No. 34 Squadron of the RAAF operates a pair of 737 Boeing Business Jets (BBJ), but the air force is preparing to replace them after nearly 20 years of service. This was revealed in briefing documents prepared for the incoming Albanese government.
They are to be replaced by new 737s as an ‘approved enhancement’, with the new aircraft to be leased rather than purchased. No mention of costs was mentioned in the brief, nor upon what kind of 737 airframes they will be based.
The Defence Portfolio Budget Statement predicted that the BBJs’ annual flight hours will grow to 1,600 hours, up from the current 1,200. It appears that the RAAF sees simply refurbishing the current aircraft as being an insufficient measure, and that new aircraft are required to ensure availability and reliability to VIPs such as the prime minister.
In their lifetimes, the two aircraft have clocked up nearly 14,000 flying hours each.
A request for information (RfI) was released on 20 January for the disposal of the two current 737 BBJs. It revealed that one aircraft will be withdrawn from service between March and June 2024, and the second aircraft sometime from July-September the same year.
Their end-of-life disposal on an as-is where-is basis could entail purchase for future operations, or for dismantling/destruction/recycling. Defence is also interested in salvaging 737 parts that could be distributed to the wider RAAF fleet for support of E-7A Wedgetails, P-8A Poseidons or the replacement BBJs.
This tender exercise closes 3 March.
The two current 737s were originally leased from Qantas Defence Services in 2002, before Northrop Grumman took over the contract in 2013. Northrop Grumman Australia currently has a contract for through-life support for the RAAF’s entire special-purpose aircraft fleet until next year, with options that can extend this till 2037.
As well as the 737 BBJs, No. 34 Squadron also operates three Dassault Falcon 7Xs from Defence Establishment Fairburn in the ACT.
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