Operation Okra

The ATG departed Australia on September 21, and it is believed the Super Hornets supported by two KC‑30As deployed viaRAAF Pearce near Perth and the remote British Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean. One of the KC‑30As provided additional airto- air refuelling en route as well as carrying support personnel and equipment, but has since returned to Australia to conduct refuelling trials with AOSG at Edinburgh.

The ATG deployment followed a number of military stores delivery missions by RAAF C-17 and C-130J transports which collected more than 194 tonnes of cargo such as weapons and ammunition from a NATO store in Albania, and delivered them to Kurdish and Iraqi forces in northern Iraq.

After arriving at AMAB late on the morning of September 23, the ATG commenced a series of regional familiarisation flights on September 28 which allowed them to become accustomed to baseterminal operational procedures, local and regional air traffic control, alternate airfields, and the wider operating region. The ATG has a complement of about 400 personnel, while an additional 200 personnel have been deployed as part of a Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) which was due to commence training Iraqi forces as we closed for press.

The first ATG missions were flown on October 1, when the E-7A and the KC-30A conducted sorties over Iraq. The E-7A operated a command and control (C2) mission over central Iraq, while the KC‑30A flew a “support flight for allied forces” over Iraq. On the same day, a RAAF Super Hornet conducted what Defence described as a “certification sortie” over the northern Arabian Gulf.

The E-7A and KC-30A backed

up for similarly described missions on October 2 and 3, and were joined by an F/A-18F which conducted an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission.

On the 3rd, the KC-30A refuelled French Armee de l’Air Rafale fighters from No 3/30 squadronbased out of Al Dhafra Air Base in the UAE. Since then, the KC-30A has also refuelled USMC Harriers which are based in Kuwait.

The Super Hornets conducted their first combat mission on October 5, with two aircraft tasked to a close air support (CAS) mission, but no weapons were dropped. The next day two pairs of Super Hornets were tasked to separate missions over Iraq, and one of the pairs was refuelled by USAF KC-135 and KC-10s tankers.

Again, no targets could be found for the Supers and they returned to AMAB with all weapons.

The first ordnance expended by the ATG was on October 8 when a Super Hornet dropped two bombs on a suspected ISIL facility in northern Iraq.

A typical load-out for the Super Hornets for their nearly 4,000km round trips to the target area has been three external fuel tanks on the centreline (6) and inboard wing stations (4 & 8), two AIM-9X air-toair missiles on the wingtip stations (1 & 11), an ATFLIR targeting pod on the left shoulder station (7), an AIM‑120C AMRAAM air-to-airmissile on the right shoulder station (5), and two or four 240kg GBU-12 laser-guided and GBU-38 GPS-guided precision bombs on the remaining wing stations (2, 3, 9 & 10).

While it’s unlikely the air-to-air weapons will be used in the conflict against IS, they produce little aerodynamic drag and are a smart insurance policy in case a wayward Syrian or third-party fighter with hostile intent enters the fight.

The ambient desert heat means it’s unlikely the F/A-18Fs can launch from AMAB at the maximum take-off weight of about 30,000kg within acceptable margins, so the aircraft are likely topping off their tanks at least once as they travel up the Gulf towards Iraq, and again before they enter the target area. If flying CAS missions, the Super Hornets may be required to remain on station for a few hours while C2 or ISR aircraft find targets for them, and therefore may be required to refuel from a tanker a couple of times over central Iraq.

The long trip back to AMAB is accompanied most of the way by a tanker to ensure the Super Hornets can arrive with an appropriate amount of diversion fuel on board. Most Super Hornet missions to date have been conducted by two or four (two pairs of) aircraft. It’s common for tactical strike aircraft to be tasked in pairs in case one aircraft has a weapons system failure, and so they can fly ‘defence’ for each other while the other conducts offensive operations.

The ATG is led by AIRCDRE Steve ‘Zed’ Roberton, an experienced Hornet and Super Hornet pilot who was Director of the Air Combat Transition Office (DACTO) from 2006 to 2009 which managed the acquisition and introduction of the Super Hornet into RAAF service, and has extensive experience operating with and alongside US forces, and will assume command of Air Combat Group (ACG) when he returns from Operation Okra.

The ATG is being supported by regular C-17 transport missions from Australia, and by a contingent of about 400 personnel headquartered at AMAB under Operation Accordion, the ADF’s mission to support the sustainment, contingency planning, and regional relationships required for operations in the region.

During a briefing to media on November 5, the Chief of Joint Operations (CJOPS) VADM David Johnston and his Director GeneralAir Operations AIRCDRE Joe Iervasi said the ATG had flown 144 sorties to date, and the Super Hornets had dropped 25 500lb bombs. Missions flown by the Super Hornets included CAS and air interdiction for the Iraqi Security Forces, as well as the dynamic targeting of ISIL C2 facilities, military equipment and transport vehicles, and logistics and training compounds.

They said RAAF personnel had also led and coordinated a number of multinational fighter and strike operations. “Responsibility to lead a large multinational force conducting a strike mission in Iraq is recognition of the exceptional skills and professionalism of Australia’s ATG personnel,” AIRCDRE Iervasi said. “The mission was a great success. Every weapon was on-time, and on-target. Key ISIL facilities used to mount attacks on the people of Iraq were destroyed. ” Aircraft availability for the ATG has exceeded expectations, an example being two back-to-back eight hour air-to-air refuelling missions of the KC-30A on October 20. The Wedgetail has also flown on most days, and Super Hornet availability has also been high.