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LAC
Andrew Capon and CPL Chris Wilson make the last transmission
on the old high frequency system at RAAF Base Glenbrook. |
AIR
Force has switched off the old and turned on the new – high
frequency communications systems, that is.
It is the largest single change in Defence HF communications for
many decades. Some sites of the old system are reported to have
been in use by the Air Force since World War II.
The new system replaces the single-service HF facilities operated
by the Air Force and Navy.
The new system will provide organisational message services, using
more reliable waveforms and greater speeds than before, as well
as non-secure and secure voice communications. It will support
all ADF mobiles’ platforms operating locally and deployed
around the world any time of the day.
Live operations started on November 1. The old system was shut
down in phases: Western Australia closed more than two years ago,
Townsville shut down in September and Darwin and Sydney on November
19. A goodbye tour of the Bringelly and Londonerry sites in NSW
was held on December 1, followed by a farewell dinner at RAAF
Base Glenbrook.
The new system will use a combination of 10kW, 4kW and 1kW transmitters
and new high-gain antennas located at Darwin, Townsville, North
West Cape in Western Australia and the Riverina in NSW. They are
centrally controlled from a network management facility in Canberra.
It is the first phase of the HF Modernisation Project (JP2043),
which started in 1998. The project authority is in the design
phase for the final system, which will add extra functionality
and services.
