RAAF jets would run out of fuel just 30 days into a major conflict, report warns
November 3, 2015 12:01am
Courier Mail

RAAF war planes would run out of fuel just 30 days into a major conflict due to a dangerous shortage of aviation fuel, a report has warned.   

The sobering news comes as defence sources suggest that the new Defence White Paper might not be released until after Christmas and possibly not until after the next election.

With new Defence Minister Marise Payne grappling with the complex portfolio, the much anticipated and fully-funded national strategic document is under fresh financial pressure as the Turnbull Government struggles with a growing deficit and considers an election early in 2016.


Meanwhile, a new report by the taxpayer-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) lists the lack of Avgas as a medium level threat to air force operations in its new capability snapshot of the Australian Defence Force.

Apart from having a reserve supply of just 30-days, the defence force would be forced to ship supplies north to its bare bases at RAAF Curtin near Derby in Western Australia and RAAF Scherger near Weipa in the Gulf of Carpentaria.

Both are connected by pipeline to the port but the resupply would take many days from storage depots in Perth or Brisbane.   


Report author Andrew Davies said Australia had just 30 days supply of all fuels in storage and another 30 days in transit. That is well below the international norm of 90 days.

“We’d struggle after a month with avgas,” Dr Davies said.

The report says that Australia’s refinery capacity had declined in the past five years, leading to a national vulnerability to the disruption of fuel supplies, especially supplies of specialised fuels such as avgas.

“Fuel stockpiling can help to mitigate the problem but isn’t a panacea,” the report says.

“This vulnerability is most likely to be felt in a contingency that requires the use of the bare-base airfields in the north for sustained periods.”

The report says that the greatest risk to Australia’s air defence capability was the lack of anti-submarine warfare capacity in both the RAAF and the Navy.

Dr Davies said this shortfall came at a time when regional navies were fielding more submarines than ever before.

He said the nation’s anti-submarine warfare skills had been degraded for several reasons including the diversion of AP-3 Orion aircraft onto boat people patrols in the north, patrols over land in Afghanistan and a lack of submarines to practice against.

“It will take at least 10 years to repair the capability,” he said.

Hardware issues were being addressed with new P8 Poseidon maritime patrol planes and new frigates but the lack of qualified operators was the biggest problem.

The minister’s spokesman said he had not seen the ASPI report and therefore could not comment.

He also refused to comment on the timing of the White Paper’s release referring to the minister’s recent comment that it would be out in “due course”.