Retirement of the dhc-4 caribou

[Guest Darren Masters]

The Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, today announced

 

 

 

the Government has accepted the reality that it will be necessary to

 

 

 

bring forward the retirement of Australia’s remaining thirteen DHC-4

 

 

 

Caribou aircraft to December 2009.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The Government has been left with little choice but to retire the

 

 

 

Caribou and has reluctantly agreed to do so despite the fact that poor

 

 

 

planning by the former Government has denied us the opportunity to

 

 

 

produce a replacement aircraft before 2013,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“After 45 years of tireless and distinguished service with the Royal

 

 

 

Australian Air Force, the Caribou fleet is suffering badly from a

 

 

 

range of ageing aircraft issues, and contains asbestos parts which I

 

 

 

am determined to weed out of the Defence Force.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Royal Australian Air Force took delivery of its first Caribou in

 

 

 

April 1964. The Caribou has a proud 45-year history of supporting

 

 

 

Australian Defence Force operations, throughout the South West Pacific

 

 

 

and in South East Asia, including active service in Vietnam,

 

 

 

humanitarian relief in Kashmir, Cambodia and Papua New Guinea and also

 

 

 

in support of peacekeeping operations in the Solomon Islands and East

 

 

 

Timor.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Despite its outstanding track record, the Caribou is now well beyond

 

 

 

its sustainable life of type. The Caribou fleet suffers from

 

 

 

corrosion, fatigue and obsolescence issues that make them increasingly

 

 

 

difficult and costly to maintain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Air Force is struggling to achieve four to five serviceable aircraft

 

 

 

at any one time,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“In fact, it is a tribute to the outstanding work of 38 Squadron

 

 

 

aircrew, technicians and support personnel that the Caribou has been

 

 

 

able to operate as long as it has.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The reality is that a decision should have been taken a long time ago

 

 

 

on acquiring a tactical airlift capability to replace the Caribou.

 

 

 

The Government has been left with no other option than to rectify yet

 

 

 

another shortcoming we have inherited in transition planning across

 

 

 

our entire Air Force fleet,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Project Air 8000 Phase 2 plans to deliver a Tactical Battlefield

 

 

 

Airlift capability for the Royal Australian Air Force to replace the

 

 

 

Caribou in 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Options for bringing forward the schedule on this project are being

 

 

 

considered as part of the White Paper process,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As an interim measure, a leased fleet of five additional Hawker

 

 

 

Pacific B300 King Air aircraft will undertake light air transport

 

 

 

tasks. These aircraft will be phased into the Townsville-based 38

 

 

 

Squadron as the Caribou is progressively retired toward the end of

 

 

 

2009. Three King Air 350 aircraft, currently operated by Army, will

 

 

 

also be transferred across to 38 Squadron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The interim King Air lease will help Air Force minimise the adverse

 

 

 

workforce issues that result from allowing gaps to develop in

 

 

 

transitioning aircraft fleets,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“It is important that we honour the debt of gratitude we owe to the

 

 

 

men and women who have supported the Caribou for so long by providing

 

 

 

a means for them to maintain their skills and streamline their

 

 

 

transition to a more modern and capable replacement aircraft.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The King Air is a modern aircraft with digital avionics, advanced

 

 

 

displays and navigation systems and turbine engines, that will assist

 

 

 

in transitioning 38 Squadron aircrew and technicians to the more

 

 

 

modern aircraft types being considered under Project Air 8000 Phase 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Our nation is extremely proud of the magnificent service that the

 

 

 

Caribou has provided to the Royal Australian Air Force over the past

 

 

 

five decades. While there may be some who are saddened to hear of the

 

 

 

Caribou’s impending retirement, even the most vocal supporters of the

 

 

 

Caribou will agree this decision is long overdue.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The men and women of 38 Squadron have been waiting for many years to

 

 

 

know what the future holds. Today’s decision gives reassurance to

 

 

 

them that the Government is very aware of both the challenges they

 

 

 

face in trying to sustain such an ageing aircraft and the career

 

 

 

management uncertainty that has been unnecessarily forced upon them

 

 

 

after so many years of empty promises and inaction,” Mr Fitzgibbon

 

 

 

said.