Saab Delivers Final Giraffe Radar to Australia

Final Giraffe Arrives In Australia

Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare today announced that the final of three Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) Giraffe radars has arrived in Australia.

Mr Clare said two radar systems are currently operating in Tarin Kot. This third system will be used to train troops ahead of their deployment to Afghanistan.

“The Giraffe radars provide our troops with early detection of attacks from enemy rockets, artillery and mortars, protecting Australian and ISAF forces,” Mr Clare said.

“This early warning system has proven to be an important force protection capability for our troops, giving them vital seconds of advanced warning so they can take shelter.

EF88: Australia’s Next-Generation Assault Rifle

Top: EF88 with 16” barrel shown with Ase Utra suppressor, Trijicon TA44SR-10 1.5×16 ACOG, and folding foregrip. Centre: EF88 with 20” barrel, fitted with Trijicon 4×32 BAC ACOG, Madritsch ML40AUS grenade launcher, and Thales Australia-designed quadrant sight with mounted Trijicon RMR. Bottom: F88SA2 (current Australian Defence Force service rifle) with RM Equipment M203PI grenade launcher, Knight’s Armament Company quadrant sight, and standard 1.5x ring sight. 


In September 2012, I had the opportunity to visit Lithgow (New South Wales, Australia) at the invitation of Thales Australia in order to conduct a Test and Evaluation (T&E) of their Enhanced F88 Assault Rifle. This weapon is being developed for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under the Land 125 Phase 3C program. Pending the results of Department of Defence testing, this rifle will be in the early stages of manufacturing in 2014. A version of the EF88, with several minor differences, is being marketed globally by Thales as the F90, drawing directly on the Australian small arms experience. The EF88 is the latest iteration of the long-serving F88 Austeyr; this updated weapon has been designed and produced more than 20 years after the first F88 rifles entered service in Australia, and over 35 years since the Steyr AUG on which it is based was first designed in Austria. Fundamentally, the EF88 remains much the same as its predecessors: a bullpup-configuration selective fire weapon, chambered for the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge, short-stroke piston operated and firing from a closed bolt.

Despite core similarities, the EF88 features a number of improvements designed to make the weapon more user-friendly and more combat effective. Many of these changes were inspired by a combination of operational user input and Defence specifications, whilst others were entirely Thales Australia’s own concepts.  In fact, Thales Australia made a corporate decision to exceed the specifications laid out by Defence in Land 125, and have upgraded their operations at Lithgow from ‘build-to-print’ manufacturing to encompass a true Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) capability.

USA: US, Australia, Japan militaries prepare for exercise Cope North 2013

JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii  -- The U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, the Japan Air Self-Defense Force, and the Royal Australian Air Force are preparing to conduct exercise Cope North 2013 at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, scheduled for Feb. 4 through 15. 

The exercise is the latest in a long standing, multilateral exercise designed to enhance each countries' air operations. Additionally, the exercise includes humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training objectives for the USAF, JASDF and RAAF. 

The U.S. will have approximately 1,000 participants, the JASDF will have approximately 450 participants, and the RAAF will have approximately 300 participants. 

The first week will consist of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief training, along with air combat training and air-to-ground weapons training. During the second part of the exercise, the focus will shift to dissimilar air combat tactics, strike mission training, and large force employment training. Also, JASDF squadrons will conduct surface attack training on the Farallon de Medinilla Range. 

Since the first Cope North exercise in 1978 at Misawa Air Base, Japan, thousands of American and Japanese airmen have honed skills that are vital to maintaining a high level of readiness. 

The RAAF will be attending CN13 for the second time, and their participation will further strengthen regional partner interoperability. 

Additionally, the Republic of Korea Air Force will send representatives for the first time to observe the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief portion of the training.