The Royal Australian Air Force’s 35 Squadron is seeking to increase its footprint in far North Queensland and the Torres Strait as part of joint force operations with the Leonardo C-27J Spartan airlifter.
One of the squadron’s aircraft recently completed a three-day deployment to far North Queensland, carrying out community engagement tasks as well as interacting with Army units stationed in the region.
It involved the aircraft making a 2,200 kilometre (1,200 nautical mile), 5.5-hour non-stop flight from RAAF Base Amberley outside of Brisbane to Horn Island just to the north of the Australian mainland and back.
Executive Officer of 35 Sqn Squadron Leader Nathan Thompson told ADM that the deployment was part of a wider push by Defence and the squadron into the Torres Strait, demonstrating the C-27J’s capability and enabling the squadron’s future access to the region to work with Joint Force partners in support of Australia’s wider strategic objectives.
The deployment also marked a number of firsts: this being the first time a C-27J has landed on a Torres Strait island north of the regional air hub of Horn Island, with a landing on Badu Island 45 kilometres to the north.
The visit to Badu Island was a demonstration of the C-27J’s Short Take-Off and Landing (STOL) capabilities that will serve it well on the small airfields that dot the islands of the Torres Strait, with the runway at Nona Aerodrome on Badu Island being just 820 metres (2,690 feet) long.
This capability will enable the aircraft to directly support regional communities in times of need, such as for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) in the aftermath of natural disasters.
While at Badu Island the 35 Sqn contingent, which comprised to two pilots, two loadmasters, and three ground crew, conducted an enthusiastically welcomed community engagement event with locals.
It was an opportunity for the islanders to tour the inside of the C-27J guided by the 35 Sqn crew, which included Leading Aircraftwoman (LACW) Raba Nona, who is originally from Badu Island.
The 35 Sqn contingent also visited Sarpeye Barracks on Thursday Island while they were in far North Queensland. The facility is home to C Company of the Army’s 51st Far North Queensland Regiment (FNQR), the Regional Force Surveillance Unit responsible for the region.
“The engagement was an opportunity to understand their needs and how to support efforts in the region better, an opportunity to gain an understanding of what the unit does,” explained SQNLDR Thompson.
“It’s about opening the line of communications, making sure that our joint force partners understand the capabilities that we can bring to them in the battlespace so we can work together and use the platform more efficiently”.
This includes the possibility of assisting 51 FNQR to rapidly move ground forces around or conduct aerial resupply through airdrop to those elements who are potentially conducting clandestine surveillance operations (in the region), he added.
SQNLDR Thompson says the ability of the squadron to support the Torres Strait and other taskings this year has to do with the increased corporate knowledge of the C-27J enterprise, with the increased rate of effort and investment from the Commonwealth and Through Life Support contractor Northrop-Grumman Australia leading to increased capability and increased flying hours available to the fleet.
35 Sqn has already had a busy 2023 so far, with its aircraft having been tasked with supporting numerous HADR efforts in Australia and the region. This includes a seven-week effort by two aircraft flying between Broome and Derby in Western Australia, following the January floods.
This was followed by two aircraft supporting New Zealand and other aircraft the Northern Territory, following similar disasters in February and March.
The C-27Js have also been deployed twice this year in support of Operation Solania, the ADF’s efforts to providing improved maritime surveillance and deter illegal fishing throughout the South Pacific.
One aircraft is also in Papua New Guinea to enhance the capabilities of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), and three aircraft from the fleet of ten are generally available to support joint force taskings.