Speaking at the Avalon Airshow, Flight Lt. Kevin Baker, a test pilot from No. 33 Squadron of the Royal Australian Air Force, which flies the KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport, said the receiver aircraft are from other nations and include U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles, Republic of Singapore Air Force F-15SG Eagles, and Japan’s Mitsubishi F-2.

There is no set schedule yet for the refueling trials.

Australia’s efforts to certify the KC-30A MRTT, which is based on the Airbus A330 airliner, with foreign receivers began in 2015, when it sent an aircraft to the United States for refueling trials with various receiver aircraft. Since then, the RAAF has certified the KC-30A with U.S Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps aircraft such as the Lockheed Martin F-35A/B Lightning II, the F-16C Fighting Falcon and the Boeing B-1B Lancer bomber, as well as the F/A-18 Hornet, the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and the EA-18G Growler, types which are also flown by the RAAF.

British, German and Saudi Tornado jets, French Rafale fighters, Indian Sukhoi Su-30MKI aircraft and Singapore’s F-16C/D fighters are among the aircraft certified to refuel from the RAAF’s KC-30s. These certifications will be accompanied by the release of a standards related document, an annex to NATO Allied Tactical Publication 3.3.4.2, which defines all air-to-air refueling restrictions and envelopes for allied aircraft, and provides foreign partner nations with the safest practice for pairing the aircraft as well as limitations and restrictions during refueling.

Australia has deployed the KC-30A in support of coalition air operations in the Middle East, and the type has previously been described as the “tanker of choice” for coalition operations by senior RAAF officers owing to its rate of availability and fuel offload capability.

Pilots have also spoke highly of the tanker, with Time’s War Zone blog reporting in July that U.S. fast-jet pilots called the KC-30A’s refueling basket “spectacular” to refuel from due to its ability to stay very still during refueling operations.

Sources tell Defense News that the trials between the KC-30 and F-15 will be the second time the RAAF will try to certify the F-15. An earlier effort to do so, around 2015, with U.S. Air Force F-15s was put on hold without fully certifying the type.

It was was found that during some flight parameters, the KC-30’s boom had a tendency to move too close to, and run the risk of contact with, the F-15’s canopy when approaching or plugged into the fighter’s shoulder-mounted refueling receptacle. This was blamed on the airflow over the F-15’s nose and canopy.

It’s unknown what the specific flight parameters were, although it’s believed the problem occurred when both aircraft were turning.

An RAAF spokesperson told Defense News in an email that “tanker aircraft and receivers are required to bank left or right together when flying refueling tracks on operations. This makes banking an important test requirement for refueling trials.” The spokesperson added that “the change in altitude during left and right banks may alleviate or exacerbate performance during the refueling, depending on the design of the two aircraft (for example: asymmetrical platforms, single or twin vertical stabilizer aircraft, engine performance).”

Saudi Arabia and South Korea, who operate both the A330 MRTT (the designation for the KC-30A outside of Australia) and F-15s, have released photos and video of the tanker refueling their respective F-15s, although none that were taken while both aircraft were banking.

An industry source at the Avalon Airshow said the compatibility issue has been fixed prior to Singapore — another user of both aircraft types — taking delivery of its first MRTT in August 2018.

However, Defense News understands that as of late 2018, Singapore had not fully certified the MRTT with its F-15SGs.

Airbus Defence and Space, as well as the defense ministries of Singapore and South Korea, were asked in early February whether there were compatibility issues between the tanker and receiver.

When asked by Defense News whether Airbus and the South Korea Air Force recognized problems at some parameters during banking or altitude changes, Col. Lee Sang-kyu, a spokesman for the service, said: “There have been no problems so far.”

He added that “Airbus and the ROKAF [Republic of Korea Air Force] conducted tests and evaluations of the interoperability of the MRTT and the F-15K before final delivery late last year, and since then the ROKAF by itself has been doing tests before full-scale field deployment this year.”

A spokesperson for Singapore’s Defence Ministry said that “the operationalization of the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport is progressing well” and that the tanker has “successfully conducted air-to-air refueling with the [Republic of Singapore Air Force]’s F-15SGs” during flight tests, without going into further detail.

Airbus told Defense News in an email that “the A330 MRTT is qualified to refuel virtually all front-line Western and coalition types, including the F-15. It has conducted combat AAR operations with many of them, including numerous aircraft flying on U.S. operations.”

Jeff Jeong from Seoul, South Korea, contributed to this report.

Speaking to media during a visit at the invitation of simulation provider CAE to the naval base at HMAS Albatross, located in Nowra, south of Australia’s largest city Sydney, Capt. Grant O’Loughlan touted the MH-60R’s capabilities and interoperability with U.S. Navy systems, even as the service retains the autonomy to customize the helicopter for its unique needs.

The additional vessels with which the helo is compatible include the RAN’s support ships and the Canberra-class landing helicopter docks used for amphibious operations. O’Loughlan noted that “the range of missions that this helicopter can undertake is significant.”

The diverse mission sets range from maritime domain awareness, electronic warfare, vertical replenishment, and search and rescue thanks to its extensive onboard suite of networked systems in addition to its primary anti-submarine warfare role.

Australia’s decision to keep the capability of its fleet of MH-60Rs, locally known as the Romeo, close to that of the U.S. Navy’s fleet of helicopters has also helped enhance interoperability between the two navies, with Cmdr. Stan Buckham, the commanding officer of the RAN’s 725 Squadron, telling reporters that helicopters from both navies can go out to sea and work together to carry out a mission using common systems and broadly similar tactics and procedures.

The sustainment model the two navies are using for their respective helicopter fleets are also similar. Australia signed up for 10-year agreement with the U.S. Navy in 2018 to support the whole MH-60R system.

Buckham noted that the RAN can plug into the U.S. Navy’s system and access parts from an American ship if needed.

Nevertheless, Australia still sees the need to maintain some autonomy and customization in how it uses its MH-60Rs. Its acquisition program was structured in such a way to allow it to “get a vote” on what new capabilities are added, and the program is similar to how the country structured some other defense acquisitions, such as the Boeing P-8A Poseidon multimission aircraft and Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters.

The RAN’s traditional crewing model has also seen it retain the aviation warfare operator in the cockpit of its MH-60Rs. Working as the mission commander alongside the pilot and the sensor operator in the rear cabin, this is in contrast with the U.S. Navy’s crew model of having two pilots in the cockpit, with the pilot with the higher skills category rating serving as the mission commander.

Training also differs in some aspects between the two services. Australia trains with the local environmental conditions and context in mind, focusing on the waters around Australia and the immediate region with its unique thermal layer and water columns.

Australia has a fleet of 24 MH-60Rs, versus the 500 Seahawks of various models in the U.S. inventory, meaning Australian crews spend more time training in the synthetic training suite provided by CAE.

The RAN operates a fleet of 24 MH-60Rs from Nowra split among two squadrons, with 725 Squadron primarily assigned to training duties while sister unit 816 Squadron handles operational duties. The helicopters were ordered from the United States under the Foreign Military Sales program in 2011 to replace older S-70B Seahawks and were delivered to Australia between 2013 and 2016.

Speaking to media at the Avalon Airshow in Australia, where a Royal Malaysian Air Force A400M is on static display, A400M pilot Maj. Hasan, who has flown several types of aircraft over his 20-year RMAF career, called the A400M “the best aircraft that I have flown.” (The officer’s name appears as such because Malays do not have family names, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs explains.)

He detailed the use of the A400M in humanitarian assistance and disaster operations, with the service having deployed the plane on such missions to Bangladesh, Laos and the Philippines since it was first delivered to Malaysia in 2015. These missions also included a deployment to Palu on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi following a deadly earthquake and tsunami that devastated towns and villages in the western part of the island in late September 2018.

During that mission, the A400M demonstrated its ability to bring in outsized loads that smaller airlifters were unable to carry, and still operate from runways on which larger, heavier aircraft were unable to operate. These included carrying a 22-ton excavator on one occasion and 21 tons of relief supplies on another.

Hasan noted the runway at Palu normally handled aircraft weighing no more than 70 to 80 tons, and was weakened by the quake and further damaged by other aircraft landing with relief supplies. When it was proposed the A400M, which weighed approximately 120 tons with its load, be allowed to operate to and from the airport, Indonesian authorities expressed concern, Hasan added.

However, planning by the RMAF crew found that due to the load being distributed among the A400M’s 12-wheel main undercarriage and its tires being designed for rough airstrips, the pavement classification number of 36 was something the A400M could handle, which convinced the authorities to allow the A400M to operate from the airport. the major said..

The pavement classification number is an International Civil Aviation Organization standard used to indicate the strength of a runway, taxiway or airport apron/ramp.

Midair refueling

Hasan also touched on the air-to-air refueling work Malaysia has conducted on the A400M. Starting in May 2018, refueling trials were conducted with the A400M using RMAF Boeing F/A-18D Hornets, Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30MKM fighters and BAE Systems Hawk trainer/light-attack jets as receivers.

The trials were conducted with both receiver types throughout the flight envelope and various flight parameters, according to Hasan, successfully allowing the RMAF to certify the receiver types in accordance with standard NATO air-to-air refueling procedures, dispelling rumors in some quarters about the Russian jet’s compatibility with the A400M.

Malaysia then deployed a single A400M and F/A-18Ds to northern Australia in August to take part in the multinational air combat exercise Pitch Black, where the two aircraft types conducted a number of air-to-air refueling sorties. However, the RMAF A400Ms did not refuel any other receivers at the exercise.

Malaysia operates four A400Ms with the RMAF’s 22 Squadron based at Subang Airport, located in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur. Airbus is marketing the A400M to New Zealand, which is seeking a replacement for its Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules and Boeing 757 transport aircraft. A decision on the program is expected later this year.

Speaking in Parliament on Friday, Ng Eng Hen said Singapore will submit a letter of request to the United States for the purchase, adding that “Singapore has the endorsement of both the U.S. administration and the Department of Defense for our proposed purchase of F-35s.”

He did not disclose which version of the F-35 Singapore will request when asked by lawmakers, although he was quoted as ruling out buying the “aircraft-carrier version” of the F-35, and told Parliament that the unit price of the aircraft “ranges from U.S. $90 million to U.S. $115 million.”

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The prices he quoted are the respective unit prices of the F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing version and the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version under the latest LRIP 11 contract signed in September 2018 between the DoD and manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

Earlier reports suggested the land-scarce island nation is keen on the F-35B for its ability to operate from short runways.

He also told Parliament that the total cost of ownership of an F-35 fleet including maintenance across its lifespan will be similar to Singapore’s current fleet of Boeing F-15SG Eagles. He added, however, that the Defence Ministry “will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to optimize operating and maintenance costs.”

Singapore currently operates a fleet of 60 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52/52+ Fighting Falcons and 40 F-15SGs. It wants the F-35 to replace the former, starting from around 2030.

The country typically makes its combat aircraft acquisitions in small, incremental batches, so the relatively small order is not much of a surprise. If the option for the additional aircraft is picked up, Singapore will have the numbers to launch a training detachment, likely based in the United States, to train pilots and maintainers.

This is similar to the acquisition structure Singapore adopted for its F-15s and F-16s, with the country currently maintaining a joint U.S. Air Force-Republic of Singapore Air Force training unit for each of those aircraft types in the U.S. made up of personnel from both countries, in Idaho and Arizona respectively.

Speaking at the 2019 Avalon Airshow, Brian Chappel, vice president and general manager of autonomous systems, said the Firebird could meet some of Australia’s project requirements, which is being managed through the Department of Home Affairs and the Australian Border Force.

“We haven’t directly spoken to the Australian government yet, but it’s an application and a mission set that we certainly believe has some applicability. We will be following that with Border Force very closely, [and] we have responded to the request for information,” Chappel said.

“We’re not just going to stand up and say: ‘We have a platform [and] it’s the right answer.’ We work closely with customers to determine what their mission sets are. Our response to the RFI is an architecture and it’s a set of capabilities,” he added.

Chappel also indicated that other, undisclosed platforms could be offered alongside Firebird, once more details of the commonwealth’s requirements are known.

Firebird is developed by Northrop subsidiary Scaled Composites in Mojave, California. Chappel said two prototypes are currently flying and a third will join the program shortly. Production aircraft will be built at an undisclosed location in Southern California.

Firebird is a medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft with a 30-hour endurance, with a nominal payload. Chappel said the aircraft has been tested with more than 24 different intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads, which can be swapped in 30 minutes. The initial customer is the U.S. government.

“We’re marketing the airplane now because it has gotten to the stage where the initial production program is assured and we wanted to make sure we were all good before we start talking,” Chappel said.

Australia has 72 F-35As on order to replace the F/A-18A/B “Classic” Hornet fleet, as it’s known Down Under; the country has received 10 aircraft to date. Two aircraft were delivered to RAAF Base Williamtown, north of Sydney, in December 2018, and a further eight are based in the United States at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, in support of international F-35 pilot training with the U.S. Air Force’s 61st Fighter Squadron.

Air Commodore Mike Kitcher said two more aircraft will be delivered to Australia in early April and eight will have arrived by the end of 2019.

“Those two jets at Williamtown are flying five to six sorties a week, largely for aircrew training at the moment. We’ll add another two aircraft to that fleet in early April, and we’ll have another four by the end of this year and eight aircraft in Australia by the end of the year,” he said.

Kitcher also described a sortie he flew in the Red Flag 19-1 exercise held in Nevada in February, in which RAAF Hornets flew with U.S. Air Force F-35As as part of an international strike package.

“One of the key strike missions I did that day was to watch an eight-ship [formation] of F-35s kick open a door, which was a fairly hard door to open. Some F-22s came in after that to hold the door open, and the F-35s went back and picked up a strike train that consisted of [RAAF] Hornets, Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy, Typhoons from the [British] Royal Air Force and U.S. Air Force F-16s, supported by U.S. Navy [EA-18G] Growlers and U.S. Air Force F-16s,” Kitcher said.

“That was the first time I’ve been in a high-end exercise, involving a significant air threat, a significant surface-to-air threat and even a cyberthreat. You could see the way the F-35 was working with Classic Hornets, Super Hornets, Typhoons and Growlers to solve a very difficult problem. I’m confident that we’ll be doing that in Australia with our F-35s and our Super Hornets and Growlers within the next couple of years.”

Two RAAF F-35As from No. 3 Squadron were present at Avalon, and one of them participated in the daily flying display.

New Zealand has a requirement to replace its aging Lockheed Martin C-130H Hercules and Boeing 757-200C aircraft with a new capability. The FAMC program seeks to deliver a strategic and tactical airlift capability, which may involve a mix of two different aircraft types, or a single type able to meet essential requirements in both roles.

Speaking at the 2019 Avalon Airshow, the official said that Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or KHI, had been in discussion with the Royal New Zealand Air Force for several years regarding its requirements.

“We have just started marketing the aircraft,” the official said. “We expect the C-2 to be in production for at least 10 years.”

A C-2 from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force’s 3rd Tactical Airlift Wing is on static display at Avalon, and one aircraft had visited New Zealand in November 2017.

The C-2 has been designed against JASDF requirements for an airlifter capable of both strategic and tactical missions to replace the existing Kawasaki C-1 aircraft. Seven aircraft and two prototypes have been delivered to date, against an ultimate requirement of between 20 and 30 aircraft. The aircraft entered service with the JASDF in March 2017, and the official revealed that KHI recently delivered the seventh aircraft to the customer.

The official also said KHI was in discussion with “several other countries” regarding C-2 sales, but he declined to name a specific nation or region. He said the company was consulting with the Japan Defense Agency and Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko for export approvals.

Group Capt. Jason Lind, the director of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare at Air Force Headquarters in Canberra, said the country has allocated AU$1.4 billion (U.S. $1 billion) for the acquisition of the aircraft and ground control systems. It’s expected the total spent over the life of the program will fall between AU$3 billion and AU$4 billion.

Australia’s 2016 Defence White Paper forecast the requirement for seven Triton drones under Project Air 7000 Phase 1B to supplement the manned Boeing P-8A Poseidon aircraft with the Air Force’s Surveillance and Response Group. A decision to acquire six aircraft was announced by Defence Minister Christopher Pyne on June 26, representing Gate 2 (Second Pass) approval. A decision on the seventh aircraft will be made at a later date.

Australia is acquiring the multiple intelligence gathering version of the Triton, and the Gate 2 decision saw the firm order for the first aircraft, with the others to be added as milestones are achieved and as the variant matures in service with the U.S. Navy.

All aircraft are expected to be in service by mid-2025.

Lind said Australia has entered into a cooperative development program with the U.S. Navy to further develop the Triton, adding that eight Royal Australian Air Force personnel and defense officials are embedded in the U.S. program office. He said the program will leverage experience gained through a similar cooperative program currently in place for the P-8A.

“We have learned a lot of things and derived a lot of ‘goodness’ out of the Poseidon cooperative program, and we’ll be working closely with the U.S. Navy to further develop Triton and how we can leverage off some of their support methodologies as well,” Lind said.

“I think Triton brings something incredibly different to the RAAF and the wider Australian Defence Force.”