Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Defence Minister Senator David Johnston have announced that current Vice Chief of Defence Force (VCDF) AIRMSHL Mark Binskin will be promoted to Air Chief Marshal and will succeed GEN David Hurley as Chief of Defence Force (CDF) in the next command rotations in July. Binskin joined the RAAF as a
The Philippines Department of National Defense has ordered eight Bell 412EP helicopters through a purchase agreement with the Canadian Commercial Corporation. A report in Flight International says Bell has confirmed five of the machines will be equipped for combat utility operations, while the other three will have a VIP interior configuration. The order comes after
The ‘Team 21’ grouping of Lockheed Martin Australia, Pilatus and Hawker Pacific submitted its bid for the ADF’s AIR 5428 pilot training system on March 31. The bid, based around the Pilatus PC-21 advanced trainer, is similar to that which the same partners manage the Republic of Singapore Air Force’s Basic Wings Course (BWC) program
Systems manufacturer Rockwell Collins has announced it has signed a long-term agreement with Northrop Grumman Corporation to expand the manufacturing of optical assemblies for the Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) on the Lockheed Martin F-35. The company says it is currently qualifying its facility in Melbourne to produce the assemblies as an alternate source supplier
Northrop Grumman has announced it will sponsor the 2014 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Outback Challenge competition. The challenge is held near Kingaroy in Queensland, and requires students to design, build and fly a UAV capable of conducting search and rescue operations or delivering life-saving supplies to a fictitious lost or injured individual, known as Outback
The Republic of Korea has become a new customer of the Lockheed Martin C-130J, with the first two examples delivered in late March. The two aircraft are stretched C-130J-30 models painted in a unique green/grey scheme, and will replace ageing C-130H models in service.
