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The Royal Australian Air Force has completed its longest, non-stop flight on record with a KC-30A multi-role tanker transport aircraft travelling from Australia to Spain.
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The KC-30A originally took off from RAAF Base Amberley before travelling more than 23.3 hours, with two refuelling brackets supplied from a second RAAF KC-30A, to Jerez, Spain.
Consisting of 21 Air Force personnel, Flight Lieutenant Elliott Hyder was one of five pilots who rotated to share fatigue load.
“We were able to successfully manage both flight endurance and aircrew fatigue to achieve the maximum result,” FLTLT Hyder said.
As part of a week-long interoperability exercise with French Air and Space Force’s (FASF) 31 Aeronautical Technical Support Squadron, RAAF’s 33 Squadron travelled to Istres, France, to participate in air-to-air refuelling and maintenance exchange activities.
“Myself and one other pilot, 33 Squadron’s FASF exchange pilot Squadron Leader Kevin Theatre, flew the local flight with the FASF Eurofighters,” FLTLT Hyder said.
“Other than that, our role was to support the maintenance and logistics crews on deployment, which was the main focus.”
Corporal Anthony Everitt, 33 Squadron aviation technician, said the exchange was a valuable experience.
“RAAF 33 Squadron maintenance, logistics and quality specialists worked alongside their French counterparts to understand each other’s processes, share lessons learnt, and build the friendship initially started during Pitch Black 2024 earlier in the year,” CPL Everitt said.
“We operate under a similar regulatory structure, which makes understanding the training and authorisation of each other’s maintenance procedures much easier.
“Once the process is fully developed, it will be great to see our respective maintenance staff working with each other all over the world.”
Enhancing interoperability between the two nations on the return journey to RAAF Base Amberley, the RAAF KC-30A was refuelled by both an RAAF KC-30A and a FASF multi-role tanker transport.
FLTLT Hyder said it was a beneficial experience.
“The highlights for me were the successful spare parts and logistics exchange, the knowledge sharing to increase both the RAAF and the FASF processes – and the cuisine, of course, which the locals gladly helped us explore,” FLTLT Hyder said.
