Robert Dougherty

Air warfare instructors from the Royal Australian Air Force faced three weeks of air defence scenarios across more than 200,000 square kilometres of airspace between Brisbane in Queensland and Jervis Bay on the South Coast of NSW.

The first trio of F-16 Fighting Falcons arrived at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to take part in the Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model – Autonomy Flying Testbed program on 3 April.

Samantha Mostyn was recommended for the role by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the decision was approved by King Charles.

The E-7A Wedgetail contingent flew more than 250 hours with missions averaging five hours in the air, while up to 100 Australian Defence Force personnel were deployed to Ramstein Air Base in Germany to support the mission.

The Northrop Grumman bomber was selected from a collection of defence innovations, including the THOR-ER ramjet missile, Sierra Nevada Corporation and Saab Gripen E fighter jet, as part of the 66th Annual Laureate Awards, hosted by Aviation Week Network at the National Building Museum in Washington DC on 14 March.

The defence prime said on Tuesday that construction is now underway on a 9,000-square-metre hub it hopes will be operational within three years.