The Royal Australian Air Force and the UK’s Royal Air Force have signed an Air Cooperation Framework.
A brief release says the Framework builds on the long history of the RAAF and RAF working together, and ‘provides a structure aligned to the over-arching Australia-UK Military Cooperation Framework and is based on shared platforms, workforces, and like-mindedness’.
“We look forward to promoting closer cooperation as we introduce a range of common platforms and systems into service and support them in operations,” RAAF Chief of Air Force, AIRMSHL Mel Hupfeld said in a release. “All of our shared capabilities provide valuable opportunities for us to work together to achieve our capability and interoperability goals.”
“We face an increasingly uncertain geostrategic situation within our region and welcome the UK’s renewed engagement in the Indo-Pacific,” he added. “Exploiting areas of common ground between our Royal Australian Air Force and the Royal Air Force will help us to respond to our countries’ respective national interests.”
The two services share many similar platforms, including the F-35 Lightning II, C-130J transport, P-8A Poseidon, and MRTT, and have already unofficially collaborated on the development of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian UAS.