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| RAAF C-17 Globemasters (Click to Enlarge) |
New Transport Capabilities Extend AF Reach Beyond Tactical Ops
MELBOURNE — Australia’s airlift capability has steadily evolved in recent years, with the Royal Australian Air Force now operating on a global scale in addition to supporting forces at home.
The first C-130J-30 Hercules by Lockheed Martin was delivered more than a decade ago. Five Boeing C-17s are in service and new A330-based tanker transports are on the way.
Capability will be further enhanced over the next few years with the introduction of the Alenia C-27J Spartan to fill the battlefield airlifter role in 2015, and beyond that, replacement of the VIP fleet.
In January 2006, the Air Force’s Air Lift Group was a largely tactically focused force which, apart from a handful of elderly De Havilland Canada Caribous and Boeing 707s, was centered on the C-130.
At that time, Air Lift Group owned 47 aircraft that could carry 3,775 people and 656 tons of cargo. By January 2016, when the C-27J is in service, it will have one fewer aircraft, but lift capacity will be 4,321 passengers and 950 tons of cargo.
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