Royal Australian Air Force [RAAF] News, Discussions and Updates

t68 said:
Does that mean they could possablly go to sea?
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GROWLER DOWN UNDER Nov 2015 Brad Elward, Combat Aircraft Monthly Nov 2015
"...RAAF crew training
Important to the introduction of a wholly new airborne attack capability is the establishment of a viable training pipeline for crews flying the new jet. Taking advantage of the US Navy’s vast EA experience, RAAF crews are undergoing initial training at NAS Whidbey Island, Washington, with Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 129 ‘Vikings’, the Fleet Replenishment Squadron (FRS) responsible for training Prowler and now Growler aircrew and maintainers. The first RAAF student — a former General Dynamics F-111C and F/A-18F pilot — began his training with VAQ-129 in late 2013. Upon completion he became an instructor with the ‘Vikings’, where he helps train subsequent RAAF crews as well as US students, and is learning the instructional methods to take back to Australia for training future crews.

Training of the RAAF aircrew lasts roughly 10 months and focuses exclusively on ground-based operations. RAAF crews do not perform the carrier qualification (CQ) phase, which is required of US Navy pilots. The students go through VAQ-129 under either the Cat I or Cat II syllabus, depending on their prior experience. Cat I is for aircrew with no experience in the type, such as those transitioning from the F-111C, and Cat II is for those who had some time in the F/A-18F. The RAAF crew came from a variety of backgrounds, including F/A-18, F/A-18F, F-111C and AP-3C Orion, while one is a former Tornado exchange aircrew member. Australian aircrew are designated as pilots or air combat officers (ACOs), the latter including what the US Navy refers to as naval flight officers (NFOs) or electronic warfare officers (EWOs)...."
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Saw a KC-135 on finals into RAAF Darwin this afternoon but no Raptors unfortunately. There was a bloke at the side of Stuart highway selling tanned croc skin so maybe the USAF liaison could buy a couple as souvenirs.
 
Volkodav said:
Saw a KC-135 on finals into RAAF Darwin this afternoon but no Raptors unfortunately. There was a bloke at the side of Stuart highway selling tanned croc skin so maybe the USAF liaison could buy a couple as souvenirs.
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you might have to go for a drive down to Tindal :)
 
gf0012-aust said:
you might have to go for a drive down to Tindal :)
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Can't do, SWMBO is interstate and I'm on daddy duties. A drive to Katherine, with the kids in the car, would be the end of what's left of my sanity. I'll just have to hope they fly over, or the RAAF perhaps has an open day like they did after Pitch Black.
 
Volkodav said:
Can't do, SWMBO is interstate and I'm on daddy duties. A drive to Katherine, with the kids in the car, would be the end of what's left of my sanity. I'll just have to hope they fly over, or the RAAF perhaps has an open day like they did after Pitch Black.
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.... Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet.... :D
 
vonnoobie said:
.... Are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet, are we there yet.... :D
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Worse than that, No1 son is on the spectrum so it will be why are we going there, what's so special about them, how does stealth work, why doesn't everyone use it, if both sides are using it how does anyone shoot anyone else down........ on and on and on.
 
ngatimozart said:
Yes, read that before and some kiwi and other posters should read and understand.
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Always remember talking to an ex-RAAF very senior person and being told one of the great joys of the job was standing back and watching as tech-savvy operational people got hold of a piece of kit....and seeing what it could do.
The particular reference was to Wedgetail.
 
Trackmaster said:
Always remember talking to an ex-RAAF very senior person and being told one of the great joys of the job was standing back and watching as tech-savvy operational people got hold of a piece of kit....and seeing what it could do.
The particular reference was to Wedgetail.
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Yes and the Wedgetail has come ahead in leaps and bounds now because the advances in it are operator driven rather than acquisition and staff weenie driven. I have been following the SLD articles on it closely with great interest.
 
ngatimozart said:
Yes and the Wedgetail has come ahead in leaps and bounds now because the advances in it are operator driven rather than acquisition and staff weenie driven. I have been following the SLD articles on it closely with great interest.
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Wedgetail was very popular at Red Flag 17, it apparently managed a much more complex exercise with ease - to the extent that F-22 and JSF drivers were congratulating the crew on how they handled the battlespace

the fixed wing threat ratio was increased by 500% for red team for this Ex, and included far more aggressive and "unknown" ground based air defence.

it was the only airborne battlespace manager used this year
 
ngatimozart said:
IIRC wouldn't there be some synergies between the Reaper and the Triton?
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Reaper is the iterative dev of the MQ-1 which was the basis for the Mariner

Mariner was assessed against the Triton and the Triton won out - basically due to its flight profile being more suitable to partnering with the P8

Mariner or Reaper in that role has a diffferent flight profile (almost the direct opposite) but had the advantage of being geared more towards strike roles

hence my suggestion on the RNZAF thread that its a better pairing for lower performance manned ASW-ISR

eg in an australian sense it was a better fit for Border Protection to use with the Dash 8's that it had at the time

in the end the issue of employing unmanned for that BAMS role was flicked straight into RAAFs hands
 
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