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Volume 7, Wednesday September 8th, 2010
appeal in Roxby
New
radio show
Locals have
Page 2
Page 3
Page 11
Flood
their say on Ben Cousins
New jets put to the test over Woomera
W
oomera is the the testing site for the RAAF’s new combat aircraft, the Super
Hornet.
The $6 billion fleet of new aircraft, is in South Australia for its first live weapons trials at the Woomera Test Range. Five F/A-18F and about 100 aircrew and maintenance personnel from No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Amberley, Queensland, began testing air-to-ground weapons firing at the range Monday week ago and will be continuing their flights until September 15. The strike aircraft, affectionately known as the Rhino, is designed to replace the ageing F-111s, which are due to be retired later this year after three decades of service. The new planes are reportedly performing above expectations. “It’s amazing. It’s got incredible performance,” he said. “You can be on the runway here at Edinburgh and, two minutes later, it’s supersonic at 40,000 feet. Commanding Officer No. 1 Squadron, Wing Commander Glen Braz said, “In terms of capability, it has 11 weapons stations a 2000 pound bomb. We can carry four of those, each the size of a small car.
“We drag those up to Woomera and drop them with pinpoint accuracy.” Reaching speeds of up to 1900km/h, it takes about 35 minutes to fly to Woomera where an array of weaponry, including laser-guided bombs, rockets and missiles are being fired. The deployment to SA will trial the Super Hornet’s air-to-ground weapons techniques, tactics and procedures for the first time since being accepted into service in March this year. The weapons being trialled on the Super Hornet include Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), Laser Guided Bombs (LGBs), Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) and the M61A2 gun. South Australia was selected for the Super Hornets’ first deployment and first weapon trials for the excellent facilities provided at both RAAF Base Edinburgh and the Woomera Test Range. The weapon trials and deployment to Adelaide will assist No 1 Squadron in achieving Initial Operational Capability by December 2010. This will result in Australia’s first operational, air combat capable Super Hornet squadron including 12 aircraft, trained personnel, weapons and logistics support. The jet is designed as a bridging fighter until Australia receives the stealthy, fifth generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is due to arrive from 2015. The Howard Government purchased 24 of the $250 million Super Hornets, which are in service to the US Navy, to address the capability gap.
Turn to pages 19 & 20 for Finals Fever