The two United States Army aircraft were delivered by Royal Australian Air Force C-17A Globemaster cargo aircraft with assistance from RAAF and US Army personnel to RAAF Base Richmond in NSW.
Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35 Lightning II fighter, was named “preferred tender” on JP 9102 in April 2023 – all but guaranteeing the deal – before it was abruptly dropped, along with scores of smaller firms, in November 2024.
Conducted as part of the Air Force’s first iteration of regional presence deployments for the year, 11 Squadron’s P-8A Poseidon reconnaissance aircraft worked alongside the Royal Australian Navy destroyer HMAS Hobart in the South China Sea on maritime domain awareness operations.
Run with support of principal partner Atturra, the Defence & National Security Workforce Awards provides a platform to celebrate the achievements of rising stars and spotlight innovative workforce programs.
The company has announced the milestone as it employs around 250 staff in Sydney, including 200 engineers.
Three CH-47F medium-lift helicopters from 5th Aviation Regiment had arrived in Oakey, near Toowoomba in South-East Queensland, as of Tuesday morning, having flown from Townsville on Saturday via Rockhampton.