Hopefully, this will end the silly brouhaha. The bombs jettisoned into the Coral Sea by Marine Harriers during Talisman Saber in late July have been disposed of.
An look into the possible reasons for Indonesia's choice of the AH-64E Apache helicopter gunship.
The consensus is that the Lockheed Martin F-35 has been eliminated from the South Korean F-X III competition due to the bid's failure to stay within the budget. Word is Eurofighter's Typhoon has also been dumped. Which leaves the Boeing F-15SE Silent Eagle as the last man standing.
The Republic of Singapore Air Force will be forced to leave one of its main airbases. The RSAF's Paya Lebar airbase will be redeveloped into a residential/light industrial zone. The RSAF aircraft currently based there will be moved to a redeveloped Changi East Airbase, which currently houses a squadron of F-16D+ fighter jets.
While we're on the topic of Changi East Airbase, the full transcript of the Defence Writers' Group's late July meeting with PACAF Commander General "Hawk" Carlisle has been released. He talks about the USAF's potential pivot to Changi East (among other places in the region) and that Singapore has decided to acquire the F-35B for its first batch of the Lightning II JSF.
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Chief Air Marshal Geoff Brown says that Airbus Military has yet to resolve problems with the A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport's refuelling boom. Speaking in London, Air Marshal Brown says the KC-30A tanker and troop transport has been on the Australian defense department’s Projects of Concern list since 2010 and is the “biggest priority at the moment,”
In an coincidental twist, we flew on board one of the RAAF's KC-30s just as the news came out, refuelling a flight of RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornets over the Coral Sea just off Brisbane during a Exercise Talisman Saber mission. Photos from that will appear on the website soon.
Preparations for the upcoming Exercise Talisman Saber 2013 between the Australian and United States militaries are in full swing, with an increasing number of American military assets rolling into Queensland over the past week. A number of USAF C-17, Navy/Marine C-130 and C-40 transports (among others) have been noted by Aussie planespotters arriving into Townsville and Rockhampton, while the USS Blue Ridge, Germantown and Bonhomme Richard have made port calls to Australian ports.
Jointly sponsored by the U.S. Pacific Command and ADF Headquarters Joint Operations Command, the Talisman Saber exercise series is a biennial training event aimed at improving Australian Defence Force (ADF) and U.S. combat readiness and interoperability as a Combined Joint Task Force. The 2013 exercise, which runs through August 5, is designed to enhance collaboration in support of future combined operations, humanitarian emergencies and natural disasters. Talisman Saber 2013 will incorporate U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force, the ADF and other government agencies from each country.
For the public, tomorrow (14 July) will see the Talisman Saber 2013 Open Day at the Rockhampton Showgrounds, with the attractions being military hardware, aircraft and displays. Visitors can also talk to defence personnel from the Australian Army and visiting US forces and enjoy performances by US 7th Fleet Band and the Australian Army Band Brisbane.
In a wide-ranging interview with Second Line of Defence, the Commanding Office of Okinawa-based 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit has revealed that 10 Boeing MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft from Marine Medium Tilitrotor Squadron (VMM) 265 will deploy to Australia for the forthcoming Exercise Talisman Sabre. It is expected that seven Ospreys will operate from the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS BonHomme Richard (LHD-6) while three others will fly to Australia under their own power.
Some, or all of the Ospreys will then continue training with the Australia-based U.S Marine detachment in Australia's Northern Territories after Talisman Sabre, which runs from July 15 to August 5 2013 and will be held mainly in Northern and Central Queensland. The Marine exercises in the NT are expected to last till September.
This will mark the first visit by the V-22 Osprey and the BonHomme Richard to Australia, with both VMM-265 and the "Bonnie Dick" having arrived on station in MCAS Futenma in Okinawa and Sasebo Naval Base in Japan respectively in 2012. Talisman Sabre is a biennial joint Australia-United States military exercise held in Australia. Other than amphibious forces, recent Talisman Sabre exercises have seen deployments by US Navy carrier groups, land-based Marine F/A-18 Hornets and US Air Force F-15 Eagles. At this moment, it is unclear what other US forces will be involved in Talisman Sabre 2013.
