The RAAF is acquiring four modified Gulfstream G550 airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and electronic warfare (AISREW) aircraft to support land, air and naval forces. The public was informed of the procurement of these aircraft, known as the MC-55A Peregrine, in March 2019.
Project Air 555 has a budget of AUD2.46 billion (USD1.75 billion), and they will be located at RAAF Base Edinburgh near Adelaide, under the auspices of the Surveillance and Response Group. These Peregrine AISREW aircraft will critically link platforms such as the F-35A, E-7A Wedgetail, EA-18G Growler, naval warships and ground assets.
Details of the mission systems aboard these G550s are a bit murky, but they will allow the aircraft to intercept, identify, locate and jam a wide range of communications and emitters (e.g. air defence radars and electronic jamming equipment). They will be more capable than the two AP-3C Orions equipped with communications and signals intelligence kit, which are soldiering on with with No. 10 Squadron till the Peregrines arrive.
Construction of the four airframes was completed in early 2020, and modification work on the ‘green’ aircraft has been managed by the US Air Force’s 645th Aeronautical Systems Group.
Images of a first MC-55A conducting flights were taken at Gulfstream’s facility in Savannah, Georgia, in March 2022. These were then ferried to the L3Harris facility in Greenville, Texas, as L3Harris is responsible for modifying the aircraft.
The images showed a ‘canoe’ fairing on the forward belly, as well as a bulbous tail cone fairing. There are also multiple antennas on the top and underside of the fuselage, as well as the wings. An electro-optic/infrared turret may yet be added to the tail.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced in 2017 a potential sale to Australia of up to five G550 aircraft, including aircraft, mission systems, GPS capability, secure communications, aircraft defensive systems, spares and support. Clearly, that figure was reduced from five to four.
It appears the acquisition programme is running behind schedule, since the acquisition phase was to be 2017-24. However, the first aircraft should be delivered this year.
New facilities are being built at Edinburgh by Lendlease as the main operating base. However, they will also fly from three forward operating bases at Townsville, Darwin and the Coco (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean.
A runway on the Cocos is being strengthened and widened by Fulton Hogan, with taxiways and aprons, to support P-8A Poseidon operations too. Work on Peregrine modular support infrastructure was to occur from July 2021 till December 2023 too. The Coco islands are Australian territory 2,750km northwest of Perth, a strategic location halfway to Sri Lanka.
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