Exercise Global Dexterity has brought together C-17A Globemaster aircraft from the US, UK and Australia for a series of air mobility training missions. Held at RAAF Base Amberley from November 27 to December 8, the exercise continues to build close ties between RAAF’s 36 Squadron and the US Pacific Air Forces’ (PACAF) 535th Airlift Squadron, travelling from Hawaii. For the first time, Royal Air Force’s (RAF) 99 Squadron participated in the exercise from December 1. Exercise Global Dexterity is held twice a year and provides an opportunity for C-17A aircrew and technicians to build aviator-level relationships with foreign counterparts. The exercise this year involves low-level formation training around western Sydney, high-level air-to-air refuelling from RAAF KC-30As, and deployed operations to RAAF Bases Townsville and Scherger in northern Queensland.
Commanding Officer 36 Squadron Wing Commander Scott Hyland said, “The C-17A is well suited to delivering critical personnel and large amounts of cargo across the Indo-Pacific, but the people and our relationships are what allow us to do this quickly and effectively. Through Exercise Global Dexterity, we’ve built a relationship with the US PACAF C-17A community that allows us to fly and fix each other’s aircraft as a blended workforce, greatly increasing our flexibility during operations. The value of these aircraft and their workforce is evident when we deploy together in the region, whether it be in support of peacekeeping operations, non-combatant evacuations, or to deliver a time-critical response to a natural disaster,” Wing Commander Hyland said.
With the cooperation of the Papua New Guinea government, RAAF will also conduct air mobility missions to PNG during Exercise Global Dexterity 23-2. We are grateful for the opportunity to test our skills in PNG, which is one of the world’s most complex flying environments. The training RAAF achieve during Exercise Global Dexterity ensures that we can deliver help anywhere in the Indo-Pacific. RAAF welcome the UK’s debut in Exercise Global Dexterity, and believe it will yield great benefit to the wider Indo-Pacific community on future operations, and RAAF thank the government and community of Papua New Guinea for their support. These relationships ensured RAAF aviators could support operations at short notice.
The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft that was developed for the U.S. Air Force from the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 was designed to replace the Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, and also fulfill some of the duties of the Lockheed C-5 Galaxy.The C-17 commonly performs tactical and strategic airlift missions, transporting troops and cargo throughout the world; additional roles include medical evacuation and airdrop duties. The transport is in service with the USAF along with air arms of India, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and the Europe-based multilateral organization Heavy Airlift Wing.
