Humanitarian aid loaded onto an RAAF C-17A Globemaster
Australia is one of the most active members of the international Coalition in the fight against Daesh. The Australian mission, known as Operation Okra, began in August 2014 with humanitarian deliveries to the Yazidis trapped on Mt. Sinjar. The first humanitarian drop took place on 14 August and was a delivery of bottled water, high energy biscuits, and hygiene packs for 2,600 people for 24 hours. Aircraft involved included several C-130J Hercules tactical transports of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Personnel aboard the aircraft were accompanied by Australian Special Air Service (SAS) special operations forces, known as a Special Operatiosn Task Group (SOTG). Beginning on 2 September, C-17A Globemaster strategic transport aircraft of No. 36 Squadron began delivering Albanian-supplied weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga via Erbil International Airport in Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq. The humanitarian and military supplies which were delivered by the RAAF in August-December 2014 were:
RAAF C-130J Hercules
military stores delivery
- 2 September: C-17A Globemaster delivered 38 tonnes of 82mm mortar rounds
- 4 September: C-17A Globemaster delivered 57 tonnes of 7.62 mm ammunition
- 7 September: C-17A Globemaster delivered 58 tonnes of 7.62 mm ammunition
- 16 September: C-17A Globemaster delivered 30 tonnes of 7.62 mm ammunition
- 24 September: C-130J Hercules delivered 11.5 tonnes of AK-47 assault rifles, slings, and magazines
- 9 December: C-17A Globemaster delivered 40,000 lbs of crated weapons from Albania
RAAF C-130J Hercules
humanitarian aid delivery
- 14 August: C-130J Hercules delivered 9 tonnes of supplies to Mt. Sinjar
- 31 August: C-130J Hercules delivered 15 bundles of supplies to Amirli
- November: C-130J Hercules delivered 32 tonnes of food, water, tents, and blankets
F/A-18F Super Hornets preparing to depart for the UAE
In early September, approximately 200 SAS special forces soldiers from Charlie Company of the 2nd Commando Regiment were deployed to the United Arab Emirates to await further instructions from the political leadership back in Australia. On 21 September, RAAF aircraft and 400 personnel departed from their bases at Amberley and Williamtown for Al Minhad Air Base in the UAE. This Air Task Group (ATG) was comprised of six F/A-18F Super Hornet strike aircraft from No. 1 Squadron, one E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C from No. 2 Squadron, and one KC-30A tanker from No. 33 Squadron. They arrived by the 23rd, and began preparing for possible combat operations in Iraq. On 1 October, operations against Daesh began with the launching of an E-7A (002) and a KC-30A (002). On 5 October, an RAAF FA/18F Super Hornet dropped two bombs on a Daesh facility, thus kicking off Australia’s military intervention in Iraq. In early November, members of the SOTG began moving into Iraq; unfortunately, the Iraqi government refused to sign a status of forces agreement which would have prevented the soldiers from being tried in Iraqi courts. Thus, the soldiers entered Iraq using diplomatic passports, and have been granted immunity from local laws. For the remainder of 2014 until their replacement in March 2015, the aircraft continued striking Daesh targets, with the original mission aircraft carrying out the following strikes:
no. 1 squadron f/a-18F super hornet stats — september 2014 – march 2015
- September 2014: 4 Sorties Flown | 10 Hours Flying Time (HFT) | 0 Munitions Dropped
- October: 79 Sorties Flown | 638 HFT | 25 Munitions Dropped
- November: 62 Sorties Flown | 489 HFT | 48 Munitions Dropped
- December: 76 Sorties Flown | 586 HFT | 61 Munitions Dropped
- January 2015: 70 Sorties Flown | 601 HFT | 53 Munitions Dropped
- February: 66 Sorties Flown | 541 HFT | 35 Munitions Dropped
- March: 61 Sorties Flown | 496 HFT | 55 Munitions Dropped
- Total Sep 2014 – March 2015: 418 Sorties Flown | 3,361 HFT | 278 Munitions Dropped
Australian instructors training Iraqi forces
In January 2015, the SOTG forces began training Iraq’s Counter-Terrorism Service. The Counter-Terrorism Service is comprised of Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF), who represent the Iraqi military’s most elite units. Despite their intense level of training and the respect they command from foreign services, ISOF have been accused of human rights abuses, primarily against Sunni civilians. Thus, Australian soldiers are required to report any human rights abuses they witness. In March of 2015, the original six-flight F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft were transferred back to Australia. They were replaced by six F/A-18A Hornets from No. 75 Squadron, based at Tindal. The pilots of No. 75 engaged Daesh in the following manner:
no. 75 squadron f/a-18a hornet stats — march 2015 – september 2015
- March 2015: 22 Sorties Flown | 160 HFT | 8 Munitions Dropped
- April: 72 Sorties Flown | 536 HFT | 43 Munitions Dropped
- May: 66 Sorties Flown | 484 HFT | 45 Munitions Dropped
- June: 72 Sorties Flown | 513 HFT | 42 Munitions Dropped
- July: 66 Sorties Flown | 486 HFT | 42 Munitions Dropped
- August: 74 Sorties Flown | 544 HFT | 39 Munitions Dropped
- September: 18 Sorties Flown | 200 HFT | 2 Munitions Dropped
- Total March – August 2015: 390 Sorties Flown | 2,932 HFT | 221 Munitions Dropped
Personnel from Australia and New Zealand with their Iraqi counterparts
April also saw the creation of Task Group Taji, a joint military venture by Australia and New Zealand comprised of 300 Australian personnel and 100 trainers from New Zealand. Task Group Taji contains several elements; force protection, command, support, and training forces all make up the Task Group. In July, Task Group Taji’s mission was altered slightly, with training for Iraqi federal/local police and border guard forces added to the list of candidates for training. Also in July, 15 personnel from the 16th Air Land Regiment were deployed to Taji (North of Baghdad) September saw the first strikes by Australian aircraft inside Syria. It also marked another rotation in air crews, with the pilots of #75 Squadron being replaced by their comrades from #77 Squadron, based in Williamtown. Their strikes were as follows:
no. 77 squadron f/a-18a hornet stats — september 2015 – april 2016
- Iraq | September: 60 Sorties Flown | 454 HFT | 37 Munitions Dropped
- Syria | September: 18 Sorties Flown | 143 HFT | 2 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | October: 78 Sorties Flown | 570 HFT | 34 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | November: 70 Sorties Flown | 540 HFT | 73 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | December: 73 Sorties Flown | 539 HFT | 81 Munitions Dropped
- Syria | December: 10 Sorties Flown | 57 HFT | 21 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | January 2016: 74 Sorties Flown | 539 HFT | 81 Munitions Dropped
- Syria | January 2016: 6 Sorties Flown | 33 HFT | 11 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | February: 62 Sorties Flown | 474 HFT | 69 Munitions Dropped
- Syria | February: 4 Sorties Flown | 27 HFT | 4 Munitions Dropped
- Iraq | March: 82 Sorties Flown | 624 HFT | 80 Munitions Dropped
- Total | Iraq: 501 Sorties Flown | 3,740 HFT | 455 Munitions Dropped
- Total | Syria: 38 Sorties Flown | 260 HFT | 38 Munitions Dropped
RAAF F/A-18A Hornet over Iraq
In early April 2016, No. 77 Squadron was replaced by No. 3 Squadron, also based out of Williamtown. This squadron is the most recent squadron for which data is available, and said data is only available up until November 2016. That data reflects the following strikes:
NO. 3 SQUADRON F/A-18A HORNET STATS — april 2016 – november 2016
- April | Iraq: 80 Sorties Flown | 624 HFT | 71 Munitions Dropped
- May | Iraq: 78 Sorties Flown | 614.2 HFT | 91 Munitions Dropped
- June | Iraq: 78 Sorties Flown | 610.8 HFT | 67 Munitions Dropped
- July | Iraq: 80 Sorties Flown | 595.5 HFT | 52 Munitions Dropped
- August | Iraq: 80 Sorties Flown | 596 HFT | 49 Munitions Dropped
- August | Syria: 4 Sorties Flown | 24 HFT | 7 Munitions Dropped
- September | Iraq: 72 Sorties Flown | 555.5 HFT | 30 Munitions Dropped
- September | Syria: 2 Sorties Flown | 20.6 HFT | 0 Munitions Dropped
- October | Iraq: 66 Sorties Flown | 539.1 HFT | 75 Munitions Dropped
- November | Iraq: 72 Sorties Flown | 565.4 HFT | 51 Munitions Dropped
- Total | Iraq: 606 Sorties Flown | 4,700.5 HFT | 486 Munitions Dropped
- Total | Syria: 6 Sorties Flown | 44.6 HFT | 7 Munitions Dropped
E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft departing for the UAE
In addition to the F/A-18A flights conducted by the various squadrons mentioned above, support aircraft from the RAAF also conducted flights to augment the strike missions. This was accomplished with an E-7A Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft, along with a KC-30A refueling tanker.
e-7a aew&c missions 2014 – march 2015 — iraq
- September 2014: 2 Sorties Flown | 9 HFT
- October: 21 Sorties Flown | 276 HFT
- November: 15 Sorties Flown | 182 HFT
- December: 15 Sorties Flown | 157 HFT
- January 2015: 11 Sorties Flown | 133 HFT
- February: 10 Sorties Flown | 157 HFT
- March: 12 Sorties Flown | 157 HFT
- April: 9 Sorties Flown | 101 HFT
- May: 9 Sorties Flown | 111 HFT
- June: 10 Sorties Flown | 133 HFT
- July: 9 Sorties Flown | 123 HFT
- August: 10 Sorties Flown | 133 HFT
- September: 10 Sorties Flown (10 in Syria) | 116 HFT
- October: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 129 HFT
- November: 9 Sorties Flown (9 in Syria) | 117 HFT
- December: 11 Sorties Flown (10 in Syria) | 114 HFT
- January 2016: 11 Sorties Flown | 140 HFT
- February: 11 Sorties Flown | 138.4 HFT
- March: 10 Sorties Flown (5 in Syria) | 126.3 HFT
- April: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 142.6 HFT
- May: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 140 HFT
- June: 9 Sorties Flown (9 in Syria) | 114.4 HFT
- July: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 131.6 HFT
- August: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 144.7 HFT
- September: 10 Sorties Flown (10 in Syria) | 127.7 HFT
- October: 11 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 135.9 HFT
- November: 9 Sorties Flown (8 in Syria) | 104.8 HFT
- Total: 289 Sorties Flown (127 in Syria) | 3,575 HFT
KC-30A MRTT refueling an F/A-18A Hornet
KC-30A Refueling missions 2014 – march 2015 — iraq
- September 2014: 4 Sorties Flown | 17 HFT | 97,372 lbs Fuel Delivered
- October: 30 Sorties Flown | 231 HFT | 2,405,658 lbs Fuel Delivered
- November: 34 Sorties Flown | 269 HFT | 2,613,521 lbs Fuel Delivered
- December: 37 Sorties Flown | 294 HFT | 3,246,495 lbs Fuel Delivered
- January 2015: 36 Sorties Flown | 321 HFT | 3,204,936 lbs Fuel Delivered
- February: 28 Sorties Flown | 235 HFT | 2,425,352 lbs Fuel Delivered
- March: 24 Sorties Flown | 277 HFT | 2,790,184 lbs Fuel Delivered
- April: 38 Sorties Flown | 296 HFT | 3,294,743 lbs Fuel Delivered
- May: 33 Sorties Flown | 263 HFT | 2,894,191 lbs Fuel Delivered
- June: 34 Sorties Flown | 262 HFT | 2,796,804 lbs Fuel Delivered
- July: 39 Sorties Flown | 280 HFT | 2,982,550 lbs Fuel Delivered
- August: 37 Sorties Flown | 280 HFT | 2,368,105 lbs Fuel Delivered
- September: 32 Sorties Flown | 262 HFT | 2,580,300 lbs Fuel Delivered
- October: 26 Sorties Flown (5 in Syria) | 207 HFT | 2,017,150 lbs Fuel Delivered
- November: 25 Sorties Flown | 213 HFT | 2,038,550 lbs Fuel Delivered
- December: 32 Sorties Flown | 268 HFT | 2,519,800 lbs Fuel Delivered
- January 2016: 35 Sorties Flown | 280 HFT | 2,766,410 lbs Fuel Delivered
- February: 33 Sorties Flown | 267.3 HFT | 2,866,650 lbs Fuel Delivered
- March: 32 Sorties Flown | 248.8 HFT | 2,619,654 lbs Fuel Delivered
- April: 33 Sorties Flown | 277.8 HFT | 2,702,200 lbs Fuel Delivered
- May: 33 Sorties Flown | 262.6 HFT | 2,577,400 lbs Fuel Delivered
- June: 31 Sorties Flown | 245.5 HFT | 2,332,650 lbs Fuel Delivered
- July: 33 Sorties Flown (2 in Syria) | 258.6 HFT | 2,427,600 lbs Fuel Delivered
- August: 28 Sorties Flown (8 in Syria) | 219.6 HFT | 2,081,350 lbs Fuel Delivered
- September: 35 Sorties Flown (6 in Syria) | 270.7 HFT | 2,790,450 lbs Fuel Delivered
- October: 33 Sorties Flown (11 in Syria) | 261.6 HFT | 2,797,100 lbs Fuel Delivered
- November: 32 Sorties Flown (13 in Syria) | 269.8 HFT | 2,655,700 lbs Fuel Delivered
- Total: 858 Sorties Flown (45 in Syria) | 6,852.8 HFT | 68,979,525 lbs Fuel Delivered
RAAF F/A-18A Hornet
Australia’s commitment to the fight against Daesh seems solid. As of the most recent update, there are 780 Australian Defense Force (ADF) personnel in the Middle East taking part in Operation Okra. This includes the 300 personnel from the 7th Brigade assigned to TC Taji, which is further reinforced with 110 New Zealand Defense Force personnel. The Air Task Group (ATG) is currently comprised of six F/A-18A Hornets, one E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, and one KC-30A MRTT. Finally, there are about 80 special forces soldiers taking part in the SOTG. These forces are scheduled to remain in-theater for the foreseeable future.
All images courtesy of the Australian Ministry of Defence.
