Ex Diamond Storm 24 graduates new air warfare instructors

One of the Royal Australian Air Force’s most challenging training activities has concluded in the Northern Territory, with the successful completion of Exercise Diamond Storm 24.

CAPTION: A Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornet takes off from RAAF Base Darwin to commence a night mission during Exercise Diamond Storm 24. Photo by Flight Lieutenant Claire Campbell.

The three-week exercise tested the planning and decision-making skills of candidate air warfare instructors across nine distinct roles and categories, including fighter combat, surveillance roles, air mobility, intelligence and combat control teams.

Commander of Air Warfare Centre Air Commodore Adrian Maso said Air Warfare Instructors’ Course (AWIC) was a key part of how the Royal Australian Air Force meets the tasks directed within the 2024 National Defence Strategy.

“People are our most important capability, and AWIC graduates aviators who are world-class air-power practitioners,” Air Commodore Maso said.

“During Exercise Diamond Storm 24 the candidate instructors combine their own experience with what they have learned in AWIC’s academic study, and practiced through a live training curriculum.”

“On graduation from AWIC, these instructors will return to their respective workforces as humble, knowledgeable, and approachable experts within their fields of expertise.

“The skills and experience they gain on Exercise Diamond Storm 24 give us confidence that we can credibly respond to contemporary threats in our region, in accordance with Australia’s strategy of denial.”

Air Commodore Maso said this year marked the 70th anniversary of the Royal Australian Air Force conducting the inaugural Fighter Combat Instructor (FCI) course, which laid the foundation for AWIC today.

“We are generations removed from when the first course flew Vampire jet fighters in 1954, but what has remained consistent is our need for highly trained instructors who will lead in future operations.”

Exercise Diamond Storm 24 is the culmination of the six-month-long Air Warfare Instructor Course, which will graduate instructors who are proven experts at integrating air forces with land, maritime, cyber and space domains.

The wider Royal Australian Air Force workforce involved with Exercise Diamond Storm 24 also benefited from exposure to highly-complex and dynamic scenarios.

 

CONTACT believes RAAF is deliberately dropping ‘Royal Australian’ from its name – despite Defence assuring us it isn’t true. Campaigning against this name-change-by-stealth, CONTACT has appropriately ‘repaired’ this official story. See here for more details

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