninsula such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, the UAE, and Kuwait have much to lose if ISIL’s influence continues to spread.

Australia has already stated it will support a widening of the US’s actions in Iraq, and indeed has already demonstrated that support by conducting a number of humanitarian aid airdrops and arms delivery missions into the north of that country using C-130J and C-17 transports. It has also been reported, although not confirmed, that government has offered up “a squadron” of RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets to the fight, a move that would certainly constitute a dramatic escalation and commitment on our part.

But there is also a middle ground of capability the ADF could offer which, while not directly producing a kinetic effect, would be no less capable in the contribution they could make to the effort. Let’s face it, the US and many of the regional players who should be involved are not lacking in modern fast jets that can deliver precision weapons. The USN carrier USS George H W Bush is employing its own classic and Super Hornets from the Persian Gulf, and the USAF has F-15Es and B-1Bs at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar and an unknown number of Reaper UASs in theatre. The UK is reportedly sending Tornado strike aircraft, Kuwait has Hornets, Saudi Arabia has a large fleet of Tornados as well as F-15 and Typhoon fighters, the UAE has advanced F-16Es and Mirage 2000-9s, Turkey has late-model F-16s, Jordan has F-16s…the list goes on to the point where it is hard to see where a dozen or so more Super Hornets could make much of a difference.

But force multipliers such as tankers, command and control, reconnaissance and electronic intelligence aircraft are much fewer in number, and it is in these areas where the RAAF has seen a growth in capability in recent years and could possibly make a more meaningful contribution.

But force multipliers could make a more meaningful contribution.

Early next year the RAAF’s KC-30 fleet will be back to almost full strength and, apart from its already-operational wing pod hose-and-drogue system compatible with the US Navy and RAF, the KC-30 will soon be equipped with a working ARBS boom system capable of refuelling USAF-style fighters.

Similarly, the RAAF’s E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft is closing in on full operational capability, and has amply demonstrated its stability and responsiveness at exercises such as Red Flag Nellis and Alaska, and Pitch Black in recent months. While there will likely not be too much ‘airborne early warning’ trade over ISIL territory, the command and control capability offered by the Wedgetail is outstanding. Further, those in the know also speak very highly of the intelligence gathering capabilities offered by its electronic support measures.

Another very capable electronic intelligence capability is the AP-3C Orion. Greatly enhanced through the Sea Sentinel upgrade in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the AP-3C also features a comprehensive electronic support measures kit, particularly in its enhanced ‘Project Peacemate’ form of which there are one or two airframes in service. The AP-3C’s intelligence capability proved its worth in Afghanistan and in anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden, and its long endurance made it a valuable asset in those theatres.

It may also be possible to expand the RAAF’s Heron UAS operation from its current Kandahar operation in Afghanistan. The ADF’s Heron capability is now on its 14th rotation since it started operations in 2010, and with some 400 ADF personnel having now worked on the system, there should be a sufficiently large skilled workforce to draw from. Further, industry sources claim additional Heron aircraft and ground control segments can be made available at short notice.

No doubt these and other options have already been considered by the RAAF and by Joint Operations Command, and have been submitted to government’s National Security Committee for consideration.