RAAF

Boeing completes delivery of RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets ahead of schedule

Four new Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets joined the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Super Hornet fleet at RAAF Base Amberley today, completing delivery of all 24 RAAF Super Hornets ahead of contract schedule. Read more

Royal Australian Air Force take delivery of 5th Boeing C-17 Globemaster III

Boeing today delivered Australia’s fifth C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during a ceremony at the C-17 program’s final assembly facility in Long Beach. A RAAF delegation led by Stephen Smith, Australia’s Minister for Defence, received the country’s latest C-17 at an event also attended by Chief of the Defence Force Gen. David Hurley, Australian Secretary of Defence Duncan Lewis, and U.S. Ambassador to Australia Jeffrey Bleich. Read more

Boeing delivers 5 more F/A-18F Super Hornets to RAAF

Five new Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets have arrived at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley, expanding the RAAF’s fleet of the advanced multirole fighters to 20. Three aircraft landed at the base on the 14th July and were joined by two additional Super Hornets on earlier this week on the 3rd August. Read more

Boeing completes Site Acceptance Testing of Australia's Network Centric Command and Control System

Boeing Defence Australia have announced that Project Vigilare, a Network Centric Command and Control System (NC3S) solution for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), has passed Site Acceptance Testing at the Northern Regional Operational Centre (NROC) located at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory.

“The Site Acceptance Test verifies Vigilare, as installed at the NROC site, is able to interface with all the relevant external systems and is ready for operational testing,” said Arthur Mamalis, Boeing Defence Australia program director for Project Vigilare. “This shows that we continue to make significant strides toward delivering Vigilare’s full operational capability to our RAAF customer.”

From left to right, Air Combat Officers Flight Lt. Alesha Whitehead and Flight Lt. Robert Vine test the newly installed equipment as P3 Orion pilot Squadron Leader Anneka Deaton observes.

The system successfully demonstrated its ability to manage multiple datalinks concurrently from the site by using assets deployed over a vast geographic area, both in the Northern Territory and the East Coast of Australia. These datalinks connected test assets as well as operational assets such as RAAF F/A-18 Hornet aircraft.

“With data feeds from more than 45 different sensors and agencies using an enhanced Department of Defence communications network, the Vigilare Site Acceptance Test demonstrated an integrated, high-fidelity command and control system capability,” said Tim Malone, Defence Materiel Organisation project director for Project Air 5333 Vigilare. “This is the culmination of many years of hard work by operational specialists, engineers and logisticians to build a system that arguably will be the benchmark for Network Centric Warfare systems in the Australian Defence Force for some time.”

Operational testing with the RAAF is scheduled to begin in June, before Vigilare is accepted at NROC by the Commonwealth of Australia.

“This milestone was a direct result of the commitment and dedication of our employees, our program partners and the customer,” said Steve Parker, Boeing vice president and general manager of Network and Space Systems – Australia. “The overriding success of the test demonstrated the advanced capabilities Vigilare provides and allows the team to prepare for operational testing.”

Developed by Boeing Defence Australia, NC3S integrates advanced technologies that combine data from land, sea, air and space platforms, sensors, data links and intelligence agencies to provide tactical and strategic-level surveillance and battlespace management operations across wide geographic regions.

First five F/A-18F Super Hornets arrive in Australia

The first five Boeing  F/A-18F Super Hornets for Australia landed at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley on the 26th March, bringing the next generation in air combat capability to the multirole fighter’s first international customer.

The Super Hornets, piloted by RAAF aircrews, departed U.S. Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif., on the 18th March and made scheduled stops in Hawaii, Pago Pago and New Zealand on the way to Amberley.

The Australian Minister for Defence, Senator John Faulkner, welcomed the RAAF Super Hornets to Australia at a ceremony on the base. Dennis Muilenburg, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security, joined Faulkner at the event.

“The men and women of Boeing are honored to provide the next generation in air combat capability to the Royal Australian Air Force and proud to deliver it on time and on budget for all Australians,” said Muilenburg. “The arrival of these Super Hornets marks a new chapter in a partnership between Boeing and Australia that has endured for more than 80 years. The exceptional collaboration and teamwork between Australia’s Defence Materiel Organisation, the Royal Australian Air Force, the U.S. Navy and the Hornet Industry Team was the foundation that ensured these new Super Hornets are now ready to begin their RAAF service.”

Among the other officials attending the event were Australian Defence Secretary Ian Watt; Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, Chief of the Defence Force; Air Marshal Mark Binskin, Chief of Air Force; and U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Mark Skinner.

Australia announced its intent to acquire 24 Super Hornets in March 2007. The remaining 19 aircraft, each equipped with the Raytheon-built APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, will arrive in Australia throughout 2010 and 2011.

“The on-schedule arrival of the new Australian Super Hornets marks the beginning of a new generation of air power for the RAAF,” said Group Captain Steven Roberton, Officer Commanding the Super Hornet Wing. “The multirole Super Hornet is an advanced, networked weapons system that provides a major leap in capability for the RAAF.

“We are looking forward to the new operational capability,” Roberton continued. “The Super Hornet employs advanced networked sensors that provide its two aircrew with total situational awareness, enabling them to conduct simultaneous air-to-air and air-to-ground operations.”

The Boeing Super Hornet is a multirole aircraft, able to perform virtually every mission in the tactical spectrum, including air superiority, day/night strike with precision-guided weapons, fighter escort, close air support, suppression of enemy air defenses, maritime strike, reconnaissance, forward air control and tanker missions. Boeing has delivered more than 420 F/A-18E/Fs to the U.S. Navy. Every Super Hornet produced has been delivered on or ahead of schedule and on budget.

Boeing receives authorised engineering organisation certification for Australian Super Hornets

Boeing Defence Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, has received accreditation from the Commonwealth of Australia as an Authorised Engineering Organisation (AEO) for the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18F Super Hornet Weapon System.

Boeing Defence Australia now is authorized to provide engineering services to support the RAAF’s 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft through a combination of local engineering services and U.S. capabilities based in St. Louis.

RAAF Wing Cmdr. Jason Murray, chief engineer of the Tactical Fighter System Program Office, presented the AEO certification to Murray Brabook, Boeing Defence Australia director of Platform Maintenance, on March 2.

“AEO certification is a significant achievement, as it acknowledges Boeing Defence Australia’s compliance with the RAAF Technical Airworthiness Regulatory framework and will enable the company to provide critical engineering services to the Australian Defence Force,” Murray said.

“Becoming an AEO is an important component of Boeing Defence Australia’s Super Hornet support capabilities, and is the result of excellent teamwork and collaboration between Boeing and the Commonwealth,” Brabrook said.

Subcontracted to Boeing under the Commonwealth’s Super Hornet Sustainment Contract, Boeing Defence Australia will deliver sustainment operations at its facilities at RAAF Base Amberley.

Australia became the first international Super Hornet customer in 2007 with an order for 24 aircraft. The first contingent will arrive in-country this month, and Boeing is on schedule to deliver the remaining fighters to the RAAF throughout 2010 and 2011.

Boeing Defence Australia also is an AEO for Australia’s F-111 Weapon System and F/A-18A/B Hornet Weapon System.