Defence

Air Force

A busy and demanding role

Recent government announcements on aircraft acquisitions will provide the Australian Defence Force with an enhanced responsive airlift capability. Air Commodore Glen Steed profiles the role of the Air Lift Group.

Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment, took part in a Battalion Parachute Insertion from RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft over Shoalwater Bay Training Area, near Rockhampton to begin their role in Exercise Crocodile 2003.
Photo by CAPT Matt Grant

Air Lift Group (ALG) is a Force Element Group within the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and provides air lift capability for Australia. ALG is responsible for air logistics support, airborne operations, special operations, search and survivor assistance, air-to-air refuelling, special-purpose VIP transport, aeromedical evacuation, and national support commitments. ALG currently operates six different aircraft types: the C-130J Hercules, C-130H Hercules, DHC-4 Caribou, B707 tanker/transport, B737 Boeing Business Jet and the CL-604 Challenger.

Not surprisingly, ALG is actively involved in most Australian Defence Force (ADF) operations, both within Australia and around the world. These operations have included Rwanda, Somalia, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan—and closer to home in East Timor, Bougainville, Solomon Islands, Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Most recently, ALG provided support to relief efforts following Cyclone Larry in northern Queensland.

ALG continues to provide support to the Middle East Area of Operations (MEAO). For more than three years, ALG has deployed a detachment of C-130 aircraft (both H and J in rotation) to the MEAO, providing intra-theatre air lift and sustainment support.

This ongoing commitment to the MEAO has proven the capabilities of the C-130J. Replacing the C-130E fleet in 1999, the C-130J is a comprehensive update to the C-130E and C-130H models, with a substantial increase in airlift capability. The role of the C-130J is expanding and it is being progressed to the point where it will perform all of the roles and missions of the C-130H.

For over 40 years, the Caribou has provided versatile light-tactical transport capability to the ADF. The aircraft is capable of very short take-off and landings on unprepared runways and is still recognised as one of the most capable short-haul transport aircraft in the world. The worth of this unique aircraft was again highlighted with the recent deployment to the Solomon Islands in support of the Australian Federal Police.

Photo supplied by Air Force

ALG is a busy and demanding Force Element Group, for air lift continues to grow and expand with the evolving strategic world environment. There is a requirement to respond more quickly, carry more and carry it further in shorter timeframes—in other words, a leap towards rapid mobility. However, some of ALG's aircraft are markedly older than the aircrew who operate them (Caribous were introduced in 1964, the C130-H in 1978, and the B707 in 1979). But changes are coming.

In 2004, the Government announced that Defence would acquire five new multi-role tanker transport (MRTT) aircraft, the EADS A330-200, to replace the B707 fleet. The MRTT will be capable of refuelling F/A-18, F-111, Airborne Early Warning and Control, and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft. The MRTT will also have a significant strategic airlift capability. As well, these aircraft will be fitted with electronic warfare self-protection equipment. It is expected that the EADS A330-200 will be introduced into service in 2009.

On 3 March 2006, the Government announced that Defence would acquire up to four Boeing C-17ER Globemaster III aircraft, providing the ADF with a responsive global airlift capability. The C-17 is capable of carrying the ADF's current in-service fighting vehicles and outsized cargo, as well as the future equipment currently under project approval requiring rapid airlift mobility. The first of these aircraft is due towards the end of 2006, with the balance of the fleet arriving by mid 2008. Concomitantly, the size of the C-130H fleet will be reduced.

Photo supplied by Air Force

Recently, ALG established the Air Mobility Control Centre (AMCC), under operational control of the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC), to maximise the capabilities of ALG's aircraft. The role of the AMCC is to plan and execute airlift and air-to-air refuelling missions and contingencies on behalf of JFACC. AMCC's emphasis is on effects-based planning—by determining the best individual air mobility platform or combination to achieve a particular objective. In achieving this effects-based planning, the AMCC is also responsible for:

1. all air mobility mission support such as diplomatic clearances, ground handling, and aircrew accommodation;
2. routine non-operational service air passenger and load bookings;
3. air load coordination with ADF air and joint movements organisations;
4. runway engineering necessary to support air mobility; and
5. ground liaison with Army.

ALG has an impressive record with the provision of airlift—a record that will continue to be enhanced with the introduction of the C-17 and MRTT aircraft. In the final analysis, however, it is the people that enable the delivery of the capability. As members of a values-based Air Force our people are at the core of our capabilities and our concern. This values-based culture of the Air Force is particularly pertinent to ALG, with demands on personnel for ongoing long-term deployments, response to short-notice contingencies, exercise commitments, and the transition required for the introduction of new aircraft to the inventory.

Air Commodore Glen Steed is Commander Air Lift Group.

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