Thunder hits theTop End

Squadron Leader Terry Van Haren in front of a 77SQN F/A-18.

Leading Aircraftman Lewis Putinja, in the cockpit, and Sergeant David Turnbull perform system checks on a 77SQN Hornet.

77SQN Flight Lieutenant Darren Irvine (left) prepares for a mission during Exercise Arnhem Thunder in the Northern Territory. Photos by SGT John Carroll.

THE Northern Territory resounded to the thunder of lightning-fast jets during Exercise Arnhem Thunder late last month.

F/A-18 Hornets from No. 77 Squadron at RAAF Base Williamtown joined Hornets from No. 75 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal in the bi-annual exercise in the Top End.

A total of 400 personnel and 24 F/A-18s participated in the exercise, which 77SQN Flight Commander Squadron Leader Terry Van Haren described as the “crescendo of the six-monthly cycle of air-to-ground weapons training”.

Additional crews and P-C9 aircraft from Williamtown’s Forward Control Development Unit also took part in week one of Arnhem Thunder.

The world-class training facilities at Delamere Air Weapons Range were used during the deployment to hone aircrew skills in a range of night and day air-to-ground exercises.

77SQN pilot Flight Lieutenant Darren Irvine said the exercise was extremely valuable.

“The pace is pretty intense, but the airspace and the facilities that the Northern Territory offers mean that there is a lot of flexibility in the size and types of missions we can fly,” FLTLT Irvine said.

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