Latest news with #RAAF
Perth Now
5 days ago
- Perth Now
Air Force power to wow crowds in anniversary airshow
Dozens of Air Force planes in full flight are set to wow crowds at a special centenary celebration. RAAF Base Richmond, in Sydney's northwest, will host an airshow to celebrate 100 years since it became the second permanent such base in Australia. Highlights on September 27 and 28 include displays from the fleet of C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft as well as the top-line F-35A Lightning II fighter jet. A rare glimpse on Wednesday included an F-35 cruising over northwestern Sydney as the media watched from the hold of a C-130. The F-35 is Australia's most advanced air combat asset and will show off its airborne capabilities in the centenary spectacular. Capable of withstanding 9Gs, the maximum speed of the jet is nearly 2000 km/h, or about 1.6 times the speed of sound. It carries some of the RAAF's most sophisticated weaponry including laser-guided bombs and "Sidewinder" air-to-air missiles. The Lockheed Martin jet was accepted into Australian service in 2018 and the first squadron was based at RAAF Base Williamtown, near Newcastle. The C-130J is used extensively for deploying personnel and aid, and assisting with medical evacuations. The air-lifter, in use since 1999, can accommodate up to 88 paratroopers for aerial deployment. More traditional airshow fare will also be on offer for spectators, with the RAAF Roulettes Aerobatic Team set to show off their daring stunts. Only RAAF Base Point Cook, established in 1921 in Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay, is older than RAAF Richmond. Tickets for the RAAF Richmond Airshow 2025 are on sale from August 13.
News.com.au
24-07-2025
- News.com.au
New move in Robert John Crawford's mower murder case
An air force pilot charged with his wife's murder who allegedly staged the scene to make it look like she died in a ride-on mower accident will need to sign a new bail undertaking following changes to a non-contact order in court. Robert John Crawford, 46, is alleged to have murdered his wife Frances Crawford at the couple's Upper Lockyer property, west of Brisbane, on July 30, 2024. Authorities found Ms Crawford's body at the base of a retaining wall, near a ride-on mower. Under his strict bail conditions, Mr Crawford has been reporting to police daily and has not been able to go within 500m of international airport terminals or enter any airfield due to his status as a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) pilot. An additional requirement is not to contact certain people named in a specific non-contact order; however, this was altered on Thursday with consent by the Crown and his legal team. Mr Crawford is accused of strangling his wife in a 'murderous rage' after an argument between the pair the night before. The Crown alleges he spent a 'significant' amount of time manipulating the property to make it look like Ms Crawford had died by misadventure while outside on a ride-on mower. Mr Crawford is yet to enter a plea. Mr Crawford, who has been on bail since May, was not required to attend Brisbane Supreme Court when his matter was briefly mentioned on Thursday morning. The court was told a variation would be made to 'tidy up' a non-contact condition imposed as part of Mr Crawford's bail undertaking. Three relatives of the RAAF pilot no longer wished to be included in the 'carve-out' – or exception – of the non-contact order. Two other people identified as Crown witnesses indicated they were happy with the exceptions to the order. Crown prosecutor Chris Cook said Mr Crawford would need to sign the new bail undertaking. 'I wonder if … (it) could be arranged over the registry to have it returned by the end of tomorrow,' he said. Paris Reeves, representing Mr Crawford, said it would be possible, as her client was due to attend a conference with his legal counsel on Friday. She said it could otherwise be signed at Toowoomba Police Station, where Mr Crawford was required to report daily. Justice Sean Cooper directed the new undertaking be signed by 4pm on Friday, leaving the arrangements for Mr Crawford's lawyer. A committal hearing, which will determine if the Crown case is strong enough for Mr Crawford to be committed to stand trial in a higher court, is set to go ahead in October. A transcript of a triple-0 call, obtained from court documents filed as part of Mr Crawford's bail application, allegedly captures the air force pilot requesting an ambulance after finding his wife near the wall. He allegedly tells the call taker: 'I don't know. I just found her. She's off the (wall) … like the mower's rolled and she's, I … I dunno what she's doing?' The call taker clarifies if the mower had rolled on Ms Crawford, and Mr Crawford allegedly replies: 'Yeah … yeah … I'm just, I'm trying to … I had to pull it off and like … I think she's still OK … I think, but I need an ambulance ASAP.' Paramedics found Ms Crawford at the base of the wall about 4am near a ride-on mower. In messages allegedly exchanged between Mr Crawford and his wife, she asks at 11:21pm: 'Hey are you going to put the mower away soon?' Mr Crawford is alleged to have replied at 11.25pm: 'Just give me a sec' before replying a minute later: 'You can just turn the sprinklers off if easier too xx.' The last alleged text at 12.35pm reads: 'Hey I'm getting really sleepy.' Police allege Mr Crawford's phone data showed 'significant' activity through the night, including thousands of steps allegedly recorded on his Garmin watch. An autopsy concluded Ms Crawford died from neck and head injuries, but an expert biomechanical report prepared for the Crown alleged it was 'most improbable' that an accident with the ride-on mower resulted in the head injury at the top of the retaining wall and Ms Crawford's body coming to rest 1.8m from the wall. But Mr Crawford's defence team has argued the report does not rule out a scenario where Ms Crawford was reversing the vehicle and fell, saying the conclusions are 'at best for the Crown, highly contestable'.
The Age
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
America's most feared: The B-2 ‘stealth' bomber that struck Iran's ‘nuclear mountain'
Despite being more than 40 years old, the eerie bat-like shape of the B-2 stealth bomber remains perhaps the most potent symbol of American military power. It is currently the only bomber in the US fleet capable of dropping the huge GBU-57 bunker-busting bomb that analysts say is the only conventional weapon that could destroy Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility from the air. President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed that the US had struck Fordow with 'a full payload of BOMBS', along with two other sites at Natanz and Isfahan. 'All planes are safely on their way home,' he added. Since entering service in the late 1990s, the B-2 has become the backbone of the US strategic bomber fleet. Most recently, in October 2024, several B-2s used an RAAF base in northern Australia as a staging ground to carry out strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, including hardened weapons storage facilities. The B-2 holds the record for the longest air combat mission in history, which took place in 2001 when an aircraft named Spirit of America took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and flew to Afghanistan along with five other B-2s in a 44-hour mission. It then flew back to Missouri in another 30-hour flight to hit a total of more than 70 consecutive hours, including a quick pit stop for a 45-minute crew and service change with engines still running. Manufacturer Northrop Grumman describes the B-2 as 'one of the most survivable aircraft in the world' and the only one to combine long-range, stealth and a heavy payload. More practically for air crew flying the mammoth missions, the cabin features a bed, a microwave and a toilet. The B-2 began life as a secretive 'black' project during the 1970s, with the aim of producing a bomber that could fly deep into the Soviet Union undetected by air defences using a pioneering, radar-deflecting design. The original plan was to build 165 B-2s, but as the Cold War drew to a close in the late 1980s, this was drastically scaled back to just 21 aircraft, of which 19 remain in service. Despite that reduction, the entire program cost about $US2 billion ($3.09 billion) per aircraft. In 1996, the B-2 was predicted by US government auditors to be 'by far, the costliest bombers to operate on a per-aircraft basis', amounting to three times as much as the B-1 bomber and over four times as much as the veteran B-52. Part of those costs go to upkeep. The B-2 is a delicate creature that requires specialised care, including air-conditioned hangars that can accommodate its 52-metre wingspan and are needed to keep its radar-absorbing 'low-observable' skin in good condition. Each plane reportedly costs more than $US3 million a month to maintain. The B-2 made its public debut in 1988, and the first production aircraft – named Spirit of Missouri – was delivered to the US Air Force in 1993. Its first combat mission came during the NATO-led mission, known as Operation Allied Force, to Kosovo in 1999. Two B-2s flew more than 31 hours from Missouri to Kosovo, where they attacked multiple targets, then flew directly back. The B-2's performance in Europe soon earned it a reputation as a highly effective weapon of war. The stealthy bomber flew less than 1 per cent of the total missions, but accounted for 33 per cent of targets destroyed during the first eight weeks of the Kosovo conflict, Northrop Grumman said. After Kosovo and Afghanistan, the B-2s next saw action in Operation Iraqi Freedom and twice in Libya in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn and Operation Odyssey Lightning. Early B-2s were given names by air crews such as 'Shady Lady', 'Black Widow' and 'Fatal Beauty', although these have now been replaced by the more prosaic 'Spirit of ... ' titles taken from American states. But when Hollywood needs a 'super bomber' to fight off a giant monster or an alien invasion, the B-2's star power as one of the world's most recognisable aircraft always secures it top billing. Its movie credits include Independence Day, Armageddon, Iron Man 2, Cloverfield and, most recently, Captain Marvel.
Sydney Morning Herald
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
America's most feared: The B-2 ‘stealth' bomber that struck Iran's ‘nuclear mountain'
Despite being more than 40 years old, the eerie bat-like shape of the B-2 stealth bomber remains perhaps the most potent symbol of American military power. It is currently the only bomber in the US fleet capable of dropping the huge GBU-57 bunker-busting bomb that analysts say is the only conventional weapon that could destroy Iran's underground Fordow nuclear facility from the air. President Donald Trump on Sunday confirmed that the US had struck Fordow with 'a full payload of BOMBS', along with two other sites at Natanz and Isfahan. 'All planes are safely on their way home,' he added. Since entering service in the late 1990s, the B-2 has become the backbone of the US strategic bomber fleet. Most recently, in October 2024, several B-2s used an RAAF base in northern Australia as a staging ground to carry out strikes on Houthi militants in Yemen, including hardened weapons storage facilities. The B-2 holds the record for the longest air combat mission in history, which took place in 2001 when an aircraft named Spirit of America took off from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri and flew to Afghanistan along with five other B-2s in a 44-hour mission. It then flew back to Missouri in another 30-hour flight to hit a total of more than 70 consecutive hours, including a quick pit stop for a 45-minute crew and service change with engines still running. Manufacturer Northrop Grumman describes the B-2 as 'one of the most survivable aircraft in the world' and the only one to combine long-range, stealth and a heavy payload. More practically for air crew flying the mammoth missions, the cabin features a bed, a microwave and a toilet. The B-2 began life as a secretive 'black' project during the 1970s, with the aim of producing a bomber that could fly deep into the Soviet Union undetected by air defences using a pioneering, radar-deflecting design. The original plan was to build 165 B-2s, but as the Cold War drew to a close in the late 1980s, this was drastically scaled back to just 21 aircraft, of which 19 remain in service. Despite that reduction, the entire program cost about $US2 billion ($3.09 billion) per aircraft. In 1996, the B-2 was predicted by US government auditors to be 'by far, the costliest bombers to operate on a per-aircraft basis', amounting to three times as much as the B-1 bomber and over four times as much as the veteran B-52. Part of those costs go to upkeep. The B-2 is a delicate creature that requires specialised care, including air-conditioned hangars that can accommodate its 52-metre wingspan and are needed to keep its radar-absorbing 'low-observable' skin in good condition. Each plane reportedly costs more than $US3 million a month to maintain. The B-2 made its public debut in 1988, and the first production aircraft – named Spirit of Missouri – was delivered to the US Air Force in 1993. Its first combat mission came during the NATO-led mission, known as Operation Allied Force, to Kosovo in 1999. Two B-2s flew more than 31 hours from Missouri to Kosovo, where they attacked multiple targets, then flew directly back. The B-2's performance in Europe soon earned it a reputation as a highly effective weapon of war. The stealthy bomber flew less than 1 per cent of the total missions, but accounted for 33 per cent of targets destroyed during the first eight weeks of the Kosovo conflict, Northrop Grumman said. After Kosovo and Afghanistan, the B-2s next saw action in Operation Iraqi Freedom and twice in Libya in support of Operation Odyssey Dawn and Operation Odyssey Lightning. Early B-2s were given names by air crews such as 'Shady Lady', 'Black Widow' and 'Fatal Beauty', although these have now been replaced by the more prosaic 'Spirit of ... ' titles taken from American states. But when Hollywood needs a 'super bomber' to fight off a giant monster or an alien invasion, the B-2's star power as one of the world's most recognisable aircraft always secures it top billing. Its movie credits include Independence Day, Armageddon, Iron Man 2, Cloverfield and, most recently, Captain Marvel.
The Age
21-06-2025
- Politics
- The Age
RAAF planes land in Dubai ahead of repatriation flight from Israel
Two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) planes are now in the Middle East after landing in Dubai ahead of repatriation flights for Australians stuck in Israel.
