The RAAF Roundel is based on that of the British Royal Air Force, with the central circle replaced by a Kangaroo, a symbol of Australia.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is Australia's air force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1914 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent air force in March 1921.

Current equipment

• 71 F/A-18 Hornet fighters, built in Australia under license from McDonnell Douglas. The F/A-18 fleet has been the subject of various upgrades since it entered service in the 1980s and remains capable, but fatigue issues may mean that it will not remain a viable front-line air defence option until the planned retirement date of 2015.

• 35 General Dynamics F-111 bombers, a mixture of the original long-range F-111C type, RF-111 reconnaissance variants, and ex-USAF F-111G attrition replacements.

• 20 Lockheed Martin P-3 Orion maritime patrol and strike aircraft.

• 24 Lockheed Martin C-130H and C-130J Hercules transports.

• 14 de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou tactical transports.

• 33 BAe Hawk lead-in trainers.

• 67 Pilatus PC-9 advanced trainers.

• 50 PAC CT/4 basic trainers - better known as the "Plastic Parrot".

• 5 Boeing 707s: four are dual role tanker/transports, one a pure transport. Because of the electoral cost of spending public funds on new VIP transports for politicians, the 707 fleet remained on VIP duties long after the high ongoing maintenance costs made it uneconomic. At one stage, Australian ambassadors had to make a practice of requesting special waivers of the usual aircraft noise regulations from foreign governments prior to official visits. Since the long-term lease of two Boeing 737s, the elderly 707s are now used for military purposes only.

• 3 Bombardier Challenger 604 VIP transports.

• 2 Boeing BBJ VIP transports.

Future equipment

This list include aircraft on order or a requirement which has been identified.

• Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (CTOL variant)
• 6 Boeing Project Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, with the option for 1 more.
• 22 Eurocopter Tiger ARHs
• 5 Airbus A330 MRTTs - to replace the ageing 707s in aerial refueling and strategic transport roles.
• Strategic transport - An aircraft in either the Airbus A400M or Boeing C-17 Globemaster III classes is required to improve strategic airlift capabilites.
• Maritime patrol aircraft to replace AP-3C Orions

In June 2002 the Australian government shocked competitors in its Air 6000 fighter competition when it cancelled the programme and committed to the JSF. Eurofighter International were offering their Typhoon and Dassault their Rafale to replace the RAAF's F-111s and eventually the F/A-18s. The losing competitors argued that potential participation in the manufacture of their aircraft would far exceed any workshare in the JSF project. Recently however Australia has been pushing to be the site for a Pacific/Asian service centre for the F-35 to offer in-service support. 100 JSFs are expected in 2012.

Involvement in hostilities

The Australian Flying Corps first sent aircraft to assist in capturing German colonies in what is now Papua New Guinea in 1914. These colonies surrendered quickly however, before the planes were even unpacked. The first operational flights did not occur until May 27, 1915, when the Mesopotamian Half Flight was called upon to assist the Indian army in protecting British oil interests in what is now Iraq. The Corps later saw action in Egypt, Palestine and on the Western Front throughout the remainder of World War I.

In World War II Australian squadrons served in Britain. Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and the beginning of the Pacific war threatened the Australian mainland for the first time. Quite unprepared for the emergency, the RAAF was hastily provided with locally-built aircraft such as the CAC Boomerang, and later received a substantial number of US-built aircraft.

In the Korean War, Australian Gloster Meteor aircraft were flown in mainly ground support, combat air patrol, and escort missions. They sometimes faced Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 opponents, a much more modern aircraft. Kill ratios were approximately 1-to-1. The Air Force also operated transport aircraft during the conflict.

In the Vietnam War, Australian English Electric Canberra bombers flew a large number of bombing missions. Two bombers were lost, one by a surface to air missile. Their crews were rescued. Additionally, a number of transport aircraft and helicopters supported Australian and American ground troops.

While military airlifts were conducted for a number of purposes in the intervening decades (for instance, in support of the peacekeeping operations in East Timor), Australia's combat aircraft were not used again in anger until the 2003 invasion of Iraq, where F/A-18's were used to fly bombing missions, as well as combat air patrol missions. A veil of secrecy still surrounds the details of their actions during this conflict, with some commentators grumbling that this was mainly for political reasons. See Operation Falconer for more details.

See also

• Aircraft of the RAAF
• List of Australian air force bases
• List of air forces

External link

• RAAF official site (http://www.raaf.gov.au)