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No
more red eye special
Mounting base transfers to RAAF Richmond
By Graham
Davis
Many RAN personnel travelled on the “red eye” special, the
huge Russian Illyushin 76 transport which lifted them off the RAAF
Pearce runway around midnight each week and took them to The Gulf.
The red eyes are over.
From earlier this month the special flight began from RAAF Richmond
and departed in the middle of the day.
This follows the decision by the ADF Joint Logistics Command (JLC)
to move its Operation Falconer Mounting Base from Pearce to Richmond.
At noon on Tuesday July 8 an Ilyushin 76 (IL76) arrived from the Middle
East and in an hour had unloaded, reloaded and taken off for the return
flight.
The Russian built transport which incorporates cargo and passenger
areas, is one of the world’s largest and longest serving heavy
lift jet aircraft.
It is one of two IL76s along with a Russian Antonov (AN) 124, that
operate under “wet lease” for the ADF.
The transfer of the mounting base from Western Australia to Richmond
has seen the introduction of Operation Catalyst, an
integral part of Operation Falconer.
Both operations support ADF personnel, RAAF Hercules and other support
elements in the MEAO.
The success of the Joint Logistics operation for ADF activities in
the Middle East recently received high praise for efficiency from
CDF, GEN Peter Cosgrove.
The management of the Joint Logistics Command supply chain for Operation
Falconer has set new standards combining the support of advanced technology
and systems and the integration of industry professionals from the
private sector with the ADF.
Depending upon requirements, the weekly service will do intermediate
stops at Darwin and or Pearce before flying on to Diego Garcia and
finally to the MEAO. |
