New overland military flying training area in the North West

A new military flying training area spanning parts of the North West and Central West regions became active from last Thursday.

The new North West NSW military airspace replaces the current Williamtown western airspace.

The airspace boundary extends from Carinda and Walgett to Bellata, Gilgandra, Gunnedah and Mudgee.

In a statement, the Department of Defence said the North West NSW airspace design process prioritised safety of flight for military and civilian aircraft operating within and near the airspace.

“The new airspace delivers efficient air route access into and out of Western Sydney Airport, and considers environmental and community requirements, aviation industry requirements and RAAF flying training outcomes,” the statement read.

The military restricted area known as R559 was dissolved and two new replacement restricted areas (to be known as R560 and R570) were established further north of the R559 location.

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) requires improved restricted areas to support their Hawk and new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) aircraft training operations, Airservices Australia said in information published about the new training area.

Airservices is supporting this change by providing new and amended routes that will allow the movement of civilian aircraft to go around the restricted areas when they are active.

“In developing the redesigned airspace, minimisation of diversions for civilian aircraft and proximity to defence airbases were taken into account.

“R559 is a large military restricted airspace series extending northwest of Richmond NSW, primarily used by RAAF Williamtown for military flying training.

“Currently civilian aircraft are not permitted to utilise the area above 8500ft Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) when R559 is active.

“The current R559 restricted airspace in NSW is no longer fit for purpose due to the unique training needs and operating requirements of the newly introduced F-35A Lightning II.

“The F-35A Lightning II fifth generation air combat aircraft operates differently and has new tactics and profiles that the current airspace design cannot accommodate.”

Military aircraft use training areas to conduct high-speed, abrupt flying manoeuvres and the employment of airborne electronic capabilities which can cause interference to other aircraft.

For these reasons military flying requires segregated volumes of airspace to ensure safety of participants and non-participants.

This is the first review of the military airspace in this area since 1986. The airspace was originally designed to suit the training needs of the F/A-18 A/B Classic Hornet. Australia will operate the F-35A for more than 30 years and this airspace change is a long-term solution.

“Replacement areas to be known as R560 (yellow) and R570 (blue) will be established further north of the current R559 location.

“The restricted airspace is expected to mainly be used during business hours on weekdays. When the restricted airspace is not in use for military training, aircraft will continue to operate as they currently do today.”

Most military aircraft activity in R570 (which incorporates part of the North West including Narrabri) will be conducted at altitudes well above 10,000ft AMSL and have been designed to have minimal impact on the community.

Hawk 127 and PC-21 aircraft will continue to operate in this airspace regularly. F-35A aircraft will also continue to use this space on a limited basis.