Update: Australia receives first MC-55A Peregrine

Modelled on the Gulfstream G550 airframe and modified by L3Harris Technologies, the MC-55A will be based at RAAF Base Edinburgh and be operated as a long-range, persistent AISREW platform. (L3Harris)

Australia's overdue MC-55A Peregrine airborne intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare (AISREW) acquisition has gained traction with the arrival of the country's first aircraft of the type.

Photographs published on social media on 22 January show the MC-55A preparing to land at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Edinburgh in Adelaide that same day. The aircraft is the first of four Peregrines on order for the RAAF to meet the requirements of Australia's Project Air 555 Phase 1 AISREW capability programme.

Confirming the aircraft's arrival on 24 January, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said that the capability ensures that the “RAAF is ready to detect, disrupt, deter, and if necessary defeat threats”.

The Australian government approved the purchase of the four aircraft at an allocated cost of AUD2.39 billion (USD1.6 billion), the DoD added.

According to Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) data, the Peregrine arrived at RAAF Base Edinburgh at 0353 h local time on 22 January, following its 16 January departure from L3Harris' Multi-Sensor Flight Test Facility (MSTF) at Greenville (Texas). The Peregrine conducted stopovers at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (Tucson, Arizona), Hickam Air Force Base (Hawaii), and Andersen Air Force Base (Guam) before transiting to Edinburgh, according to the ADS-B data.

Operated by Number 10 Squadron, the MC-55A Peregrine will be based at RAAF Base Edinburgh, South Australia, according to the DoD.

Key capability

Jason Lambert, President of L3Harris Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, Space and Mission Systems, described the MC-55A as a “force multiplier in delivering critical data” for long-range targeting, regional deployments, and mission planning.