After a four-year hiatus, the Australian International Airshow has returned to Avalon.
Run between 28 February and 5 March, show organisers have promised the 2023 event will be ‘bigger and better’ than ever before.
Sadly the 2021 event was first postponed then cancelled due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, but despite an upswing in cases both in Australia and around the world, the 2023 event is set to go ahead as planned.
The major theme of the 2021 event was to have been the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Royal Australian Air Force, but now as Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Robert Chipman explains in his From the Source interview in this issue of ADM, his focus is now firmly on the future. “Those of you who attend the Australian International Airshow in 2023 will hear a lot about how Air Force is approaching our second century,” he says.
Avalon trade event
Once again, the first three days of the event will be given over to the trade show and ADM understands that all exhibition space has been sold, promising a vibrant atmosphere for industry attendees.
One fly in the ointment from a defence perspective however is the shadow of the forthcoming Defence Strategic Review, which looms large over the event and will no doubt stifle many conversations around future capability. ADM understands that senior military officers and industry officials alike have been instructed not to publicly discuss capability in specific terms until the release of the DSR – an event unlikely to have occurred before Avalon 2023.
However, recent Defence announcements such as additional C-130J-30s for the RAAF; acquisition of AH-64E Apache Guardian attack helicopters and UH-60M Black Hawk battlefield mobility helicopters; and M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) for the Army would seem to indicate that they – at least – are immune from the DSR findings. It is also perhaps no coincidence that Avalon organisers are advertising the presence of both an Apache and a Black Hawk from the US Army at the 2023 event.
From a local industry perspective Lockheed Martin has indicated that it will once again host its F-35 suppliers expo, highlighting Australian suppliers’ contributions to the international Joint Strike Fighter program.
Other major acquisition programs which seem likely to be discussed in hushed tones during Avalon 2023 include Air 6500 (Joint Air Battle Management System), Air 7000 Phase 1B (MQ-4C Triton) and JP9360 (Space Domain Awareness). ADM will bring you a detailed account of what was said, when it was said and by whom in our April issue.
Aircraft on display
What sets Avalon apart from the Aerospace Maritime Defence and Security Foundation of Australia’s other major events (Indo Pacific and Land Forces) is of course the fact that it is also an airshow, with the public being admitted on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
While Avalon 2023 will once again be well-supported by aircraft and helicopters from the ADF and US military, AMDA has also announced significant international participation. Countries south as Germany, Papua New Guinea and South Korea are sending aircraft to Avalon for the first time and others – such as France, Japan, Malaysia and New Zealand – are making a welcome return.
Arguably the highlight will be the Republic of Korea Air Force’s ‘Black Eagles’ aerobatic team, which will make its Australian debut at Avalon 2023. Flying the indigenous KAI T-50B Golden Eagle supersonic jet trainer, the Black Eagles have previously demonstrated their skills at major international airshows around the world, including in Malaysia, Singapore and the UK.
This article first appeared in the February-March 2023 edition of Australian Defence Magazine.