Mission Accomplished

Welcome home 33 Squadron

A ceremony has been held at RAAF Base Amberley to welcome the safe return of No. 33 Squadron personnel from the Middle East region.

A KC-30A multi-role tanker transport carrying squadron personnel, who had just completed a two-week mandatory quarantine, were greeted with a waterarch salute from airfield firefighting vehicles, as well as by fellow squadron personnel and family members.

Under Operation Okra, No. 33 Squadron deployed rotations of a KC30A and successive workforce to Air Task Group 630, providing air-to-air refuelling of Australian and Coalition aircraft. This deployment has been near continuous since September 2014.

Minister for Defence, Linda Reynolds, said she was proud of the contribution made by the ADF as part of the Coalition to defeat Daesh in Iraq.

“Australia is a strong and consistent contributor to the Coalition and has been engaged since 2014 as part of our global responsibility to support peace and security operations,” Senator Reynolds said.

“Since the start of the threat posed by Daesh to peace and stability in Iraq, the Coalition has liberated nearly 110,000 square kilometres and around 7.7 million Iraqis are free from Daesh oppression.

“As the year-long deployment comes to an end, I commend the crews, personnel and supporting Defence staff for their dedication, resilience and ongoing professionalism, as we work with our global Coalition partners.”

In six years, 33 Squadron flew 11,332 hours and completed 1440 missions, offloading more than 47,000 tonnes of fuel to receiver aircraft from seven Coalition partner nations. 33 Squadron’s record with the KC-30A in Operation Okra led other air forces to call it the ‘Coalition tanker of choice’.

Commanding Officer of 33 Squadron Wing Commander Sarah Stalker said more than 350 personnel had deployed with the squadron.

“Some of our personnel have completed four rotations through the

An RAAF KC-30A, E-7A Wedgetail and F/A-18F Super Hornet fly in formation as they transit to the airspace as part of Operation OKRA. Defence Image. CPL Brenton Kwaterski. The KC-30A has come a long way since 2014. On the taxiway at RAAF Base Amberley. Defence Image. SGT Peter Borys.

Middle East, the equivalent of being deployed in theatre for about a year and one of our industry partner field service representatives has deployed six times in support,” Wing Commander Stalker said.

“The ceremony doesn’t just recognise those returning from this latest deployment, but the service and achievements of everyone who has gone before.

“The nature of 33 Squadron’s work is that many of our greatest accomplishments are done away from home, and over prolonged periods away from our families.”

Crews flying KC-30A missions for Operation Okra could be airborne for up to nine hours.

On the ground, technicians would

routinely service and refuel the KC30A in temperatures of more than 40 degrees celsius, often with only a few hours to get the aircraft airborne again.

“The experience gained while deployed on Operation Okra led us to find opportunities to design and improve our processes and it has informed how we operate today,” Wing Commander Stalker said.

“We sustained a single aircraft more than 12,000 kilometres away from our home base on a busy operational tempo for nearly six years.

“The KC-30A capability has come a long way since 2014, including the introduction of two additional airframes and a new role with the Government Transport and Communication configured KC-30A.

“Simultaneous to this deployment we systematically expanded air-to-air refuelling clearances, expanding the range of receiving aircraft the KC-30A was compatible with through test and evaluation trials and built experience in other operations and exercises. We

A United States Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon from the 18th Aggressor Squadron refuels from a No 33 Squadron KC-30A MRTT as part of a mission during Exercise Cope North 20 in Guam. Defence image.

were able to bring that expertise to enhance our capability in support of Operation Okra.

“I’m incredibly proud of the achievements 33 Squadron has accomplished as part of Operation The RAAF reflects a modern Australian society and is committed to developing diverse and inclusive teams that contribute to its capability.

The inputs of its people and combined knowledge, skills and experience are an essential element of the accomplishments of the Air Force.

Air Refuelling Operator, Flight Lieutenant Ingrid Van Der Vlist from Number 33 Squadron, RAAF Amberley, are one of the many success stories.

She earned her third Aircrew brevet when qualified as an Air Refuelling Operator on the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport in July 2020.

This enabled her to control the airto-air refuelling hoses and boom during flights – a unique skill held by less than 20 members in the Air Force. FLTLT Van Der Vlist previously served as a Crew Attendant in Air Force and then transferred to the Army, qualifying as a rotary wing Pilot. Okra and each member who deployed should be considerably proud of their

By Eamon Hamilton. Copyright Defence News

A DIVERSE AND INCLUSIVE TEAM

RAAF Air Refuelling Operator, FLTLT Ingrid Van Der Vlist, with the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport Advanced Refuelling Boom System.

contribution, no matter the uniform.

FLTLT Ingrid Van Der Vlist, with her three Aircrew Brevets. Defence Images. CPL Jesse Kane.

Air Force’s commitment to improving gender diversity is demonstrated through a comprehensive Gender Diversity Strategy. Initiatives include mentoring for female members, strategies for improved flexible working arrangements, and support for new parents.

First launch from Australia to the edge of space

The Royal Australian Air Force recently launched its first ever sub-orbital rocket from Australia to the edge of space. As part of its High-Altitude Program, Air Force is exploring the delivery and employment of game-changing capabilities in the upper atmosphere.

The launch was the first to take place from the Southern Launch Koonibba Test Range, a new commercial rocket range in South Australia, and the rocket carried an Australian designed and made prototype miniature radio frequency receiver payload.

This launch will assess the design requirements of lowcost, expendable sensors necessary to survive and operate effectively in harsh temperature, gravity and vibration environments.

Air Force’s Plan Jericho sponsored two South Australian companies for this trial. DEWC Systems developed the prototype radio frequency receiver payload. Southern Launch delivered the payload to edge of space launching a DART rocket from their Koonibba Test Range near Ceduna, South Australia. Dutch company T-Minus manufactured the small ‘New Space’ DART rocket.

Two rockets were successfully launched on September 19. This followed an unsuccessful launch on September 15 because of a defective rocket motor igniter. Southern Launch modified the igniter to ensure it functioned effectively for subsequent launches.

The Air Force payload was a 5.625GHz radio frequency receiver with a rudimentary machine-learning array designed to detect Bureau of Meteorology’s weather radars.

Wing Commander Paul Hay, Plan Jericho’s Advanced Sensing lead said it was an incredible moment.

“The rocket is unlike any ever launched in Australia weighing only 34kg, it travelled at Mach 5, or about 1.5km per second, reaching an altitude of 85km,” Wing Commander Hay said.

“The activity successfully demonstrated DEWC Systems’ ability to miniaturise a very low-cost passive sensor and communication system, integrate the sensor data into the RAAF network, develop payload software, and collaborate with Southern Launch to integrate the payload into the unique T-Minus rocket. The learnings from the trial will be important for the next steps in Australia's commercial space operations as well as Air Force’s High-Altitude Program.

“The DART rocket payload enables Air Force to continue low-cost trials to assess the design requirements necessary for low cost, expendable sensors to survive and operate effectively in harsh environments and how to share that information across Defence networks.

“As multiple data sources are provided by advanced sensors they will be integrated into a sophisticated Combat Cloud – or internet of Defence things – to enable smart, timely decision making.”

“The launch of the DEWC Systems payload at the Koonibba Test Range, supported by the First Nations people at Koonibba, marks the start of Australia entering the new space race and a future where all Australians can truly reach for the stars,” Southern Launch CEO Lloyd Damp said.

DEWC Systems CEO Ian Spencer said collaboration was key.

“This mission is an exciting collaboration between Australian space industry players and demonstrates that the Australian space industry has evolved and is ready to make its mark in the ‘New Space’ era,” Mr Spencer said.

The launch from the Koonibba Test Range was done in consultation and cooperation with the local Aboriginal community and marks the start of commercial space launches from South Australia.

Samara Kitchener. Copyright Defence News

Loyal Wingman ‘fires up’

Boeing Australia powered up the commercial turbofan engine on the first Loyal Wingman aircraft in September, as part of ground testing and preparations for first flight.

This milestone comes on the heels of Boeing completing the first unmanned Loyal Wingman aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force earlier this year, a major step forward for the unmanned vehicle serving as the foundation for the global Boeing Airpower Teaming System, an artificial intelligencepowered teaming aircraft developed for the global defence market.

“This engine run gets us closer toward flying the first aircraft later this year and was successful thanks to the collaboration and dedication of our team,” said Dr. Shane Arnott, program director of the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. “We’ve been able to select a very light, off-theshelf jet engine for the unmanned system as a result of the advanced manufacturing technologies applied to the aircraft.”