A legendary air force squadron disbanded 76 years ago has been reformed to again take on duties as an airborne “home defence” spy unit, gathering intelligence and carrying out early warning protection of Australia’s sea lanes and military bases.
The RAAF’s No.83 squadron intelligence unit was first raised in 1943 at the height of Japan’s World War II Pacific push – first in Brisbane and then operating from an airstrip in the Tiwi Islands off the Northern Territory.
It was disbanded shortly after the war in 1945 from its then home base in Menangle, southwest of Sydney, but it will be formally re-established with a parade this Friday – 78 years to the day it was first formed – as a central part of the ADF’s push to increase capacity to protect our borders with advanced integrated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems.
The forming of the squadron comes as the RAAF is set to acquire two more P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft to bring the total fleet size to 14.
These will work alongside three high-altitude, long-range MQ-4C Triton and MQ-9B Sky Guardian UAV aircraft and the much-anticipated acquisition of the manned electronic warfare MC-55 Peregrine and Boeing Australia-designed subsonic Loyal Wingman combat drone.