# List of current Royal Australian Air Force aircraft

This is a list of the current Royal Australian Air Force aircraft in operation:

## Current aircraft

| Aircraft | Unit operating | Number of aircraft | Origin |
| Combat aircraft ||||
| Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II stealth multirole fighter aircraft | No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit (RAAF Base Williamtown) No. 3 Squadron (RAAF Base Williamtown) No. 77 Squadron (RAAF Base Williamtown) No. 75 Squadron (RAAF Base Tindal) | 72 in service | United States |
| Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet strike fighter aircraft | No. 1 Squadron (RAAF Base Amberley) | 24 | United States |
| Patrol aircraft ||||
| Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol and anti submarine warfare aircraft | No. 11 Squadron (RAAF Base Edinburgh) | 12 (2 on order) | United States |
| AEW&C and EW aircraft ||||
| Boeing E-7A Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft | No. 2 Squadron (RAAF Base Williamtown) | 6 | Australia |
| Boeing EA-18G Growler Electronic Warfare aircraft | No. 6 Squadron (RAAF Base Amberley) | 12 | United States |
| MC-55A Peregrine Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Electronic Warfare (ISREW) aircraft | No. 10 Squadron (RAAF Base Edinburgh) | 4 on order | United States |
| Transport aircraft ||||
| Alenia C-27J Spartan battlefield airlifter | No. 35 Squadron (RAAF Base Amberley) | 10 | Italy |
| Lockheed C-130J Hercules medium transport | No. 37 Squadron (RAAF Base Richmond) | 12 (20 on order to replace and expand current fleet) | United States |
| Boeing C-17 Globemaster heavy transport | No. 36 Squadron (RAAF Base Amberley) | 8 | United States |
| Airbus KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport | No. 33 Squadron (RAAF Base Amberley) | 7 (1 VIP configured) | Spain/France |
| Boeing BBJ (Boeing Business Jet) VIP transport | No. 34 Squadron (Defence Establishment Fairbairn) | 2 | United States |
| Dassault Falcon 7X VIP transport | No. 34 Squadron (Defence Establishment Fairbairn) | 3 | France |
| Beechcraft King Air 350 light transport | No. 32 Squadron (RAAF Base East Sale) | 12 | United States |
| Helicopters ||||
| AgustaWestland AW139 SAR helicopter | RAAF Base Amberley RAAF Base East Sale RAAF Base Pearce RAAF Base Tindal RAAF Base Williamtown | 6 (contracted with CHC Helicopter) | Italy |
| Training aircraft ||||
| Diamond DA40NG | Australian Air Force Cadets | 8 (under civilian registrations) | Austria |
| Pilatus PC-21 | Central Flying School (RAAF Base East Sale) No. 2 Flying Training School (RAAF Base Pearce) No. 4 Squadron (FAC training) (RAAF Base Williamtown) | 49 | Switzerland |
| BAe Hawk 127 lead-in fighter trainer | No. 79 Squadron (RAAF Base Pearce) No. 76 Squadron (RAAF Base Williamtown) | 33 | United Kingdom |
| Beechcraft King Air 350 navigation & specialised trainer | No. 32 Squadron (RAAF Base East Sale) | 12 | United States |
| Remotely piloted aircraft ||||
| MQ-4C Triton | No. 9 Squadron (RAAF Base Edinburgh) | 1 (3 on order) | United States |
| MQ-28 Ghost Bat | TBD | 8 (10 Block 1s and 3 Block 2s on order) | Australia |

## Heritage aircraft

No. 100 Squadron was reformed in March 2021 as the Air Force Heritage Squadron to operate airworthy warbirds inherited from the RAAF Museum and Temora Aviation Museum. The unit is based at the RAAF Point Cook with separate flights at Point Cook and Temora. The ownership of 12 historic aircraft was transferred from Temora Aviation Museum to the RAAF in July 2019; they continue to be maintained by museum staff but operated by the RAAF as part of No. 100 Squadron Temora Flight with pilots inducted into the RAAF Reserve.

## Future acquisitions

* AIR 6000: Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II multirole fighter
** A possible total of 100 F-35As are to be purchased under Project Air 6000 to replace the Hornets and Super Hornets.
*** AIR 6000, Phase 2A/2B, Stage 1: 14 F-35A fighters have been approved for purchase for service entry from 2014.
*** AIR 6000, Phase 2A/2B, Stage 2: 58 F-35A fighters have been approved for purchase bringing total on order to 72 aircraft. Stage 1&2 will replace all F/A-18A/B fighters in service.
*** AIR 6000, Phase 2C: around 28 additional F-35A fighters planned for purchase. These will replace all F/A-18F fighters in service.
* AIR 7000: ADF Maritime ISR capability replacement
** Programme to replace the AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft with a crewed MPA/UAV mix.
*** AIR 7000, Phase 1B: Purchase of 7 high altitude, long endurance maritime surveillance UAV. The MQ-4C Global Hawk was originally selected for the role, but the decision has been delayed until after the crewed portion is introduced.
*** AIR 7000, Phase 2B: Purchase of 8 Boeing P-8A Poseidon crewed MPA has been given first-pass approval for service entry from 2018.
* AIR 5428: Pilot Training System
** Programme to replace PC-9/A training aircraft and training syllabus.
*** Air 5428, Phase 1: 49 Pilatus PC-21 ordered in 2015 for entry into service by 2019.
* Project AIR 555: Gulfstream G550
** In late 2015 the RAAF ordered two Gulfstream G550 aircraft to be delivered by 30 November 2017. The aircraft will be used for signals and electronic intelligence gathering. Both Australian Aviation and FlightGlobal have reported that the aircraft will possibly form the replacement for the electronic intelligence-gathering role performed by 2 of RAAF's AP-3 Orions.
** In March 2019, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne claimed that Australia will acquire four modified Gulfstream G550 business jets to strengthen the country's electronic warfare capabilities. The $2.46 billion acquisition of the 4 G550s will be designated as the MC-55A Peregrine variant. It will be operated by the RAAF's Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group (SRG).