Australia Sells Retired F/A-18 Hornets To Air USA

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Australia Sells Retired F/A-18 Hornets To Air USA

Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:07 am

Australia sells final classic Hornets to Air USA

On 5 March 2020, the Australian government reported that it plans to sell up to 46 of the final classic Boeing F/A-18A/B Hornets to Air USA, a commercial firm that provides adversary/aggressor training services to the US and its allies.

As known, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is retiring their old Hornets and is replacing them by 72 F-35A Lightning IIs. According to the Scramble Magazine Australian database, the RAAF had 75 classic Hornets in the inventory. Four of these, two F/A-18A and two F/A-18B, were written off.

From the remaining 71 aircraft, 25 have been sold to Canada in a USD 63 million deal between the Canadian and Australian governments. These deliveries are already ongoing. When the first deliveries of the aircraft to Air USA will take place is not made public yet, but they will be prepared for delivery, acceptance and operations with Air USA in phases over the next three to four years.

The downside of this latest plan is that if all 46 available and retired F/A-18A/B Hornets have been sold, no aircraft remains to be put on display in Australian Aviation Museums or to be used as a gate guard. So it would be great if Australia will keep a few for preservation.

UPDATE: four Hornets are earmarked for preservation; one at RAAF Base Tindal (NT), one at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra (ACT) and two for the Fighter World Museum at RAAF Base Williamtown (NSW).

Air USA currently operates sixteen aircraft: eleven BAe Hawks, one L-39C and four L-39ZAs, and two MiG-29UBs (both are reported as stored). On 18 October 2019, Air Combat Command awarded a USD 6,4 billion Military Combat Readiness Training contract to Air USA, Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) LLC., Blue Air Training, Coastal Defense, Draken International, Tactical Air Support (TacAir), and Top Aces Corp.
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Last edited by n33d4sp33d_85 on Fri Mar 06, 2020 3:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by n33d4sp33d_85 » Fri Apr 10, 2020 9:49 pm

Australian Hornets for Air USA

Scramble Magazine reported earlier on the sale of surplus Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) F/A-18 Hornets to the adversary air support contractor Air USA of Quincy (IL). Of the originally delivered 75 Hornets to the RAAF, four have been written off in the past. Of the ones that have survived, 25 have been purchased by the Canadian Government, and up to 46 have been acquired by Air USA *).

It is thanks to our friend Tyler Rogoway, journalist at TheDrive that we can supply you with some more background on the vast expansion of the Air USA “Air Force”. Don Kirlin, the owner of Air USA started his activities with one Aero L-39 way back in 1994. He was also the first owner of a private MiG-29 Fulcrum in the United States. Kirlin can be considered as one of the pioneers of the then-new adversary air support market. In the early 2000s, his company joined forces with the Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC). For this purpose he gradually expanded his fleet to eleven BAe Hawks, one L-39C and four L-39ZAs (the two MiG-29UBs are reported as stored).

The former Australian Hornets are a welcome addition to the Air USA fleet as they can provide fourth generation fighter adversary services. They all feature the AN/APG-73 radar, the same radar that is installed on the F/A-18C/D and early F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. It is largely superior to anything else on the adversary market at this time. Quite a difference from the less capable AN/APG-65 radar the A/B Hornet was originally equipped with. Another important extra on the Australian Hornets is the bolt-on Elta EL-L/8222 (license-built in the US under the L3Harris Advanced Capability Pod name) electronic warfare pod. The jets also come with their Northrop Grumman AN/AAQ-28 LITENING advanced targeting pods, which are hugely capable in the air-to-ground targeting and non-traditional reconnaissance realm, as well as for positively identifying aircraft visually at long ranges.

The deal between the RAAF and Air USA comprises up to 46 Hornets: 36 currently flyable and 10 that have been grounded earlier. The first batch of flyable Hornets will soon be shipped to the USA, while the other flyers are planned to fly to the USA under their own power (with in-flight refuelling). The purchase also includes all of the RAAF's F/A-18 spare parts inventory and test equipment, valued at over USD 1 billion alone. These spare parts will, in due course, enable Air USA to return all the Hornets into the air.

Scramble Magazine has understood that four Hornets have originally been allocated for preservation in Australia, however the article from Tyler Rogoway/TheDrive still mentions a number of 46 Hornets destined for Air USA.

And as if this Hornet purchase was not enough, Air USA also acquired five PC-9/A turboprop trainers from the RAAF. These aircraft will primarily be used to fulfil the growing demand for cost-effective Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) training. One of Air USA's L-39ZAs is equipped with an advanced EO/IR turret for Joint Terminal Attack Controller training. Next to these PC-9s, Air USA has recently acquired seventeen highly modified Cessna T337 Turbo Skymasters from Airscan Inc. These aircraft were completely reworked for overhead surveillance and counter-insurgency missions in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. They are equipped with the hugely capable MX-15 infrared/electro-optical sensor turret and an operator's station in the back.
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