The RAAF’s No. 10 Squadron plays a significant part in maintaining Australia’s knowledge edge, providing the only airborne ISREW capability in the whole of the ADF.
Based at Edinburgh in South Australia, 10 Sqn operates two Lockheed AP-3C(EW) Orion aircraft, the oldest currently serving operational aircraft in the RAAF, albeit with modern mission systems.
The RAAF has been flying the P-3 for more than half of its 100 years, since 1968; with the fleet receiving a number of modifications and upgrades over its service history. 10 Sqn is the last P-3 squadron remaining and continues to make a significant contribution alongside the new suite of technologies, platforms and systems that are being introduced into RAAF service.
Even as platforms and technologies evolve, the unit continues to be recognised for the outstanding outcomes it delivers to the joint force. This year it was awarded the Duke of Gloucester Cup by the Chief of Air Force for the Most Proficient Flying Unit in 2020 – the third time it has received the award since the award’s inception in 1947.
“To get the award in the last few years of the life of a capability, when there are all these shiny new platforms around, says a lot about what the squadron does, how it goes about its business, and the high regard in which it is held,” 10 Sqn’s Commanding Officer Wing Commander Marija Jovanovich said.
Adamant that credit should go where credit is due, she added; “This award was for exceptional performance in 2020. While I was at the squadron and deployed on operations with the team, I was not the Commanding Officer. That honour belonged to WGCDR Colin Smith; it was under his leadership that 10 Sqn distinguished itself above others to win the Duke of Gloucester Cup.
“When I took command of 10 Sqn in December 2020, I took over the best flying unit in the Royal Australian Air Force. We of course continue to go from strength to strength.”
A wealth of experience
Prior to assuming command of 10 Sqn, WGCDR Jovanovich had a long and distinguished career as an operational and experimental test pilot.
Upon completing pilot training in 2006, she flew the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft for four and a half years on a broad array of exercises and operations around the world.
“We’re talking looking for pirates off the coast of Somalia, looking for submarines off the coast of Southern California, doing search and rescue in the Southern Ocean, as well as three tours of duty in the Middle East,” WGCDR Jovanovich said. “That was an amazing thing to happen to somebody in their twenties.”
Following her stint as a P-3 captain, WGCDR Jovanovich became qualified as an experimental test pilot after completing one year of training at the United States Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
The privilege of such an opportunity was not lost to an aeroplane enthusiast like WGCDR Jovanovich.
“Even just going to where that school is – Edwards Air Force Base – was a dream come true for me,” she said. “Edwards is the home of flight test. That’s where Chuck Yeager first went supersonic in 1947, it’s where the space shuttle used to land as an alternate landing field, so it was an amazing place to be.”
She notes that, while exceptionally rewarding, Test Pilot School was no easy feat. The prestigious institution has graduated less than 3,000 students in more than 70 years of operation – when she graduated in 2014, WGCDR Jovanovich was the first Australian in 25 years to do so. The course involved a two-year Master’s degree compressed into one year, along with practical training in flying 23 different types of aircraft.
It’s about people
Despite such memorable experiences, she says that if she had to choose the single most rewarding part of her 20 years in the Air Force so far; “It’s the people that I’ve worked with, always”.
And it’s the people to which she attributes the success of 10 Sqn today.
“It’s all about the team,” WGCDR Jovanovich said. “This version of 10 Sqn – noting that this is my third posting at the squadron – is the closest and most integrated team I have ever worked with. And I mean, across all ranks and specialisations, and including both uniformed personnel and contractors.”
“I believe we have, hands-down, the best maintenance workforce in the Air Force,” she continued. “They do an absolutely magnificent job of keeping two 40-year-old airframes flying and achieving outstanding serviceability rates that are the envy of much newer aeroplanes.”
WGCDR Jovanovich also commends the aircrew – “all of whom are specialists in their own areas, and who all work seamlessly together to deliver world-class ISREW effects” – as well as support sections, including administration, operations, intelligence, IT support and logistics.
“Our logistics section is actually a bit of a special highlight because 10 Sqn in the past never used to have a logistics section of its own,” she added. “But as our aircraft have aged, sustaining them and maintaining them at the high operational tempo that we need them to be at has become a real exercise in logistics support.”
10 Sqn has also broken new ground in 2021 by having both a female Commanding Officer and Executive Officer.
WGCDR Jovanovich is third after only two other women to become the Commanding Officer of an operational flying squadron: WGCDR Linda Corbould between 2006 to 2008, and WGCDR Sarah Stalker between 2018 to 2020. Furthermore, WGCDR Jovanovich, alongside the squadron’s Executive Officer, Squadron Leader Jenna Higgins, make the first pair of female aviators to lead an operational flying squadron in 100 years of the Air Force.
“I think that’s both a big deal, and not a big deal,” WGCDR Jovanovich said. “It’s a big deal because we’re breaking new ground, and it’s not a big deal because at 10 Sqn that’s honestly just business as usual. Everybody just accepts that we’re here because we’re awesome at our jobs, and we are. So, we just get on with it.”
While WGCDR Jovanovich does not draw focus to female leadership as a contributing factor to the squadron’s success, she observes that “it is reflective of the unit’s broader culture of diversity and inclusivity – and that culture certainly does contribute to our success.
“The diversity means that there’s always lots of different ideas floating around 10 Sqn, and the inclusivity means that people feel valued and that their ideas are valued. That, to me, is what gives us an edge when it comes to problem solving. I think both military aviation and military operations are basically continuous problem-solving exercises – so that culture of diversity and inclusivity is why we’re really good at what we do.”
A busy schedule
10 Sqn has sustained an intensive operational flying program throughout 2021, including numerous overseas deployments, despite the ongoing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Throughout these operations we continue to receive exemplary feedback from both national and allied agencies, acknowledging the capability that we deliver to the joint force,” WGCDR Jovanovich said.
While the squadron delivers most of its ISREW effects on deployed operations, it also contributes to joint collective training, both in Australia and abroad. Most recently, that was Talisman Sabre.
“We participated in Talisman Sabre, where we operated as part of ISR packages with other Air Force assets, and in support of Navy and Army elements, both Australian and those of allies. So, we play well by ourselves, and we play well with others.”
As they reach the end of their life, the AP-3C(EW) Orions remain a driver of how ISREW operations will integrate into the future force. As the ADF’s only airborne ISREW capability, 10 Sqn leads the way with developing TTPs – tactics, techniques and procedures – for integration with other capabilities, both within the ADF and with allies.
“As we speak, one of our aircraft is getting ready to take off, to go over to the east coast and work with a P-8A Poseidon from 11 Squadron, an E-7A Wedgetail from 2 Squadron and jets from Air Combat Group, on what we call a TACEX (tactical exercise), doing just that kind of TTP development,” WGCDR Jovanovich said.
“And while I can’t talk in detail to what is happening next for 10 Sqn, I can say that we will certainly continue to be a large part of the effort to develop the big common operating picture, and be fully integrated into the networked way of warfighting.”
