Issue 336: Future Force

But unlike the old Defence Capability Plan it partially replaces, the IIP is not just a list of capability acquisition programs as it also details plans for the “key enablers” of infrastructure (bases and ranges), information and communications technology systems, and personnel training. As a result the IIP replaces not just the DCP but the Approved Major Capital Investment Program, the Major Capital Facilities Program, discrete ICT planning and group service workforce plans.

A key driver is avoiding what the IIP calls “the risk of incomplete or fragmented approaches to investment”, where a new capability such as an aircraft or class of ships is acquired separately to the necessary base infrastructure or wharf upgrades needed to operate that capability successfully.

Another change of approach is that the IIP also looks at capabilities across six “capability streams”, rather than across the three different services.

These streams comprise: ‘ISR, EW, space and cyber’, ‘key enablers’, ‘air and sea lift’, ‘maritime and anti-submarine warfare’, ‘strike and air combat’, and ‘land combat and amphibious warfare’.

“The six capability streams in the framework are used in the Integrated Investment Program to better represent the key force elements – how they are typically employed and their planned enhancements. This was a deliberate move away from describing our capability investment plans in a stovepiped structure,” the IIP reads.

It is an integrated approach, but one that provides less specific detail on projects than the old DCP, albeit over a much longer planning timeframe. For example, projects are not listed by project number and phase, and timeframe and budget guidelines are much broader, listed under “Summary of key investment decisions from FY 2016-17 to FY 2025-26” tables under the broad headings of “program timeframe” and “approximate investment value”. (Note the “approximate investment value” figures are in what Defence calls ‘out-turned’ dollars, ie dollars indexed for inflation. ) Instead, the IIP “provides a consolidated overview of the elements of the plan for the future force; it does not provide an exhaustive list of projects. ” It continues, “Since the status of projects will change as they move through the different stages of the approval cycle, it will be inefficient to maintain a current hard copy version of the Integrated Investment Program. ” Rather, an online IIP will be “periodically updated”.

While we await the publication of the IIP online, below is a review of the key defence aviation capability decisions in the IIP planned for the next 10 years.

Gulfstreams for EW support

Perhaps the most intriguing project in the IIP is the new detail it provides on the Gulfstream G550s being acquired for the RAAF, which the document describes as “long-range electronic warfare support” aircraft.

The G550 acquisition was first revealed by a December 2015 US Department of Defense announcement of the awarding of a US$93. 6 million Foreign Military Sales contract to L-3 Communications for the procurement and maintenance of two G550 aircraft for Australia, with the US Air Force’s 645 Aeronautical Systems Group named as the contracting authority.

The IIP now confirms that “up to” five G550s will be acquired in two tranches, with a total “approximate investment value” pricetag of some $2-3 billion. When a green G550 airframe costs around US$50 million, that $2+ billion pricetag leaves plenty of money for a pretty sophisticated electronic warfare (EW) fitout.

“This capability will substantially enhance electronic warfare support to naval, air and land forces for operations in electromagnetic environments manipulated by hostile forces, with the operating cost, range and endurance benefits of a commercial airframe,” the IIP reads, noting that the aircraft will be incrementally upgraded to maintain interoperability and long-term supportability with the unspecified “United States-developed systems” they will be equipped with.

The language to describe the aircraft, the size of the project’s budget, the fact that as many as five aircraft will be acquired, and the involvement of the US Air Force’s 645 Aeronautical Systems Group, dubbed Big Safari, all suggest the G550s will be highly sophisticated and capable platforms, possibly more along the lines of the US Air Force’s EC-130H Compass Call electronic attack/jammer aircraft, rather than just ELINT or SIGINT

The document describes the Gulfstreams as “long-range electronic warfare support” aircraft.

intelligence gathering platforms.

Big Safari oversees the modification and sustainment of US Air Force special mission aircraft, in particular the RC-135 series and various special mission C-130 variants including the EC-130H, and is known for using an incremental spiral upgrade process to quickly and affordably field new capabilities.

L-3 meanwhile, the contractor listed in the US FMS request for Australia’s G550s, was the mission systems integrator for the current EC-130H at its Waco, Texas facility (while it is worth noting the original US DoD contract is awarded to L-3 Mission Integration which is based at Greenville, Texas that US$93 million sum covers nothing like the total acquisition budget for the capability, and may be just for the first two ‘green’ airframes. ) The US Air Force currently operates the EC-130H in two variants. The first, the Block 35 Baseline 1, features “additional capabilities to jam communication, early warning/acquisition radar and navigation systems through higher effective radiated power, extended frequency range and insertion of digital signal processing versus earlier EC-130Hs,” a May 2015 US Air Force fact sheet reads. The Baseline 2 Compass Call, meanwhile, “provides the DoD with the equivalent of a ‘fifth generation electronic attack capability’,” states the fact sheet.

“A majority of the improvements found in the EC-130H Compass Call Baseline-2 are classified modifications to the mission system that enhance precision and increase attack capacity. ” That electronic attack capability seems more in line with the IIP’s description of the “long-range electronic warfare support” aircraft providing EW support to naval, land and air forces in “hostile” electromagnetic environments.

The USAF fact sheet also points to the communications coordination capabilities of Compass Call, which fits with Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Leo Davies’ recent comments when questioned about the G550s (reported in the March issue of Australian Aviation) that the ADF currently lacks “a way to coordinate or orchestrate that ISR piece. So I’m looking at the 550 as being the conductor of the orchestra, if you like, in an ISR sense. ” Reads the fact sheet about the Baseline 2 Compass Call: “Aircraft communication capabilities are improved with expansion of satellite communications connectivity compatible with emerging DoD architectures, increased multi-asset coordination nets and upgraded data-link terminals. ” One final point regarding the relevance of the Compass Call to the “long-range electronic warfare support” aircraft – the US Air Force has “requested funding to recapitalise the Compass Call fleet by moving the plane’s electronics onto new business jet bodies,” DefenseNews reported in February of the US Department of Defense’s fiscal year 2017 budget request.

The long-range electronic warfare support aircraft program timeframe runs from 2017 to 2024, the IIP lists.

The ADF’s other major electronic warfare program is the well-advanced acquisition of 12 EA-18G Growlers for the RAAF, which are due to enter service in 2018. There’s nothing surprising in the IIP noting that the Growler “will be kept common with the United States’ fleet through regular upgrades”. The scale of that ongoing investment is reflected in the IIP’s listing of a “Growler Electronic Attack Enhancements” program, with a two-decade timeframe from 2016 to 2035 and a budget of $5-6 billion. The IIP provides little other detail other than noting “new weapons and other systems” will be acquired for the Growler. Those new weapons are likely to include warstocks of the AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) – so far Australia is acquiring a limited number of AGM-88Es and older AGM-88B HARM missiles for a training capability for the Growler – plus the forthcoming Next-Generation Jammer, being developed by Raytheon to replace the Growler’s current ALQ-99 jamming pods, which is due to enter service with the US Navy in the early 2020s.

More broadly the IIP notes Defence will continue to pursue “force-level” EW capabilities. “This will improve the ADF’s ability to control the electronic environment and where necessary, deny or degrade the electronic systems of adversaries,” it reads.

Strike & air combat

The Growler is detailed under the IIP’s ‘Strike and air combat’ capability stream chapter, which also confirms F-35A Joint Strike Fighter acquisition plans, as well as upgrades for the Wedgetail AEW&C platform, details new weapons programs, and looks to the ultimate replacement of the existing Super Hornet fleet somewhere “around” 2030.

The White Paper and IIP held no surprises for the Air Force’s largest, highest profile acquisition – the 72 F-35As to replace the existing 71 F/A-18A/B classic Hornets from 2020. The IIP lists the F-35 acquisition budget as $15. 3 billion, with a further $1-2 billion for F-35-related facilities and base upgrades.

The Super Hornet replacement, meanwhile, will be considered next decade. “Its replacement could include either a fourth operational squadron of Joint Strike Fighters or possibly a yet to be developed unmanned combat aerial vehicle,” states the IIP. “The decision on the replacement of this air combat capability will be best undertaken post-2020 when technology and emerging threat trends are better understood, and we have the benefit of our initial Joint Strike Fighter operating experience. ” The IIP also details the planned acquisition of new air-to-air and air-to-surface missions “with specific consideration of high-speed and long-range strike and anti-ship weapons. ” A supporting table lists four related projects: “Air-to-Air Weapons and Countermeasures”, a $1-2 billion project scheduled for government approval this current financial year; “Maritime Strike Weapons” – $1-2bn with a 2018-2027 timeframe; “Air-to-Air Weapons and Countermeasures (Next Generation)” – $1-2bn and a 2024-2030 timeframe; and “Air-to-Surface Weapons and Countermeasures” – $750m and a 2016- 2027 timeframe.

No further detail is listed, but it is likely the maritime strike weapons program will consider the acquisition of the Kongsberg Joint Strike Missile for the F-35 after the governments of Norway and Australia formalised an agreement for Australia to participate in the development of the JSM in September 2015.

What other weapons that end up on the RAAF’s F-35s beyond the baseline aircraft’s standard AIM-9X and AIM-120D Amraam air-to-air missiles, GPS-guided JDAM and Small Diameter (SDB) bombs and laser-guided bombs remains to be seen. The JSOW stand-off glide-bomb which is carried by the RAAF’s Super Hornets will at this stage only be integrated on the US Navy’s F-35C model JSFs, while the JSM and other weapons of potential interest to Australia, such as the SDB II and, potentially, the MBDA Meteor long-range air-to-air missile for the RAF and the AGM-158 JASSM stand-off missile, won’t be integrated onto the aircraft until the follow-on Block 4 software update comes on line some time early next decade.

One broader point on ADF strategy the White Paper and IIP raise, without explicitly saying so, is that in the future, as it does today, the ADF’s long-range strike capabilities will remain the domain of the RAAF. For a generation that capability was vested in the F-111, and now resides in the JASSM-armed classic Hornet and JSOW-armed Super Hornet supported by KC-30 tankers. The 2009 White Paper, released by then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, first raised the prospect of Australia acquiring 12 new submarines to replace the Collins class boats, which the 2016 White Paper reaffirms. But the 2009 White Paper said the new boats, as well as new frigates to replace the Anzac class and the forthcoming Air Warfare Destroyers would be fitted with “maritime-based land-attack cruise missiles”.

In the last few years that requirement has been quietly dropped, not just from the submarines but the air warfare destroyers and future frigates as well, leaving strike missile-armed Super Hornets and F-35s backed by KC- 30s and Wedgetails the ADF’s primary long-range strike capability through to the 2030s.

Strike missilearmed Super Hornets and F-35s will be the ADF’s primary long-range strike capability.

But there is perhaps another broader point here too. In the past White Papers and Defence Capability Plans have focused on capabilities that deliver ‘kinetic effects’. But this new White Paper has a much broader emphasis on the technologies of the information age that enable the delivery of those effects – electronic warfare, ISR, cyber, surveillance aircraft and UAVs, networking and command and control.

On that point it is interesting to note the RAAF’s Plan Jericho, which aims to fully exploit the capabilities of the F-35 and to ensure the service is a “fifth generation Air Force” and not “an Air Force with fifth generation aircraft”, is not explicitly mentioned in the White Paper or IIP, although its thinking does appear to permeate the documents.

“Realising the full potential of the Joint Strike Fighter and Growler aircraft is dependent on investments [that] … will facilitate enhancements in processing, analysing and disseminating intelligence and mission data,” the IIP reads.

The IIP says the ADF’s strike and air combat workforce will increase by 500 positions, some of whom will support “advanced C4I to underpin more robust integration of air and missile defence systems. ” (Others will support the new special forces helicopters – more below – and new air defence systems, in particular a new medium-range SAM system planned for the mid-late 2020s. ) Another important enabler for the fighter force is the Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft.

“The Wedgetail will continue to be upgraded in order to maintain its capability edge ahead of a major refresh or replacement in the mid-2030s,” the IIP notes. “Software, hardware and communications elements will also be upgraded to enhance interoperability with other ADF and coalition assets. The Wedgetail will play a key role in the ADF’s integrated air and missile defence capability, particularly for deployed operations. ” A supporting table lists two Wedgetail projects: a $3-4 billion AEW&C ‘Capability Upgrade Program’ from 2019-2025 and an AEW&C ‘Interoperability Compliance Upgrade” with a $500-600 million budget and a 2016-22 timeframe.

The IIP also notes planned upgrades for RAAF Tindal to support the Wedgetail.

Meanwhile, facilities work to support the fighter fleet will include base upgrades at Williamtown and Amberley, plus “dedicated infrastructure works” to support the F-35 at Williamtown, Edinburgh, Townsville, Tindal, Darwin, Curtin, Learmonth, Pearce and Scherger. An explosive ordnance storage facility will be built at Tindal, as will a spur rail line to the main Darwin-Adelaide railway to “allow for the transport of bulk fuel and ordnance”.

Decision-making superiority

In a White Paper and IIP that put much emphasis on “decision making superiority” there are a number of projects across ISR, EW, space and cyber.

“To ensure our forces can operate effectively and safely in our region and globally, they need a comprehensive picture of what is happening around them,” the IIP reads. “They also need to be able to operate effectively in a contested electronic environment. This requires analysis, fusion and dissemination of information to support decision makers at all levels. ” Most intriguing of the capability decisions in the IIP to achieve that decision-making superiority is the Gulfstream G550 long-range electronic warfare support, discussed earlier.

The acquisition of the Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton is also discussed under the “Decision-making superiority” chapter, with the IIP confirming that seven Tritons will be acquired. The Triton acquisition was first announced by then Prime Minster Tony Abbott in March 2014, but at the time the number of Tritons to be acquired was dependent on the forthcoming White Paper, and nor was an entry into service date specified.

An accompanying table in the IIP lists the ‘High Altitude Unmanned Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance System’ project as having a project budget of $3-4 billion and a timeframe of 2017-2030. At the RAAF’s Air Power Conference in Canberra in mid-March Defence Minister Senator Marise Payne noted: “the Triton is planned to be introduced into service in 2023. ” The RAAF has been known to have long favoured acquiring seven Tritons, as that allows the mounting of two continuous surveillance orbits.

Another key “decision-making superiority” project is the planned spiral development of the JORN Jindalee over-the-horizon radar network through to the 2030s: “Enhanced command, control, communications, computers and intelligence integration will allow Jindalee to cue and be cued by other systems across the sensor network,” the IIP says.

Then there are a number of ‘glue’ projects mentioned in the IIP, including a “Tactical Data Links Information Exchange Capability” and a “Common Operating Picture Capability Program”.

Also listed in the key investments decisions table for the ‘decision-making superiority’ stream is an “Air Operations Centre” project. That looks to be detailed separately in the IIP under the ‘Strike and air combat stream’ chapter as a: “Joint Battle Management System to better coordinate and synchronise ADF operations, including the tracking and engagement of forces within an area of operations. This system will be deployable, in addition to supporting Australian-based capabilities. It will improve situational awareness, such as the ability to generate and disseminate a common operating picture, and enhance coordination of air battle management, joint weapons employment (including maritime and land strike) and ground-based air defence in operational theatres. ” The IIP also notes that the RAAF’s Vigilare command and control system and the regional operations centres at Williamtown (EASTROC) and Tindal (NORTHROC) will be upgraded or replaced.

Early(ish) retirement for “troubled” Tiger

The IIP foreshadows significant new investments in Army Aviation, ranging from the early retirement and replacement of the Tiger Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) to the acquisition of a new armed light helicopter for Special Forces support and additional Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

The retirement of the Tiger ARH follows ongoing issues with the European-developed helicopter’s sustainment and serviceability rates and issues connecting its Eurogrid datalink to other ADF assets and networks that have limited its operational utility. Finally, the Tiger has yet to operate off the Navy’s new LHD amphibious assault ships.

“The Tiger has had a troubled history – essential upgrades are programmed to maintain the capability’s effectiveness,” the IIP states.

“Defence will invest in a future armed reconnaissance capability to replace the Tiger, which could include manned or unmanned systems or a combination of both, to be introduced from the mid-2020s. ” The IIP further notes in what looks to be a reference to the issues with integrating Tiger’s Eurogrid datalink: “Armed reconnaissance helicopter operations will rely increasingly on intelligence and mission data and access to the common operating picture and other real-time data for effective integration with joint forces. ” The Army operates 22 Tigers, which entered service from December 2004, but the type has yet to achieve final operational capability, a milestone that was originally planned for June 2009 and had been rescheduled to January 2016.

Instead, rather than proceeding with a planned $1-2 billion mid-life upgrade project for the Tiger – listed under the old Defence Capability Plan as AIR 87 Phase 3 Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Capability Assurance Program (ARH CAP) – the Tigers now look set to be retired early, albeit around 20 years after entering service.

A table in the IIP lists the ‘Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter Replacement’ as having a program timeframe of 2021-2030 at a total acquisition cost of $5-6 billion.

A new capability for Army Aviation listed in the IIP, meanwhile, is “deployable light helicopters”, which will see “a new fleet of light reconnaissance and attack helicopters … acquired from around 2025 to provide air mobility support optimised for special operations missions. ” The IIP lists a program timeframe for the Special Forces helicopter as 2019-2028 with a budget range of $2-3 billion.

“The new helicopters will likely feature some light armament and modern intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and communications capabilities for integration with the joint force,” the IIP reads. “They will be able to be deployed rapidly as a small force element of three to four aircraft and personnel by the [C-17] Globemaster. ” That suggests a capability like the US Army’s AH-6/MH-6 Little Bird series or the Airbus Helicopters H135M (which would also bring commonality benefits with the H135s currently being acquired for Defence helicopter pilot training).

At the other end of the rotorcraft scale the IIP confirmed the acquisition of three additional CH-47F Chinooks (for a total of 10), a decision pre-empted by a US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announcement late last year.

What is news in the IIP is the acquisition of “new aero-medical evacuation equipment for the additional Chinook helicopters in the decade to FY 2025-26”. And even more intriguing is the revelation that: “In the longer-term, Defence will explore options for a long-range, aero-medical evacuation and combat search and rescue aircraft to provide enhanced support to ADF operations, including operating with the amphibious ships. ” The key investment decisions table for the ‘air and sea lift’ capability stream chapter notes the “Long-range Combat Search and Rescue Aircraft” program will have a timeframe of 2023 to 2032 and a budget of $2-3 billion.

This is a fascinating requirement. In the US, combat search and rescue, or CSAR, is predominantly the responsibility of the US Air Force, which plans to replace its ageing UH-60A Black Hawk-based HH-60G Pave Hawks with the UH-60M-based HH-60W, which should fly in 2019 and reach IOC in 2021. That timeframe would allow the HH-60W to easily meet the Longrange Combat Search and Rescue Aircraft’s timeframe, but whether the HH- 60W could be considered a “long-range aircraft” is an interesting point. The HH‑60W was designed to meet a 225nm combat radius requirement. While it is the obvious off-the-shelf CSAR aircraft, and would offer a degree of commonality with the Navy’s new MH‑60R ‘Romeo’ Seahawk helicopters, other larger, longer-ranging aircraft could be considered – Sikorsky markets a CSAR version of its H-92 on its website, for example, and the French air force operates a CSAR variant of the Airbus Helicopters EC725 (now H225M) Caracal.

Perhaps the ultimate “long-range” CSAR aircraft would be the CV-22 Osprey tiltrotor. The USAF uses the CV-22 for special forces insertion and extraction, and it has a 500nm combat radius. While it would happily operate off LHDs at sea (the Marine Corps’ MV-22 Osprey was designed to operate from US Navy amphibious assault ships), the CV-22 has a large footprint and it is rather expensive (at about US$90 million a copy).

Another option might be to adapt a variant of the MRH 90/NH90 family for the CSAR role so there is some commonality with existing fleets.

On the subject of the MRH 90, the IIP says it “will continue to be introduced into service, with Army operating 39 to 41 aircraft and Navy operating six to eight aircraft. Current plans also include a requirement for role-specific upgrades to the MRH 90 troop lift helicopter to replace the S-70A Black Hawk in support of domestic counter-terrorism operations. ”

UAVs proliferate – just don’t call them drones

“We’re not buying any drones, we’re buying unmanned aircraft or remotely piloted aircraft,” Chief of Defence Force Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin stressed in a media conference following the White Paper launch.

While Defence may be losing the battle to get the media and general public to stop using the term ‘drones’ for unmanned aircraft, it is winning the fight to add a number of unmanned aircraft capabilities to its order of battle.

Apart from the commitment to the seven MQ-4C Tritons for maritime surveillance the IIP details plans to acquire a ship-based tactical UAV and an armed medium-altitude UAV.

“Provision to grow the ADF’s existing capability through acquisition of an advanced armed, medium‑altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft for an integrated and persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and attack capability to support ADF and coalition forces is programmed for the early 2020s,” the IIP reads.

In the accompanying ‘key investment decisions’ table the armed ISR unmanned aircraft project has a timeframe of 2018-2038 and a budget range of $1-2 billion.

In the post White Paper release press conference ACM Binskin referred to these as “battlefield support aircraft, for persistent surveillance over the battlefield and able to support forces on the ground if they need to. ” The IIP seems to suggest the new armed UAV will be based at Townsville: “Some additional fixed facilities, including at RAAF Townsville, will be required to support this new capability. ” The USAF’s General Atomics MQ-9B Reaper would appear to be the leading contender to meet this requirement, especially as then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Defence, Darren Chester, announced in March 2015 that six RAAF personnel had begun training on the system with the USAF at Holloman AFB in New Mexico and Creech AFB near Las Vegas.

But possibly also on the consideration list is the IAI Eitan, a turboprop development of the IAI Heron currently in service with the RAAF.

The acquisition of a ship-based tactical UAV, meanwhile, would likely consider vertical takeoff systems like the Northrop Grumman MQ-8C Fire Scout (which uses the Bell 407 helicopter as its donor platform) or the smaller Saab Skeldar or Schiebel Camcopter.

“To improve the situational awareness of ships on operations, we will acquire a new tactical unmanned intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance aircraft system that will complement other sensors and systems by extending the area able to be held under surveillance. These systems will be progressively introduced over the decade to FY 2025-26. They will be able to operate from a range of vessels of varying size, including the future frigates and patrol vessels,“ the IIP reads. Elsewhere the IIP also notes that the Hobart class Air Warfare Destroyers will also embark “tactical unmanned systems”.

The accompanying ‘key investment decisions’ table lists the ‘Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aircraft’ as having a 2018-2030 timeframe and a $500- 700 million budget.

The Maritime Tactical Unmanned Aircraft is listed in the IIP’s ‘Maritime and anti-submarine warfare’ capability stream, as is the P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. Acquisition of eight P-8As was approved in 2014 (and the first aircraft are now under assembly, but the IIP reveals that, “Eight Poseidon aircraft will be introduced in the early 2020s, with seven additional aircraft to be acquired in two tranches to bring the total to 15 aircraft by the late 2020s. ” Approval of the first of those additional tranches of P-8s was subsequently announced by Defence Minister Payne at the Air Power Conference.

“As foreshadowed in the White Paper, I can indicate today that the Government has approved the acquisition of four additional P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance and response aircraft, bringing the total number of P-8As on order to 12,” the Minister said.

“The first of the Poseidons is expected to be delivered late this year and 12 aircraft will be in service by 2022. ” The IIP, meanwhile, says all 15 P-8As will be in service by the late 2020s.

Interestingly the IIP also reveals that the airfield at Cocos Island in the Indian Ocean will be upgraded.

“Airfield upgrades are planned to support Poseidon operations including the Cocos (Keeling) Islands airfield. ”

More lift

Other airfield upgrades flagged in the IIP are for RAAF Base Amberley to support the growing C-17 and KC-30A fleets.

The RAAF’s airlift fleet of C-17s, KC-30s, C-130Js and C-27Js is largely set for the next decade – “This combination of aircraft will provide a capable and flexible airlift fleet to at least 2030,” the IIP notes – but the IIP does flag the acquisition of another two KC-30s, and then the acquisition of a “Medium/Heavy Air Mobility Aircraft” from the late 2020s. This could be a nascent program to replace the C-130J. The accompanying ‘key investment decisions’ table shows a timeframe of 2025-2031 and a $1-2 billion budget.

More KC-30s, meanwhile, could be on the way: “The current ADF air-to-air refuelling capability, including a recently approved acquisition of two additional aircraft, comprises a fleet of seven air-to-air refuellers, with future consideration to expand the fleet to nine aircraft to meet increasing demand. ” Intriguingly, the IIP’s “key investment decisions” table for the ‘air and sea lift’ capability stream reveals a $190 million project for an “Air-to-Air Refuelling Aircraft – Government transport and communications capability” has already been approved by government. Is this a communications and VIP kit upgrade to the sixth and seventh KC-30s (the ex-Qantas A330s) due for delivery to the RAAF in 2018? A request for clarification was a little inconclusive.

“The project is currently developing configuration options for a final decision,” a Defence spokesperson told Australian Aviation via email. “The mix of Government transport options remains under consideration. ” Meanwhile upgrade programs for the C-17, C-130J and KC-30 are all detailed in the IIP.

Battlefield support aircraft, for persistent surveillance. ACM MARK BINSKIN

Hawk replacement

Another nugget our analysis of the IIP found was a new $5 billion project to replace the RAAF’s Hawk lead-in fighter trainers, with the IIP briefly noting: “a substantial provision for a new lead-in fighter training system to support those students who go on to complete the ADF’s fast jet pilot training. ” The IIP provides little other detail other than a line in the relevant ‘key investment decisions’ table that shows the ‘Lead-In Fighter Training System’ program has a timeframe of 2022-2033 and a budget of $4-5 billion.

The RAAF’s 76 and 79 Squadrons operate 33 BAE Systems Hawk 127 jets in the lead-in fighter role. The aircraft entered service in 2001 and are currently being upgraded under the AIR 5438 Lead-In Fighter Capability Assurance Program.

Finally, the IIP also reveals a requirement for a “Training Support Aircraft”, which appears in a summary of key investment decisions table with a timeframe of 2019-2024 with a $100‑200 million budget.

No other details are provided, but the project may be to replace 32 Squadron’s King Air twin turboprops used to support the School of Air Warfare.