Force interoperability, and racing drones too

The joint approach, or vaunted interoperability, of the Australian Defence Force will be on display at Avalon. So will drone racing.

Army drone racers put their machines through the hoops. Drones are a pathway to recruit the ‘techy’ types. Picture: ADF

The joint approach, or vaunted interoperability, of the Australian Defence Force will be on display at Avalon air show today, with the army and navy seizing the opportunity to showcase their assets as they look to engage with the broader community in exciting ways.

The army is looking to attract a new breed of soldier to the service. For the first time drone racing will be on display, with the army’s racing team the driving force behind the initiative.

There will, of course, be plenty of action from air force jets, but also taking to the skies are the navy and army MRH-90s, one of the most advanced tactical troop transport helicopters in the world.

The army’s fast and agile armed reconnaissance helicopter, the ARH Tiger, capable of speeds close to 300 kmh, will also be on display.

In a demonstration of tri-service support, an Air Force C-130 Hercules turboprop military transport aircraft will refuel a CH-47 Chinook, a tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter as it refuels an M1 Abrams main battle tank.

Soldiers explain to air force colleagues the characteristics of ground-based air-defence equipment at Avalon 2017. Picture: ADF

Army displays aren’t limited to air assets. A range of land capabilities including the Australian Light Armoured Vehicle, an eight-wheeled amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle, and the army’s latest artillery piece, the M777 Howitzer, a towed 155mm gun, will make the air show a ground spectacle as well.

ADF members are at each display to answer questions from the public and interviews are available with service personnel for people wanting to explore career options. Defence Force Recruiting stalls will seek to fill the ranks. Behind the scenes, army and air force cooks are feeding the ADF’s people putting on the show.

It’s new to many, but drone racing has exploded in the past few years. International tournaments and associations have appeared all over the world.

Racers wear video goggles synched with a streaming camera on their drone and pilot the craft in first-person view using a remote control. There are a series of gates and obstacles to negotiate.

“It’s as if you’re inside it,” Corporal Zak Martin-Taylor, captain of Army’s drone racing team, said at the Military International Drone Racing Tournament, the first in the world, at Victoria Barracks in Sydney last December. Inside the army, drone racing is now an approved sport, meaning the more “techy” types can opt to practice piloting their unmanned craft during weekly sports sessions in place of more traditional options like rugby.

It’s also a pathway to recruit “smart young people” with the skills Defence wants, the army’s Unmanned Aerial Systems program manager, Lieutenant Colonel Keirin Joyce, said at the MIRDT last year.

It’s a great potential career, Joyce says, in which you can fly drones such as the Shadow full-time by joining as an Unmanned Aerial Systems operator, or you can fly other tactical systems such as the Wasp or Black Hornet part-time in the armoured corp or infantry.

“Drone racers are ‘STEMers’,” he says.

“They’re interested in science, technology, engineering and maths. They teach themselves how to build drones, how to code, and how to solder. They teach themselves aerodynamics and electronics.

“They’re the kids we want to have a conversation with about joining the ADF as a career.”

At Avalon the pilots will fly their drones, not much bigger than a human hand, at speeds of up to 140km/h over 10,000 cubic metres of challenging course across six days of racing.

Teams will include Australian servicemen and women, Kiwis in a visiting New Zealand Defence Force team, defence industry personnel, Defence Force cadets and other students selected for their aptitude in STEM.

Two world champion racers will compete. Australia’s Rudi Browning, 15, was crowned the overall champion at the World Drone Racing Championships in the Chinese city of Shenzhen last year, earning $US24,000 ($34,000). Thomas Bitmatta, 19, is Australia’s most accomplished drone racer, having dominated the sport since the first Nationals tournament in 2016.

Between scheduled races, demonstrations of Defence’s Black Hornet and other drone capabilities will be on display, with a night-flying demonstration on Friday.