RAAF/USAF Enhanced Air Cooperation initiative expanded

The Enhanced Air Cooperation (EAC) initiative is a forces cooperation initiative between the USA and Australia that will facilitate increased rotations of US air elements through northern Australia, as well as broader and deeper integration in support of bilateral interoperability.

Photo by Corporal Brenton Kwaterski

A third phase of the Enhanced Air Cooperation happened in May 2017 as part of Exercise Pacific Agility and focused on the maintenance of C-17s as a common platform between the USAF and RAAF.

A range of different US aircraft already visit Australia for exercises and training, and the EAC initiatives will build on these activities.

The first EAC activity commenced in February 2017 at RAAF Base Tindal involving 12 US Air Force F-22 Raptors conducting combined training with the Royal Australian Air Force’s 75 Squadron F/A 18A/B Hornets.

In March 2017, RAAF and US Air Force representatives participated in a series of meetings to discuss combined airfield damage-repair training opportunities in Australia.

And the most recent phase was this focus on C-17A aircraft maintenance interoperability, which, thus far has seen US Air Force C-17 maintainers deployed to RAAF Amberley to work with RAAF 36 Squadron.

C-17 maintainance cooperation

 

 

F-22s at RAAF Tindal

.

.

.
.

+ + +

.

.

.

.

.

.


.


.