Air Commodore Steve Moore joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in January 1976 and flew both the BAC-167 Strikemaster and the A-4K Skyhawk, as well as the UH-1H and UH-1N Iroquois in both the Middle East and Antarctica respectively.

A Heron detachment is deployed for roughly four to five months, with significant crossover between personnel to avoid knowledge gaps in training. Thanks to the urgent operational nature of the project, addressing the training element has been a key issue for the Air Force.

The previous Avalon show farewelled the Caribou; the next likely farewell will be the veteran C-130H Hercules. This year’s event could throw some further light on the Caribou replacement, to be acquired under Project Air 8000 Phase 2.

Canadian-based training and simulation firm CAE Inc has flown under the radar so far as Air 5428 and Air 9000 Ph 7 are concerned.

In July 2007, then Defence Minister Brendan Nelson announced that the Boeing P-8A had been selected as the preferred aircraft for AIR7000 Phase 2 - the $4 billion project to acquire a manned Maritime Patrol and Response Aircraft (MPRA).

French aerospace conglomerate SAFRAN has flown under the radar in Australia but is starting to promote a brand name that dominates entire layers of the ADF’s aerospace supply chain.

The Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) should be close to being accepted into service by the time ADM readers make their way to the 2011 Avalon Air show. But work on training the pilots, boomers and aircrew is already ahead of the curve.

Although the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is expected to take delivery in 2014 of the first two of an eventual fleet of up to 100 F-35A conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSFs), domestic industry seems unlikely to have more than a peripheral involvement in the support and maintenance of the new type until late 2017.

The mission: delivery of a remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) capability into Afghanistan in 90 days. The outcome: 3,500 hours flown in the first year with another 6,500-plus planned for 2011. ADM has a look at how Project NANKEEN came together and what the future holds for the ADF’s first operational experience with a medium altitude long endurance (MALE) RPA.

Then acting minister for defence Jason Clare has welcomed the restructure of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) Program announced by US Defense Secretary Robert Gates early this year.

Last year, the Hawk Lead in fighter (LIF) fleet celebrated its 10th birthday in Australian service with the RAAF, and reached 60,000 flying hours. With new pilot training programs on the way, the lessons learned from this program could provide some interesting insights for these future programs.

JSF prime contractor Lockheed Martin has received a US$3.5 billion contract modification from the US Department of Defense to manufacture 31 F-35 Lightning II stealth fighters in the fourth batch of Low-Rate Initial Production (LRIP).

With a number of capability enhancements for the RAAF AP-3C Orion fleet completed or underway and a second tranche of system and capability upgrades in the offing under a second phase of the Capability Assurance Program (CAP), one would hope that the fleets’ eventual high level capabilities are at least matched by those of its planned replacement – the P-8A Poseidon.

Just five days after farewelling the last of its F-111 strike aircraft, the RAAF declared Initial Operational capability (IOC) for its growing fleet of F/A-18F Super Hornets.

Boeing will offer multi-role cargo pods designed and manufactured by Adelaide-based SME Airspeed to future customers for the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

By the time this year’s Avalon air show gets under way we could see draft RFTs for the ADF’s two critical pilot training programs, Air 5428 and Air 9000 Ph 7. The RFTs themselves should be out by midyear.