With combined military exercise Talisman Saber 2017 underway at Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA), Central Queensland has been hosting an extensive range of contracted civilian and military fixed-wing & rotary aircraft, with Rockhampton Airport and SWBTA by far accommodating most of the movements in the region.
However, Bundaberg Airport received some additional activity on Monday 17 July when Air Affairs Australia Learjet 35A VH-LJA and Learjet 36A VH-SLF landed at the rum city to take onboard fuel, and believed were operating in the region in support of fighter jet activity associated with Talisman Saber 2017.
Fortunately, local planepotter Micah S was at the airport to capture the inaugural Alliance Airlines flight to the rum city, so needless to say, was equally excited to photograph the visiting Learjets.
Established in 1995 and 100% Australian owned, Air Affairs Australia is a NSW based provider of specialised airborne and engineering services, and currently contracted by the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to supply and support a fleet of special mission Learjet and Kingair aircraft for a range of air training tasks including (but not limited to) towing unmanned drones for target practice.
Another interesting task is to supply, deploy and operate Phoenix Jet Drone systems, and also provide an Airborne Bushfire Reconnaissance service.
To learn more about Air Affairs Australia and specialised services provided by the company, their official website can be found at : http://www.airaffairs.com.au/
All photos contributed by Micah S