Flying operations - Townsville

Australia’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) will operate from Main Operating Bases (MOB) and Forward Operating Bases (FOB) and will access Air Weapons Ranges (AWR) as necessary.

Main Operating Base
A MOB is where the main JSF squadrons will be permanently based and will host the majority of the JSF activities. MOB sites include:

• RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales (two operational squadrons and one training squadron)
• RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory (one operational squadron)
• RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland (one operational squadron in the longer term to replace the F/A-18F Super Hornets).

Activities that will take place at the MOBs include:

• taxiing and engine run-up
• take-off and landing
• approaches
• departures
• circuits
• aircraft maintenance.

In balancing its obligations to affected communities with the need to conduct effective and safe operations, Air Force will institute viable measures to minimise any environmental impact. Each base will have its own community engagement plan that will lay out the “who, what, when, where, and why” for public consultation.

Forward Operating Base
An FOB is where the JSF aircraft will regularly deploy for training and operations.

The types of JSF activities that will occur at FOBs are the same as those at MOBs, except will occur less frequently. FOB sites include:

• RAAF Base Townsville, Queensland
• RAAF Base Darwin, Northern Territory
• RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia
• RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia
• RAAF Base Learmonth, Western Australia
• RAAF Base Curtin, Northern Territory
• RAAF Base Scherger, Queensland.

Defence will develop clear protocols to ensure local communities in and around these FOBs are informed as to when the JSF will be deployed to these sites.

Air Weapons Ranges
AWRs located throughout Australia remain an important element in air combat training and preparedness. The JSF aircraft are planned to continue to utilise the following AWRs for the conduct of bombing practice and/or strafing runs:

• Delamere Range Facility (DRF), Northern Territory
• Bradshaw Field Training Area (BFTA), Northern Territory
• Townsville Field Training Area (TFTA), Queensland
• Townshend Island AWR at Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA), Queensland
• Evans Head AWR, New South Wales
• Salt Ash AWR, New South Wales
• Learmonth AWR, Western Australia.

Future Use of AWR
As Air Force looks to introduce the JSF to replace the current Hornet fleet, the longer term use of the Ranges is being determined by separate environmental impact and training needs studies. While the studies will not be completed until late next year, initial indications are that the JSF’s introduction will lead to significantly reduced Range use. JSF aircraft will make increasing use of advanced simulation in weapons training.