The rank structure of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has been inherited from the Royal Air Force (RAF). The RAF based its officer ranks on the Royal Navy, and its airmen ranks on the British Army.
Unlike the RAF, RAAF rank abbreviations are always written in uppercase without spaces (e.g. Pilot Officer is written as PLTOFF, not Plt Off).
The rank insignia is very similar to that of the RAF for Corporal and above and for all officers. However the RAAF does not have the ranks of Senior Aircraftman, Junior Technician, Chief Technician or Master Aircrew. In 2022 the RAF renamed their lower ranks of Aircraftman (AC) to Air Recruit (AR) and Leading Aircraftman (LAC) to the ranks of Air Specialist '(Class 2 and 1)' and '(Class 1) Technician' to be more inclusive as they did not have the Aircraftwoman title for female service members. Both officers and airmen wear rank insignia on the chest when wearing General Purpose Uniform or Disruptive Pattern Combat Uniform. Rank insignia is worn on the shoulder in all other orders of dress with the exception of the Service Dress tunic where it is worn on the cuff for officers and lower sleeve for Warrant Officers and the upper sleeve for airmen in their tunic and the sleeve of all enlisted Physical Training Instructors (PTIs) working uniform. The word 'Australia' appears immediately below all rank insignia worn on the shoulder or chest.
The most senior active rank of the RAAF, Air Marshal – a three-star rank, is held by the Chief of Air Force. [lower-alpha 1] On the occasions that the Chief of the Defence Force is an officer of the RAAF, the rank of Air Chief Marshal is awarded. The rank of Marshal of the Royal Australian Air Force has never been held as an active rank, however it is held as an honorary rank; previously by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh until his death in 2021, [1] and currently by Charles III, King of Australia as the Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force.[ citation needed ]
Insignia | | | | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Marshal of the RAAF | Air Chief Marshal | Air Marshal | Air Vice-Marshal | Air Commodore |
Abbreviation | MRAAF | ACM | AIRMSHL | AVM | AIRCDRE |
ADF Code | - | O-10 | O-9 | O-8 | O-7 |
NATO Code | OF-10 | OF-9 | OF-8 | OF-7 | OF-6 |
Army Equivalent | Field marshal | General | Lieutenant general | Major general | Brigadier [lower-alpha 2] |
Navy Equivalent | Admiral of the Fleet | Admiral | Vice Admiral | Rear Admiral | Commodore |
Insignia | | | |
---|---|---|---|
Title | Group Captain | Wing Commander | Squadron Leader |
Abbreviation | GPCAPT | WGCDR | SQNLDR |
ADF Code | O-6 | O-5 | O-4 |
NATO Code | OF-5 | OF-4 | OF-3 |
Army Equivalent | Colonel | Lieutenant Colonel | Major |
Navy Equivalent | Captain | Commander | Lieutenant Commander |
Insignia | | | | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Title | Flight Lieutenant | Flying Officer | Pilot Officer | Officer Cadet |
Abbreviation | FLTLT | FLGOFF | PLTOFF | OFFCDT |
ADF Code | O-3 | O-2 | O-1 | |
NATO Code | OF-2 | OF-1 | OF-1 | |
Army Equivalent | Captain | Lieutenant | Second Lieutenant | Staff Cadet (RMC) Officer Cadet (ADFA) |
Navy Equivalent | Lieutenant | Sub Lieutenant | Acting Sub Lieutenant | Midshipman |
Insignia | |
---|---|
Title | Warrant Officer |
Abbreviation | WOFF |
ADF Code | E-9 |
NATO Code | OR-9 |
Army Equivalent | Warrant Officer Class 1 |
Navy Equivalent | Warrant Officer |
Insignia | |||
---|---|---|---|
Title | Flight Sergeant | Sergeant | Corporal |
Abbreviation | FSGT | SGT | CPL |
ADF Code | E-8 | E-6 | E-5 |
NATO Code | OR-8 | OR-6 | OR-5 |
Army Equivalent | Warrant Officer Class 2 | Sergeant | Corporal |
Navy Equivalent | Chief Petty Officer | Petty Officer | Leading Seaman |
Insignia | ||
---|---|---|
Title | Leading Aircraftman/Leading Aircraftwoman | Aircraftman/Aircraftwoman |
Abbreviation | LAC/LACW | AC/ACW |
ADF Code | E-3 | E-1/2 |
NATO Code | OR-3 | OR-1/2 |
Army Equivalent | Private Proficient [2] | Private |
Navy Equivalent | Able Seaman | Seaman |
Insignia | |
---|---|
Title | Warrant Officer of the Air Force |
Abbreviation | WOFF-AF |
Rank | WOFF |
ADF Code | E-10 |
NATO Code | OR-9 |
Army Equivalent | Regimental Sergeant Major of the Army Rank:Warrant Officer |
Navy Equivalent | Warrant Officer of the Navy Rank:Warrant Officer |
Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general or divisional general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral.
Marshal of the Royal Air Force (MRAF) is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF). In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS), and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff (CAS), who were promoted to it on their last day of service. While surviving Marshals of the RAF retain the rank for life, the highest rank to which officers on active service are promoted is now air chief marshal. Although general promotions to Marshal of the Royal Air Force have been discontinued since the British defence cuts of the 1990s, further promotions to the rank may still be made in wartime, for members of the Royal Family and certain very senior RAF air officers in peacetime at the discretion of the monarch; all such promotions in peacetime are only honorary, however. In 2012, the then Prince of Wales was promoted to the rank in recognition of his support for his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in her capacity as head of the armed forces (commander-in-chief), while in 2014 Lord Stirrup, who had served as Chief of the Air Staff and Chief of the Defence Staff for over seven years, was also promoted.
Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these cases a flying officer usually ranks above pilot officer and immediately below flight lieutenant.
Squadron leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.
Wing commander is a senior commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth countries but not including Canada and South Africa. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. It ranks immediately above squadron leader and immediately below group captain.
Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force, where it originated, as well as the air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. It is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-British air force-specific rank structure. Group captain has a NATO rank code of OF-5, meaning that it ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore, and is the equivalent of the rank of captain in the navy and of the rank of colonel in other services.
Air commodore is a senior rank in the air forces of the United Kingdom and other countries including Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe. It is a one-star rank and is an air officer rank. It originated in, and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force.
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.
Air marshal is an air-officer rank which originated within the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence, including many Commonwealth nations. The rank is usually equivalent to a vice admiral or a lieutenant general.
Air chief marshal is a high-ranking air officer originating from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. An air chief marshal is equivalent to an Admiral in a navy or a full general in an army or other nations' air forces.
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and RAF, and as FLTLT in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and has sometimes also been abbreviated as F/L in many services; it has never been correctly abbreviated as "lieutenant". A flight lieutenant ranks above flying officer and below a squadron leader and is sometimes used as an English language translation of a similar rank in non-English-speaking countries.
Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer.
Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air Squadron; however, these are not trainee officers with many not choosing a career in the armed forces.
Senior aircraftman (SAC) or senior aircraftwoman (SACW) was a rank in the Royal Air Force, ranking between leading aircraftman and senior aircraftman technician and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank, which is non-supervisory, was introduced on 1 January 1951. The rank badge is a three-bladed propeller.
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Air chief marshal is the highest active rank of the Royal Australian Air Force and was created as a direct equivalent of the British Royal Air Force rank of air chief marshal. It is also considered a four-star rank. The only time the rank is held is when the Chief of the Defence Force is an Air Force officer.
The Royal Air Force uniform is the standardised military dress worn by members of the Royal Air Force. The predominant colours of Royal Air Force uniforms are blue-grey and Wedgwood blue. Many Commonwealth air forces' uniforms are also based on the RAF pattern, but with nationality shoulder flashes. The Royal Air Force Air Cadets wear similar uniforms.
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