вЂњFor Exercise Hamel our objectives will be to provide a reliable and repeatable resupply of ammunition, food, and medical supplies into the field,вЂќ WGCDR Poxon explained. To this end, the squadron will participate in two major exercises this year, Hamel and Pitch Black, where it will develop and practice the skill-sets required to operate in a tactical threat environment. In such an environment, 35SQN crews would be wearing body armour and carrying weapons, and would have the aircraftвЂ™s self-defence systems enabled so they can conduct airdrop or air-land operations anywhere in the world. вЂњWeвЂ™ll build on the crewsвЂ™ experience in airlift support, and then introduce more complex environments where we have to think about a threat akin to the Middle East.вЂќ вЂњThe middle layer, what weвЂ™re really focusing on now is the airborne operations environment where we have a threat,вЂќ he added. вЂњFrom an air-land point of view, the lower layer is airlift support which is moving people and cargo in a peacetime role such as HADR, the middle layer is airborne operations that introduces operations in a threat environment, and the top layer is special operations or specialised role environment. Using a graphic of a three-tiered cake to illustrate his point, WGCDR Poxon described the process. WGCDR Poxon describes the path to FOC as a crawl-walk-run approach to capability generation, and defined the squadronвЂ™s current status as being in the walk stage about to break into a run. It mainly focused on the humanitarian assistance disaster relief (HADR) or aeromedical evacuation (AME) missions.вЂќ The C-27J provides a вЂњunique nicheвЂќ in ADF airlift capabilities. This needed us to have a capability to move passengers and cargo to conduct air-land or airdrop. The first step along the way that weвЂ™ve accomplished was when we reached IOC in 2016. вЂњ35SQNвЂ™s mission is to prepare the C-27J for operations. It is an immature capability with plenty of room to grow, and now IвЂ™ve been flying it for 12 months, IвЂ™m glad that I did,вЂќ he told Australian Aviation during a visit to Richmond in late April. I saw the C-27J capability pretty much at the same stages where I found the C-130J capability in 2005. A veteran of seven tours of the Middle East on the C-130J, he completed a philosophy masterвЂ™s degree at the US Air ForceвЂ™s School of Advanced Aerospace Studies in 2014.

C 27j specs