Should Canada withdraw from the nine-nation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, the additional cost to Australia of its JSF purchases will be about $USD1 million per airframe, according to Air Vice Marshal Chris Deeble.

Most stories about Air Force capability tend to focus on either the platforms themselves, or in the case of the combat elements, the weapons they employ, but underpinning all of this capability is the engineering and maintenance system.

Delays in the introduction of the MRH90 Taipan multirole helicopter have triggered a second life extension for more than half the Army’s Black Hawk fleet, the last of which will now remain in service in the special operations role until 2021.

The past 12 months have been a busy time for Air projects and there are further milestones ahead in 2016.

Instrumenting aircraft to collect certification, continued airworthiness and mission effectiveness data is a critical enabler towards the successful management and development of the RAAF's aerospace capability, but the cost of such work has traditionally been prohibitive and time consuming. The ‘NIFTY’ wireless sensor system is set to change all that.

The RAAF's first EA-18G Growler has been handed over in a ceremony at Boeing's St. Louis facility. Destined for 6 Squadron, the aircraft is the first of 12 Growlers to complement 24 Super Hornets already in service. All 12 aircraft are due to be in country by the end of 2017.

Back in 2004 defence launched an ambitious project, Air 9000, to rationalise the ADF helicopter fleet. That’s 10 different types, each with its own particular support, logistics and training requirements.

Coincidental with the news during the Avalon show that the Australian government has sent personnel to the United States to commence training on the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper MUAS, Israel Aircraft Industries revealed that it has conducted initial discussions with the RAAF regarding the potential of its Heron TP medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial system.

According to CDRE James Borghardt US, deputy program manager for the MQ- 8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter, several discussions have taken place between the US Navy and the RAN on this capability, including its potential use in the Sea5000 Future Frigate program.

Several RAAF capabilities were the subject of briefings by senior RAAF officials at Avalon, including the recent (and ongoing) operational success of the Boeing E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) platform during Operation Okra.

Roketsan, a major Turkish weapons manufacturer and defence contractor, exhibited at Avalon for the first time after executives were impressed by a visit to the 2013 show.

Marvin Test Solutions is a small to medium enterprise of fewer than 100 employees based in California, producing innovative test equipment aimed at reducing the ‘footprint’ of gear required to perform armament and maintenance testing from the ramp to the depot-level workshops.

Commander Air Mobility Group, Air Commodore Warren McDonald has predicted that the RAAF’s Airbus KC-30A multi-role tanker transport will achieve Final Operating Capability at the end of the year.

Dassault Falcon has their business jets on display at the Avalon air show, hoping to entice VIPs both in and out of uniform.

One of the highlights of Avalon 2015 was the presence of an Airbus Defence & Space A400M airlifter, operated by the French Air Force.

Broens, the precision engineering company acquired last year by Forgacs, for the first time displayed the gearbox jack it has developed to lift and manoeuvre from and to its position the gearbox of the F135 engine equipping the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).