Delivery for Antarctica: RAAF, Antarctic Division complete first air cargo mission to icy continent

Updated

The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) have successfully completed their first joint mission delivering bulk cargo to Antarctica by air.

Key points RAAF, Australian Antarctic Division complete first joint air cargo mission to Antarctica

C-17 Globemaster is the largest aircraft to land on the icy continent

Crews practice medical evacuation from Wilkins Aerodrome

A C-17A Globemaster made the 3,500-kilometre trip to an icy runway at Wilkins Aerodrome in about five hours after leaving Hobart at 9:30am on Saturday morning (local time).

Wilkins is about 70 kilometres from Casey Station, Australia's largest base in Antarctica.

"The C-17 is the largest aircraft ever to land [at the Wilkins aerodrome] in Antarctica," Air Commodore Richard Lennon from the RAAF, who was on the flight, said.

The C-17A can carry up to 70 tonnes of cargo for over 10,000 kilometres.

"However, to get in on the ice at Wilkins all the way from Hobart we carry about 20 tonnes of equipment and people," Air Commodore Lennon said.

"That enables us to return to Hobart without refuelling."

The trip was the first to use military assets for Antarctic logistics.

The cargo on board the flight would normally have travelled by sea onboard the Aurora Australis icebreaker.

Australian Antarctic Division director Dr Nick Gales said relying on sea freight was problematic.

"At the moment, if we're carrying anything heavy up and down to Antarctica, which is what we need for all of our core business, we have to do it on the ship," he said.

"So we get one opportunity a year to bring in heavy gear or take it out.

"This opens up an enormous range of possibilities. It's a really important flight it's something that we've needed for a long time."

Crews practice medical evacuation from Antarctic airfield

Once on the ground, a team of AAD and RAAF personnel quickly unloaded the cargo, which included a brand new Hagglund — a dual-cab vehicle used for getting across snow and ice terrain, along with two quad bikes.

Pallet loads of building materials also arrived on the flight and will be used for construction works at Casey Station.

The plane's crew also used the opportunity to simulate a medical evacuation from Wilkins Aerodrome.

"We've brought our medical evacuation team along and obviously this is a significant capability if someone falls ill on the ice and they need to be evacuated for medical attention," Air Commodore Lennon said.

He said the C-17A was the ideal plane for the task.

"The two things that make it perfect for this sort of mission is its range, but also the ability to land on a unprepared air field," he said.

"We haven't had to do anything differently with the aircraft as it's designed to operate in cold temperatures -—in fact we often operate in Alaska and the northern hemisphere."

Australia now has eight C-17A planes.

"The C-17 provides strategic reach for the Australian defence force whether we're operating in the Middle East, providing humanitarian assistance to disaster struck areas in the Pacific," Air Commodore Lennon said.

"Now we can reliably see we can operate to the south of our continent, so we've explored the four cardinal points of the compass."

Topics: science-and-technology, environment, defence-forces, defence-and-national-security, antarctica, tas, australia

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