page_title: No. 81 Wing RAAF
section_title: Current establishment and Middle East deployments
hierarchical_section_title: No. 81 Wing RAAF / History / Current establishment and Middle East deployments
caption_attribution_description: English: Three Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18 Hornets form up after an air refuel from a KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport while participating in Cope North 13 near Anderson Air Force Base, Guam, Feb. 13, 2013. The F/A-18 Hornet is capable of air interception, air combat, close air support of ground troops, and interdiction of enemy supply lines including shipping. Cope North is an annual air combat tactics, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise designed to increase the readiness and interoperability of the U.S. Air Force, Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force..
context_page_description: No. 81 Wing is responsible for operating the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet multi-role fighters of the Royal Australian Air Force. Headquartered at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the wing comprises three combat units, Nos. 3 and 77 Squadrons based at Williamtown and No. 75 Squadron at RAAF Base Tindal, Northern Territory, as well as an operational conversion unit at Williamtown. No. 81 Wing headquarters oversees squadron training in air-to-air and air-to-ground tactics, and support for the Australian Army and Royal Australian Navy. Tasked with offensive and defensive counter-air operations, the Hornets have been deployed to Diego Garcia in 2001–02, when they provided local air defence, to Iraq in 2003, when they saw action flying fighter escort and close air support missions in concert with Coalition forces, and to the Middle East in 2015–16, when they undertook strike operations during the military intervention against ISIL. They have also been employed to patrol high-profile events in Australia, including the Commonwealth Games and visits by foreign dignitaries.
  Formed in April 1944, No.
context_section_description: No. 81 Wing re-formed at Williamtown on 2 February 1987. Along with No. 75 Squadron at Tindal, its flying units consisted of Nos. 3 and 77 Squadrons based at Williamtown with No. 2 OCU, all of which had converted from the Mirage to the Hornet between 1985 and 1987, the last-mentioned being the prime operator of the two-seat F/A-18B trainers. Having continued to perform fighter maintenance through the 1960s and '70s, No. 481 Squadron disbanded on 31 January 1987. It re-formed the next day as No. 481 Wing under No. 81 Wing's parent organisation, Tactical Fighter Group (TFG), and consisted of two squadrons, Aircraft Maintenance Squadron Williamtown (AMSWLM) and Aircraft Equipment Maintenance Squadron Williamtown (AEMSWLM). By 1996, No. 81 Wing had been augmented by Nos. 25 and 76 Squadrons, operating Macchi MB-326 lead-in fighters, the former based at RAAF Base Pearce, Western Australia, and the latter at Williamtown, where it also employed Pilatus PC-9s for forward air control (FAC). On 1 July 1996, No. 481 Wing was reorganised as No. 402 Wing, incorporating a newly re-formed No. 481 Squadron as well as Weapon Systems Support Flight and Field Training Flight. No. 402 Wing transferred its functions to No. 81 Wing's flying squadrons on 31 July 1998 before disbanding in October. The same year, No. 25 Squadron was split, its Macchis now being operated by a re-formed No. 79 Squadron. No. 78 Wing was re-established in 2000 as an operational training formation, taking over Nos. 76 and 79 Squadrons, and No. 2 OCU. By 2007, No. 2 OCU had returned to the control of No. 81 Wing.
  From 2000 to 2003, No. 77 Squadron flew the FAC PC-9s previously operated by No. 76 Squadron; this role was subsequently assigned to the newly formed Forward Air Control Development Unit. A detachment of No. 81 Wing, consisting of Hornets from No. 75 Squadron and PC-9s from No. 77 Squadron, was prepared to support INTERFET operations in East Timor between September 1999 and February 2000, but was not required. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, Hornets from both No. 3 and No. 77 Squadrons were deployed for air defence at the USAF base on Diego Garcia; no combat ensued and the planes returned in May 2002. That year, Hornets from No. 75 Squadron undertook combat air patrols in connection with the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Queensland.
  No. 81 Wing became part of RAAF Air Command's new Air Combat Group when TFG merged with Strike Reconnaissance Group in February 2002. The following year, 14 Hornets from No. 75 Squadron deployed to the Middle East to support the invasion of Iraq, escorting high-value Coalition aircraft and later providing close air support to ground troops and air interdiction against Iraqi forces, the first time the RAAF had delivered bombs in anger since the Vietnam War. The Hornets were led by Wing Commander Mel Hupfeld, who became Officer Commanding No. 81 Wing in 2006–07, Commander Air Combat Group in 2009–12, and subsequently Air Commander Australia. The Hornets have also continued to play an air defence role in securing high-profile events in Australia, including the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the 2007 APEC meeting in Sydney, and the 2011 visit by US President Barack Obama. In March 2015, six F/A-18As from No. 75 Squadron deployed to the Middle East under Operation Okra, as part of the military intervention against ISIL. The aircraft replaced a detachment of six F/A-18F Super Hornets from No. 1 Squadron; the Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Geoff Brown, announced that each of the "classic" Hornet squadrons would rotate through the region for combat operations every six months before the Super Hornets returned, for the duration of the deployment. No. 77 Squadron took over from No. 75 Squadron in September 2015, and handed over to the next rotation from No. 3 Squadron in April 2016.
caption: F/A-18 Hornets of No. 3 Squadron in 2013
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