| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Don Kirlin |
| Headquarters | Houston, Texas |
| Services | Contract air services to the US Department of Defense |
| Website | https://www.ravnaero.com/ |
Ravn Aerospace, formerly known as AirUSA, is an American defense contractor based at Houston Spaceport in Houston, Texas. It offers adversary air, close air support, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance training to the United States Department of Defense. [1]
Ravn Aero's first aircraft, a Czech Aero L-39 Albatros, was purchased in 1994. [2] Then, two years later, the company purchased two MiG-29s from Kyrgyzstan. [3] In 2019, Air USA was one of seven companies awarded an IDIQ contract to support the USAF's Combat Air Force Contract Air Support (CAF CAS) program in October 2019. [4]
In March 2020 the Australian Minister for Defence Industry Melissa Price announced that up to 46 ex-RAAF Hornets, as well as associated spare parts and test equipment inventory, would be sold to Air USA. [5] In December 2021 the Australian Defence Magazine reported that the status of the Australian Hornet sale was "unknown". [6] The contract to sell former RAAF Hornets to Ravn Aerospace lapsed in December 2023 with none having been transferred. [7]
The company briefly operated the World Aerospace Museum at the Quincy Regional Airport near Quincy, Illinois. [8] [9]
Prior to becoming Ravn Aerospace, the company was known as AirUSA. Following the introduction of the Hawk 67 acquired from the ROKAF, two accidents occurred, with the latter resulting in the death of an innocent bystander on the ground. The subsequent NTSB investigation found substantial shortcomings in operational procedures, including deviations from the approved flight manual, and an inadequate stores clearance of a SUU-20 stores dispenser [10] . The USMC subsequently prohibited further use of the Hawk on CAS contracts and they were stored until being reactivated to support the CAF CAS program in 2019 [11] .
As of April 2022, Air USA possesses or has purchased: [12] [13]
The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-General of Australia is the de jure Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Force. The Royal Australian Air Force is commanded by the Chief of Air Force (CAF), who is subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF). The CAF is also directly responsible to the Minister for Defence, with the Department of Defence administering the ADF and the Air Force.
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RAAF Base Williamtown is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military air base located 8 nautical miles north of Newcastle in the local government area of Port Stephens, in New South Wales, Australia. The base serves as the headquarters to both the Air Combat Group and the Surveillance and Response Group of the RAAF. The military base shares its runway facilities with Newcastle Airport. The nearest towns are Raymond Terrace, located 8 km (5 mi) west of the base and Medowie, 6.8 km (4.2 mi), north of the base, which is home to many of the base's staff.
The Australian International Airshow, also called the Avalon Airshow, is a large air show held biennially at Avalon Airport, between Melbourne and Geelong in Victoria.
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No. 79 Squadron is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) flight training unit that has been formed on four occasions since 1943. The squadron was established in May 1943 as a fighter unit equipped with Supermarine Spitfires, and subsequently saw combat in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II. Between June 1943 and the end of the war in August 1945 it flew air defence patrols to protect Allied bases and ships, escorted Australian and United States aircraft, and attacked Japanese positions. The squadron was disbanded in November 1945, but was re-formed between 1962 and 1968 to operate CAC Sabres from Ubon Air Base in Thailand. In this role it contributed to the defence of Thailand against a feared attack from its neighbouring states and exercised with United States Air Force units. No. 79 Squadron was active again at RAAF Base Butterworth in Malaysia between 1986 and 1988 where it operated Mirage III fighters and a single DHC-4 Caribou transport during the period in which the RAAF's fighter squadrons were transitioning to new aircraft.
No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit is a fighter training unit of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Located at RAAF Base Williamtown, New South Wales, the unit trains pilots to operate the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Pilots new to the F-35 enter No. 2 2OCU after first qualifying to fly fast jets at No. 79 Squadron and undertaking initial fighter combat instruction at No. 76 Squadron. Once qualified on the F-35, they are posted to one of No. 81 Wing's operational F-35 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 75 Squadron or No. 77 Squadron.
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No. 82 Wing is the strike and reconnaissance wing of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is headquartered at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland. Coming under the control of Air Combat Group, the wing operates F/A-18F Super Hornet multirole fighters, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft, and Pilatus PC-21 forward air control aircraft. Its units include Nos. 1 and 6 Squadrons, operating the Super Hornet and Growler respectively, as well as No. 4 Squadron, operating the PC-21.
Air Marshal Raymond George (Ray) Funnell, is a retired senior commander of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). He served as Chief of the Air Staff (CAS) from 1987 until 1992. A graduate of RAAF College, he began his career flying CAC Sabre jet fighters in Australia and South East Asia in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1972 to 1975 he commanded No. 6 Squadron, during which time the General Dynamics F-111C swing-wing bomber entered Australian service. He held senior staff posts in the early 1980s. In 1986, he was promoted to air marshal and became the inaugural Vice Chief of the Defence Force. Appointed CAS in July 1987, Funnell was closely involved in the development and dissemination of air power doctrine. He retired from the RAAF in October 1992 following his term as CAS, and was founding Principal of the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies from 1994 to 1998. Since then he has served on various Federal Government committees on immigration and detention.
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