Debrief

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Hornet Ball, the farewell to Hornet flying operations at 2OCU and the graduation of the final F/A-18 fighter pilot cohort. Over 200 single-seat Hornet pilots celebrated with our brothers and sisters from the Rhino, the end of an era, a training program spanning 37 years, graduating only 400 single-seat fighter pilots. More cricketers have played Test Cricket for Australia during that period. As I looked around the room, years of incredible memories and experiences washed over me. In true fighter pilot style, the room mimicked the average LFE (they’re big missions flown with 60+ aircraft), single ships and pairs of fighter pilots working the room, engaging briefly for three of four minutes, succinctly briefing and debriefing a lifetime of shared memories, before moving on to engage the next formation.

We shared stories of the first Hornets to arrive from the US, with ballast in the nose instead of a radar, the transition from an IR (visual range) AIM 9 fighter to a BVR (beyond visual range) jet firing AIM 7s and today the AMRAAM, as technology advanced the air war became more lethal. The introduction of Wedgetail and datalink, the ability to share radar pictures and situation awareness with other pilots, jousting with the tanker and horror stories of AoA probes vanishing down the intake after a bad connection with the refuelling basket. Near misses, engine failures, close calls and importantly remembering those who paid the ultimate price serving our country and never making it back to base.

Multiple deployments to the Middle East with an evolving array of weapons, targeting pods, electronic warfare suites with capabilities that cannot be mentioned in this forum and a helmet-mounted cueing systems (JHMCS) that pilots utilised to cue the weapons systems wherever they looked. As each new platform and capability was introduced, 2OCU had to learn, adapt, debrief and improve the way students learned the basics of fighting what was becoming an incredibly complex jet. Year after year 2OCU continued to turn out RAAF Hornet pilots who served this nation, punching above our weight in every theatre of operation globally, whether it be combat, major exercises or basic training.

In our next issue we’ll take a more detailed look at 2OCU’s Hornet operations and its transition to the F-35. Until then, as we fighter pilots say, hats off 2OCU, you nailed it.

‘2OCU had to learn, adapt, debrief and improve the way students learned the basics of fighting what was becoming an incredibly complex jet’