|
 The Australian International Air Show (AIAS) and Aerospace & Defence
Exposition is without doubt the penultimate aviation event within the Asia-Pacific region. This event is also the largest display of aviation and defence
related technology within the southern hemisphere and as such has become a true mecca for the many aviation and business professionals that attend from around the world. While the first four days were solely devoted
to aviation and industry trade professionals, general admission days from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon allowed members of the general public to witness a diverse and thrilling range of aviation displays and
demonstrations. It was on these days that the bulk of the flying displays were conducted.The AIAS 2011 lived up to its key thyme of “Feel the
Power” with this year’s show providing all who attended the opportunity to get ‘close up and personal’ with the very latest in military, commercial and general aviation technology.
 While Victoria’s weather was kinder than previous years, any inclement
weather did very little to deter the 190,000 people who attended over the six days of 1-6 March 2011. Two important milestones marked this
particular show as being very special indeed. Firstly, in honor to its long and proud history, the commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of the Royal
Australian Air Force (RAAF), and secondly, the 20th Anniversary of the Australian International Air Show itself. A key attraction for this year’s show
, and a first for the AIAS and indeed Australia, was the appearance of what is considered by many as the most lethal combat aircraft operating in the
world today, the Lockheed-Martin/Boeing F-22A Raptor. The Raptor is an advanced fifth-generation air-dominance fighter that truly reflects the
current state of the art. Development of the Raptor is the result of the 1991 ATF (Advanced Tactical Fighter)
competition that pitted the Raptor against the equally futuristic looking Northrop/McDonnell Douglas YF-23.
Both contenders utilized unique “stealth technology” featuring composite construction incorporating angles
that optimized deflection of radar returns. As one would expect, the Raptors own offensive avionics are also state of the art being centered on the APG-82 AESA (Airborne Electronically Scanned Array) radar system,
which features advanced look down, shoot down capability and allows for Beyond Visual Range (BVR) engagement.
 The Raptors standard weapons fit includes a single 20mm M-61 Vulcan
canon, AIM-9 Sidewinder and AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (ASRAAM) missiles. Raptor also maintains a limited air to ground
capability utilizing Joint Directed Attack Munitions (JDAM) and/or the new Small Diameter Bomb (SDB). All weapons are carried within three internal
bays, which further reduce the Raptors already minimal radar signature. External weapons and/or external fuel tanks can be carried on under wing
pylons, albeit with a reduction of its stealth capability. The Raptor is powered by two Pratt & Whitney F117-PW-100 turbofan engines each
producing 35,000 lbs of thrust allowing the Raptor to “supercruise” at above Mach speed without the use of afterburner. Raptor’s maximum speed
is Mach 2.5 to a ceiling of 19,812 meters. Thrust vectoring nozzles are also employed providing an unprecedented level of handling and maneuverability.
 As one of the world’s most potent warplanes, the Raptor is a very sort after
platform with the governments of Australia, Israel and Japan all expressing a strong interest in acquiring this extremely formidable warplane. However,
and quite understandably, the US government is keen to keep the Raptor as a non-export item, at least for the foreseeable future. Cost of this kind
of technology is also extremely prohibitive with price of over $150m USD each (2009 dollars). While the very appearance of the Raptor was wonderful to see and a real coup for the organisers, the unprecedented
amount of security highlighted just how special these aircraft are while sadly they were on static display only. Hopefully, we will see them in their natural element at Avalon 2012. Two Raptors of the 525th Fighter
Squadron, 11th Air Force USAF based at Elmendorf Air Force Base (AFB) Alaska USA were in attendance with, and most appropriately, one being piloted by RAAF exchange pilot, Squadron Leader Matthew Harper.
 Another first for the AIAS was participation of fast jets from one of
Australia’s closest regional neighbors, The Republic of Singapore. Three Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) Lockheed-Martin (LM) F-16C Block 52
Fighting Falcons and crews provided a very professional and polished demonstration of speed and handling. Maj. Desmond Too in particular provided a spectacular demonstration in his display optimized F-16C Falcon
incorporating a centerline mounted smoke generation system. Militarily, the Republic of Singapore is a very well-equipped nation for a country of its size
. Along with the Boeing F-15SG Eagle and Northrop F-5E/F Tiger II, the LM F-16C/D Fighting Falcon forms the backbone of Singapore’s air combat
capability. Training of military aircrew is primarily carried out by detachments based in Australia and the USA. It was clearly evident to all at the AIAS that the Republic of Singapore
maintains an extremely capable and professional defence force utilizing state of the art equipment and doctrine.
 Sadly, this was the first AIAS without a display from the RAAF’s venerable
DHC-4 Caribou light tactical transport with its absence leaving a considerable gap in the RAAF’s tactical support capability. As such, under
Project Air 8000 the RAAF is in the market for a new light tactical transport. One possible contender to fulfill this requirement was in attendance at the
AIAS in the form of the Alenia C-27J Spartan Light Tactical Transport (LTT). A key marketing point of the C-27J is that it maintains a considerable level of
commonality with its bigger brother, the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules II. This commonality comes in the form of engines, propellers, avionics and
cargo/load system. The C-27J is currently in service with the US military, as such interoperability with Australia’s prime coalition partner is assured. Its
little wonder that the C-27J is at times referred to as a ‘Mini Hercules’. The C-27J is powered by two Rolls
-Royce AE2100-D2A-turboprop engines, each producing 4,640 HP, providing the Spartan with a top speed of 603 km/h. Spartan can carry a maximum of 11,500 kg of cargo or 60 troops or 46 paratroops or 36 litters and
6 medical personnel. The C-27J demonstration at Avalon was nothing short of astounding with the flamboyant Italian crew performing everything from barrel rolls to spectacular and very short full stop combat
landings, highlighting the versatility of this very impressive light tactical transport.
 Another stalwart still in Australian Defence Force (ADF) service is the
Westland Sea King MK50 Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) helicopter. The Seaking was originally introduced into Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Fleets Air Arm (FAA) service in 1974 as a replacement for the Westland Wessex
HAS31 anti-submarine helicopter then in RAN service. Over time the Sea King has taken on a more generalist role including fleet support such as the
vertical replenishment (VETREP) of RAN ships at sea. All Westland Sea King helicopters in RAN service were manufactured by Westland in the UK as a
licensed build version of the American Sikorsky S-61 ASW helicopter. The Westland Sea King is powered by two Rolls Royce Gnome gas turbine engines, providing a top speed of 230 k/ph. All RAN Sea Kings are operated
by No 817 Squadron, Royal Australian Navy Aviation Group (formerly the Fleet Air Arm), based at Naval Air Station (NAS) Nowra, New South Wales. As the Sea King is also now coming to the end of its useful service
life, two contenders as a possible replacement for the type were also in attendance at Avalon, the EADS MRH90 and the Sikorsky/Lockheed-Martin MH-60R Seahawk. Interestingly, the USN MH-60R demonstrated at
the AIAS was embarked abroad the visiting USN destroyer, USS Shoup (DDG-86) while unfortunately the MRH90 was on static display only.
 The MH-60R Seahawk is a multi-mission naval helicopter that fulfils an anti-submarine/anti-surface role within the maritime environment. The MH-60R
is powered by two General Electric T700-GE401C engines providing a maximum speed of 267km/h. The MH-60R’s cockpit incorporates full color FLIR/NVG capable multi-function displays and a secure communications
system. Sikorsky/Lockheed Martin has delivered over 300 of a total requirement for 575 of these very capable machines to the USN. As usual, the AIAS was very well supported by the Australian Defence Force (ADF)
with most combat aircraft operated by the RAAF being present. However, there was one particular aircraft that was very conspicuous by its absence,
the General Dynamics F-111. As such, this was the first Avalon airshow without this marvellous airplane in attendance and will continue to be missed by many. Nevertheless, taking
center stage was the F-111’s replacement, the Boeing F-18F Super Hornet (or Rhino as it has been christened in Australian service).
 While baring a visual similarity to the ‘legacy’ or ‘classic’ F/A-18 Hornet
currently in RAAF service, the Rhino (at approximately 20% larger) is a totally different machine that incorporates state of the art technology. Key
to this technology is the Raytheon APG-79 AESA radar system that provides an advanced look down, shoot down capability while its advanced Data Link
16 system provides the ability to operate as a node within the modern Network Centric Warfare (NCW) environment. Information from both of these systems is presented to the crew via the Joint Helmet Mounted
Cueing System (JHMCS) which also provides the ability perform off bore/all aspect engagement of threats. Acquisition of the Rhino will also introduce a
new capability into the RAAF. Twelve of the Rhinos acquired will be capable of configuration to EA-18G ‘Growler’ standard to perform an Electronic Warfare (EW) and Suppression of
Enemy Air Defences (SEAD) roles. The Rhino is powered by two General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofan engines each producing 22,000 lbs of thrust providing a maximum speed of 1,717 km/h to an altitude in
excess of 50,000 ft. Combat range is 1,750 km. A total of 24 Rhinos have been acquired that will equip Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons based at RAAF base Amberley Queensland.
 While the F-111’s airshow trademark of the spectacular dump and burn will
be missed, the Rhino's demonstration at Avalon was truly impressive to say the least. Soon after the aircraft began rolling and became airborne it then
proceed immediately into an aggressive right turn with its undercarriage still down. It was clear that 1 Squadron had done a lot to perfect its demonstration since the ADF Williamtown show in October of last year.
While modern state of the art aircraft were in abundance at Avalon 2011, their older cousins of yesteryear were as equally well represented. Notably,
the Temora collections Supermarine Spitfire MK 7 and Hawker Sea Fury provided a wonderful display of fighters of a bygone era. The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina and
Lockheed P2V -7 Neptune represented heavier metal from our aviation past. Both aircraft having been painstakingly resorted to flying condition with both fulfilling similar anti-submarine roles with the former
carrying out its important work under wartime conditions. A novel feature of the Neptune is that it incorporates two jet engines outboard of its two reciprocating radial engines. Interestingly, and a rare sight,
were the Neptune’s two outer jet engines running during takeoff producing the unique sound of ‘two turning and two burning’.
 A spectacular display of ‘hi g’ aerobatics was provided by Matt Hall of Matt
Hall Racing. As a former RAAF fighter pilot and fighter combat instructor, Matt was the first Australian to fly in a Red Bull Air Race and was the only
rookie to ever complete a full Red Bull racing season. Flying his high performance MSX-R, Matt thrilled the crowd with a stunning display of handling and precision that commenced as soon as his wheels left the
ground. Matt’s aeroplane of choice is the US built MSX-R, a high performance, fully aerobatic/race aeroplane built to withstand the rigors of a +/- 14 g load. More information is available from: http://matthallracing.com/ Friday night alight gave all those who braved the cold the opportunity to witness a spectacular dusk and night display of everything from gliders and
ultra lights with pyrotechnics to flair dropping RAAF F/A-18 Hornet fighters and a USAF Rockwell B-1B strategic
bomber. In closing, a massive wall of fire provided a spectacular if not loud and very warm finale to the night activities.
 No Avalon airshow would be complete without the ADF air-land battle.
While enemy forces advanced past the audience along the fence line, some on foot and others behind the protection of their Bushmaster Infantry
Mobility Vehicle (IMV), their moves were kept in check by opposing infantry elements inserted by army Sikorsky S-70 Blackhawk battlefield helicopters.
The air-assault troops then completed their assault under the protection of RAAF F/A-18 Hornets providing Close Air Support (CAS), all simulated by the
detonation of explosive charges on the far side of the runway. Within a few moments all enemy activity was neutralized with friendly forces being
extracted form the Area of Operations (AO), once again under the cover of RAAF Hornet fighters performing simulated bombing and strafing runs.
In summary, the Australian International Air Show (AIAS) and Aerospace & Defence Exposition was a
marvelous event that once again failed to disappoint. Fast jets, historical military and civilian aircraft, air-land
battles and spectacular aerobatic stunts provided something for everyone. The broad range of overseas participants in attendance also added a great level of variety that made for a very successful show. The only
bad thing is we’ll have to wait so long for the next one.
Special thanks go to AIAS Media, in particular Laureen Deale and Camilla Lucas for providing their usual outstanding level of media support during the show.
Rob Hynes/Editor, Chk6-Online
|
