Angkatan Udara Australia

Angkatan Udara Australia (Inggris: Royal Australian Air Force, atau disingkat RAAF) adalah cabang angkatan udara dari Australian Defence Force. RAAF dibentuk bulan pada Maret 1914 sebagai Korps Udara Australia (Australian Flying Corps) dan berdiri sendiri sejak Maret 1921.

Aircraft

Image	Aircraft	Country of Origin	Role	Versions	Quantity	Notes
Fighter Aircraft
	McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet		Fighter/Attack	F/A-18A F/A-18B	71	Assembled in Australia by the Government Aircraft Factories. 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 mean that it may not remain a viable front-line air defence option until the planned retirement date of December 2020, although this is being mitigated through a centre barrel replacement program.[1] They will be replaced by up to 100 F-35 Lightning II.
	Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet		Fighter/Attack	F/A-18F F/A-18F+	24	24 two-seat F/A-18Fs were acquired as an interim measure until the introduction of the F-35As; avoiding a strike capability gap with the retirement of the F-111s in 2010 and to cover for any fatigue issues related to the legacy F/A-18 fleet. US Navy production slots were used with the first batch of five Super Hornets arriving at RAAF Base Amberley on 26 March 2010; a second batch of six arriving on 6 July 2010; and a third batch of four arriving on 7 December 2010. These include the first three modified to allow later conversion to EA-18G Growler, designated F/A-18F+, 12 of the 24 Super Hornets would be modified this way.[2] The final batch of four to complete the order arrived on 21 October 2011. In August 2012, the RAAF announced that it would spend $1.5 billion outfitting 12 Super Hornets with "Growler" electronic warfare equipment. Australia was the first nation approved by the US to use the Growler technology.[3][4] In May 2013, Australia announced it would keep all 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets and order 12 new-built EA-18G Growlers.[5]
Training
	BAE Systems Hawk		Lead-in fighter trainer	Hawk 127	33	Fighter jet conversion trainer. Assembled in Australia at Williamtown, NSW
	Pilatus PC-9		Advanced trainer	PC-9	65	Produced under licence in Australia by de Havilland Australia.
	Beechcraft Super King Air		Navigational trainer	B350	8
Airborne early warning and control
	Boeing 737 AEW&C		Airborne early warning and control (AEW&C)	E-7A Wedgetail	6	All aircraft delivered by July 2011.
Aerial Refueling
	Airbus A330 MRTT		Aerial refuelling	KC-30A	5	As of March 2013, all KC-30A are operational.[6]
Maritime Patrol
	AP-3C Orion		Maritime patrol/Strike	AP-3C P-3C	19	All aircraft to be withdrawn by 2019.[7] Will probably be replaced by 8 Boeing P-8 Poseidon and 7 large UAVs.[8]
UAV
	IAI Heron		Reconnaissance Surveillance	Heron 1	3	Long term lease agreement with Canada.[9] Two aircraft are operating in Afghanistan, while a third example has now been acquired for training in Australia.[10]
Transport
	Boeing C-17 Globemaster III		Strategic transport	C-17A	6	Four initially ordered in 2006, and a further two aircraft ordered in 2011. Deliveries completed in November 2012.
	Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules		Tactical Transport	C-130J-30	12[11]	First entered service in 1999[12]
	Boeing Business Jet		VIP transport	737–700 BBJ	2	Long term lease, transport for government leaders and senior executives travelling on official business[13]
	Bombardier Challenger 600		VIP transport	CL 604	3
	Beechcraft Super King Air		Light transport	B350	8	Interim replacement for Caribou transports, 3 of which were transferred from Army Aviation.

Referensi

• Armstrong, John. "History of the RAAF: 20 Years of Warfighting 1939–1959, Part 2". Air Power International. Vol. 4 (No. 6): 42–48. 
• Barnes, Norman (2000). The RAAF and the Flying Squadrons. St Leonards, New South Wales: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-130-2. 
• Dennis, Peter; Grey, Jeffrey; Morris, Ewan; Prior, Robin; and Jean Bou (2008). The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History (ed. Second). Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-551784-2. 
• Eather, Steve (1995). Flying Squadrons of the Australian Defence Force. Weston Creek, Australian Capital Territory: Aerospace Publications. ISBN 1-875671-15-3. 
• Pittaway, Nigel (March 2010). "ADF pilot training under contract". Defence Today (Amberley: Strike Publications) 8 (2): 20–21. ISSN 14470446. 
• Stephens, Alan (2006) [2001]. The Royal Australian Air Force: A History. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-555541-4. 
• Taylor, Michael John Haddrick; Taylor, John William Ransom (1978). Encyclopedia of Aircraft. New York: Putnam. ISBN 0399122176. 

Bacaan

• Ashworth, Norman (1999). How Not To Run An Air Force! The Higher Command of the Royal Australian Air Force During the Second World War. Australia: Royal Australian Air Force Air Power Development Centre. ISBN 0-642-26550-X. 
• McPhedran, Ian (2011). Air Force: Inside the New era of Australian Air Power. Australia: Harper Collins Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7322-9025-2. 

Pranala luar

• RAAF official site
• RAAF Air Power Doctrine^{[pranala nonaktif]}
• ADF Aircraft Serial Number
• RAAF YouTube channel