The new order will bring the total AW139 fleet between LifeFlight and its joint-venture partner StarFlight to 20 by the end of 2027, which the aeromedical organisation says will enhance its capability for EMS, search and rescue, and law enforcement missions.

The agreements with labour hire firms Qantas Domestic, Maurice Alexander Management (MAM), and Altara will see their domestic cabin crews receive the same wages as directly-employed Qantas cabin crew, under the Albanese government’s Same Job, Same Pay legislation.

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.