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Boeing Defence Australia’s Helicopter Aircrew Training System program has passed 50,000 flying hours on the EC-135 T2+ helicopters with more than 32,500 sorties flown.
The 15-aircraft fleet has flown the equivalent to about 5.7 years of continuous flight, trained more than 580 aircrew for the Royal Australian Navy and Australian Army. The BDA supports four ADF aircraft variants including EC-135 T2+, EC-135 T3H, CH-47F Chinook and AH-64E Apache.
Under HATS, BDA partners with 723 SQN, Fleet Air Arm and the ADF to deliver training to helicopter aircrew including pilots, aviation warfare officers, and sensor operators as well as supply chain, operations, program support services, and engineering and maintenance of the EC-135 T2+ fleet.
Naomi Smith, director of BDA Sustainment Operations said the milestone demonstrates sustained training output and directly supports the Australian Defence Force by delivering the skilled personnel they rely on for frontline operations.
“Since the training helicopters entered Australian service in 2016, we’ve continuously increased our flying tempo in response to frontline operational demands to enhance fleet and aircrew readiness,” she said.
“BDA is the predominant provider of rotary-wing support services to Defence, and our focus is to deliver mission ready crews and dependable capability for training and operational aircraft we support.”
