RAAF assists in repairing damaged airports in remote areas in the Philippines
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has sent two Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) to the Philippines in order to provide support for flying operations from austere and damaged airfields.
One MTT team focuses on deployed Air Traffic Control (ATC) operations, the other on Airfield Damage Repair and Airfield Survey. The RAAF said that both are critical skill sets at airfields across the wider Indo-Pacific region.
According to the RAAF, the Philippine Air Force has received no previous training on deployed ATC operations, and as such the support was “very gratefully received”.
Although the deployed RAAF members had no previous experience of working with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the RAAF is somewhat familiar with the area, having undertaken relief work in October 2013 when the Philippine city of Tacloban was devastated by a typhoon.
“The deployed ATC MTT involved members of RAAF No 44 Wing with significant fixed-base (tower and approach) ATC experience, and also deployed ATC experience at austere airfields and environments,” Squadron Leader Mick Lane, Air Operations and Training Officer with Joint Australian Training Team – Philippines (JATT-P) said.
According to Lane, the Airfield Damage Repair and Survey MTT provided information and some practical skills across the AFP.
“This included construction management responses when conducting airfield damage repair, and airfield survey and operational airfield access survey,” he continued.
Airfield Surveys are crucial in providing manoeuvrability and freedom of action when operating within the Indo Pacific region, allowing for safe and continued air operations anywhere around the world.
As not every airfield is the same, the weight of a C-130 Hercules might allow it to safely operate from one airfield but restrict the number of landings at another, or else potentially damage a ‘weak’ runway surface, the RAAF said.
Infrastructure including runways, taxiways and parking areas often requires repair due to damage from weather, geological conditions, and even enemy attack.
“The training will allow PAF members to integrate with RAAF airfield survey personnel on future tasks,” Lane concluded.
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The post RAAF assists in repairing damaged airports in remote areas in the Philippines appeared first on AeroTime.
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has sent two Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) to the Philippines in order…
The post RAAF assists in repairing damaged airports in remote areas in the Philippines appeared first on AeroTime.
