RAAF
Exclusive
Remembrance Day
He was Australia’s deadliest Battle of Britain pilot. Now, his plane will fly again
Pat Hughes shot down more German aircraft than any other Australian pilot when the Luftwaffe attacked during the Battle of Britain.
- by Tim Barlass
Latest
Opinion
China relations
Was Biden’s ‘hot mic’ China warning OTT? New footage of this mid-air bullying suggests not
The Australian government speaks reassuringly of a “stabilised” relationship with Beijing. China’s national broadcaster portrays a very different state of affairs.
- by Peter Hartcher
Hurley asks King about his health in emotional final overseas trip on duty
Governor-General David Hurley’s job is almost done. But his final trip overseas, his 19th in the job, was as moving as any that had come before.
- by Rob Harris
Perspective
World War II
Secret planning, treacherous training and the clouds of gliders launched against the Nazis
Gippsland-born Frank Bladin became Air Vice-Marshal of the RAAF. Eighty years ago, he played a crucial role in the D-Day airborne landings on Normandy, France.
- by Tony Wright
Reform laws and amend attitudes to staunch violence
The causal factors of violence against women and children are well known. Little is new other than cyberstalking and surveillance as tools of abuse. The long-standing problem of agencies competing for inadequate resources does not assist victims or aid in violence reduction. Executive government needs to undertake effective law reform and provide adequate funding for first-class services.
China in our sights: Defence to get extra $50b over next decade
Defence spending is set to rise to $100 billion a year by 2034, in large part due to the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as China rapidly builds up its military.
- by Matthew Knott
‘Army will be brutalised’: Defence firms brace for major funding cuts
Defence firms fear the “sword of Damocles is about to drop” as the government seeks to stop the $50 billion budget from spiralling out of control.
- by Matthew Knott
Biplanes once took off from the RAAF’s birthplace. Now it faces the wrecking ball
The Point Cook base, which was essential to Australia’s WWII efforts, trained the country’s first pilots and sent them to war. Conservationists are fighting to save its “irreplaceable” buildings.
- by Cara Waters
Bowen defends use of two jets for one photo op with PM for renewables
The energy minister said the Royal Australian Air Force advised that the Hunter Valley airport couldn’t accommodate the PM’s usual plane.
- by Olivia Ireland and Matthew Knott
Updated
Defence
Son of ex-minister Joel Fitzgibbon dies after defence parachuting accident
Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon suffered serious injuries during a routine training exercise at RAAF Richmond on Wednesday night.
- by Jessica McSweeney, Catherine Naylor and Olivia Ireland
Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/topic/royal-australian-air-force-1mok