Download - Royal Australian Navy

Royal Navy Aviation Aspects of the
New Amphibious Ships
Commander David Hobbs, MBE, RN (Rtd)
Our capacity to deploy and sustain land forces from the sea will be
substantially enhanced when the Landing Helicopter Dock [Amphibious
Assault Ship] (LHD) amphibious ships enter service in the coming
decade. They will be able to carry a substantial quantity of equipment
stores and personnel.
Defending Australia in the Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030 1
To develop the full potential of its two new Canberra class LHDs the Royal Australian
Navy (RAN) needs to develop sophisticated multi-spot flightdeck operating skills. These
joint skills have not seen similar use in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) since the
decommissioning of the fast troop transport HMAS Sydney (III) in 1973. Nevertheless,
other operators of large, helicopter-capable amphibious ships, such as the United States
(US) Navy and Royal Navy (RN), have evolved techniques to launch heli-borne assaults
and continuously refined them over the past fifty years. Australia is already leveraging off
our allies’ experience, and by establishing a number of loan postings seeks to generate the
necessary expertise before the LHDs enter service. Key issues requiring attention range
from the composition of the flightdeck crew, through to the use of non-naval helicopters
and the systems integration of unique army, navy and air force equipment and ordnance.
During operations the LHD’s flightdeck will be a busy and dangerous place. Aircraft
handlers and assault logistics specialists must work together to get troops and equipment
ashore and back again in the most efficient and effective manner; in RN and US Navy/
Marine Corps amphibious ships, the latter group comprises dedicated marines. Without
them, the RAN will need to develop its own unique solution, and planning for flightdeck
manning is already well underway. The LHDs will have specialised departments for both
air and amphibious operations, and likewise being developed is a concept of employment
in areas such as flightdeck management and mission planning.
The number of helicopters needed for an initial assault is dictated by the size of the
military force to be landed. Numbers of troops, known as ‘sticks’, carried by each
helicopter will vary according to the fuel needed to fly to the landing zone (LZ) and
return with a viable reserve. It is quicker to add fuel to an aircraft than to pump it out,
so helicopters are usually ranged with pre-planned low fuel states and brought up to
the required amount at the last minute before the assault to give greatest flexibility.
A late planning change would be very difficult to implement and could cause chaos.