The Navy’s second LPA amphibious ship, the HMAS Kanimbla, is to be decommissioned, Defence Materiel Minister Jason Clare has announced, following the early decommissioing of sistership HMAS Manoora in May. According to Clare, an assessment into Kanimbla’s materiel state and a cost and risk assessment deemed that, “the most cost effective and lowest risk option
Boeing has announced that it will now provide simulator-based training for Australian Army Bell 206B-1 Kiowa pilots, further extending its support offered under the current Army Aviation Training and Training Support (AATTS) contract. Boeing will use a Helimod helicopter simulator leased from Ryan Aerospace, with delivery expected by year’s end. “Under our Army Aviation Training
The US Air Force has declared initial operating capability (IOC) for the Northrop Grumman Block 30 RQ-4 Global Hawk, following successful deployments over Japan and Libya earlier this year. “The basic requirement for Block 30 IOC is to support one continuous Block 30 24-hour orbit for 30 days,” said Gen William Fraser, Air Combat Command
The Department of Defence has announced the launch of a New Air Combat Capability Industry Support Program (ISP), providing $8.2 million worth of government grants to Australian industry and research organisations involved in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The ISP, which is headed by the DMO’s program manager New Air Combat Capability, AVM Kym
Sikorsky has shipped two MH-60S helicopters to the Royal Thai Navy (RTN), marking the first export delivery of the type. The two MH-60S ‘Sierras’ will join six S-70B Seahawks already in RTN service, and will be used for a variety of missions, including logistics support, troop transport and search and rescue operations.
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Executive Vice President and F-35 program head, Tom Burbage, was in Canberra on August 9 to brief media on the latest developments with the JSF program. During the briefing, Burbage explained that the 20-strong JSF fleet’s recent grounding was a precautionary measure following the failure of an Integrated Power Pack (IPP) – a
