Speculation has whirled into a frenzy earlier this week with news that several unidentified drones had been seen flying over RAAF Base Williamtown and Newcastle Airport in early July.
Operating for the duration of Exercise Pitch Black, the dedicated Parcel Hub provides Australian and international personnel deployed to Darwin access to postal services, including the movement of urgent freight and the return of equipment.
The plan to acquire human-operated strike drones for delivering explosives to a target without returning to launch points follows recent announcements to begin market research into unarmed long-range uncrewed aircraft systems capable of conducting maritime surveillance tasks.
The information gathered will provide indicative costs and time frames for the potential delivery of a system to conduct maritime surveillance activities across the South-West Pacific.
The CH-47D Chinook helicopter, equipped with an 11,300-litre water tank, and Bell 412 reconnaissance and support aircraft will be deployed to France, accompanied by 24 highly skilled aerial and ground crew from the NSW Rural Fire Service.
iscover
