Peter La Franchi/CANBERRA
The Royal Australian Air Force has been using its prototype long-range sensor pod in General Dynamics RF-111s since mid-August to monitor Indonesian Defence Force (TNI) and pro-Indonesian militia activities in East and West Timor.
The system was initially deployed to monitor the security situation in East Timor in the immediate lead-up to the United Nations-sponsored referendum held on 30 August on the future status of the territory. It became a key source of image intelligence during the post-ballot strife and continues to be used to monitor militia movements in West Timor.
The pod is believed to have been an important source of evidence of alleged incidents in September involving civilian East Timorese being thrown overboard from TNI naval vessels at sea. Indonesia denies the allegations.
The system is understood to be able to provide high-resolution images at 60km in the visible light spectrum and 30km (32nm) in the infrared spectrum. The stand-off capability allows close monitoring of selected areas without the need to penetrate Indonesian airspace.
On 14 October, Australia requested Indonesian permission to conduct surveillance overflights of East Timor using the RAAF's four reconnaissance RF-111Cs. This was refused, with TNI air commanders threatening to shoot down the jets if the ban was violated.
Australia began RF-111 operations over East Timor on 6 November, following the withdrawal of TNI personnel on 30 October after Jakarta renounced its claims to the territory. However, Australia gave TNI 72h advance notice of plans to deploy the aircraft, advising that the flights would be used to assist with locating missing refugees and assessing infrastructure damage.
The RAAF's supersonic RF-111Cs, usually based at Amberley in Southern Queensland, carry wet-pack cameras. They were moved to RAAF Tindal in August. The experimental system comprises a Raytheon DB-110 dual-band sensor mounted in a converted 1,500litre (395USgal) supersonic drop tank with on-board digital image recording.
The DB-110 telescope unit is gimbal-mounted to enable target tracking and is controlled by the RF-111's navigator.
The system was developed as part of Australia's Joint Project 129 to acquire an airborne surveillance system to support ground forces.
Source: Flight International
