Truck/Aircraft Loading Unloading (TALU) unit at RAAF Base Edinburgh.

Ground support for the Air Force’s C-17A Globemaster fleet has been enhanced with the delivery of four Truck/Aircraft Loading Unloading (TALU) units to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bases across Australia.

Adelaide-based company Static Engineering has produced four TALU’s for Air Force. The final unit was delivered to RAAF Base Townsville in early November.

TALU’s have also been delivered to RAAF bases Pearce, Amberley and Darwin.

Each TALU has a platform that can carry a payload of 22.5 tonnes, and hold up to five military pallets. These units greatly increase the ease of loading and unloading the Globemaster by elevating the platform to the height of the aircraft’s cargo floor.

The Globemaster has a total payload capacity of 77 tonnes, making it one of the most capable airlifters in the world today.

The Director of the Defence Materiel Organisation’s (DMO) Aeronautical Equipment Systems Support Office, Danny McGrath, said the TALU greatly increases the effectiveness of ground support to the Globemaster fleet for combat airlift operations.

“The Globemaster has brought a quantum leap in the RAAF’s combat airlift capability, and the TALU’s will greatly assist the speed and efficiency of loading and unloading operations for the aircraft,” he said.

“These units were manufactured to specially meet the requirements of the Globemaster fleet, but will also be compatible with the RAAF’s other airlift workhorse, the C-130 Hercules.

“Each TALU is self-propelled, and can be made air-transportable for loading on board a Hercules or Globemaster in just minutes.”

The RAAF currently operates two C-17A Globemasters with No. 36 Squadron at RAAF Base Amberley. Another two C-17As will be delivered to No. 36 Squadron in 2008.