Procurement and development
The register distinguishes Royal Cross Air Force land-based roles, Navy Fleet Air Arm roles and Army aviation. New Zealand institutions become Commonwealth suppliers after the 1952 union, retaining local engineering and training responsibilities. Procurement selects a manageable family for each role; evaluation candidates are not all operated as parallel frontline fleets.
Model register
| Period | Model or development basis | Service and purpose | Commonwealth upgrade path |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1950 | CAC CA-17/CA-18 Mustang; wartime Spitfire inheritance | Air Force fighter bridge and reserve training | CAC manufacturing retained; structural inspection, radios, tropical servicing and postwar training standard |
| 1946–1950 | CAC CA-15 prototype | National aerodynamic and piston-engine research | Keep the engineering team and test facilities; its work feeds the jet office rather than treating a piston demonstrator as a late-century fighter |
| Late 1940s–1950s | Sea Fury, Firefly and available naval Seafire variants | Fleet Air Arm piston generation | Naval radios, saltwater protection, deck handling, escape and maintenance work suited to light carriers |
| 1951–1959 | Gloster Meteor F.8 | Air Force first operational jet generation | Local support, improved radios, navigation and armament servicing; Korean experience informs training and survivability |
| 1954–1960s | CAC CA-27 Avon Sabre | Air Force swept-wing fighter | Australian Avon-powered airframe lineage; later Sidewinder clearance, common instruments and local engine support |
| 1953–1970s | GAF-built Canberra Mk 20 / British B.2 basis | Air Force medium bomber and reconnaissance development | National Canberra blocks improve navigation, crew escape, corrosion protection and electronic warning; guided stores appear only after later integration |
| 1950s–1960s | de Havilland Sea Venom | Fleet Air Arm all-weather jet bridge | Radar support, carrier approach aids and night-training system; heavier fighters wait for a suitable large deck |
| 1950s–1960s study | Hawker Hunter and Sea Vixen | Alternative land-fighter and naval-interceptor studies | Evaluate available engines, all-weather capability and deck demands; selected subsystems/test cooperation support the main fleet without assuming both types become permanent additional squadrons |
| 1950s–1960s | P-2 Neptune and Sunderland inheritance | Air Force long-range maritime patrol | National ocean-navigation, communications and sonar/sonobuoy processing; Orion progressively replaces the patrol bridge |
| 1950s–1970s | C-47 Dakota; C-130A and later C-130H | Air Force transport and island support | Strengthened logistics, navigation and engine sustainment; the Hercules family becomes the common medium-airlift backbone |
| 1955–1970s | CAC Winjeel; de Havilland Vampire trainers | Basic and jet flying training | Common instruction standards, local maintenance and safer training progression |
| 1965–1980s | Dassault Mirage IIIO and IIID | Air Force supersonic defence, strike and conversion | Australian production/integration, upgraded communications, navigation and warning systems; later weapons need type-specific clearance |
| 1960s–1970s | F-4E land-based and F-4B/J naval Phantom routes | Land strike/interception bridge; separate large-deck Navy option | Radar, missile, tanker and maintenance training; the naval and land variants have distinct qualification and support requirements |
| Late 1960s–1980s | A-4G and A-4K Skyhawk | Fleet Air Arm light-carrier strike and New Zealand-based attack/training units | Common electronics and stores standards; New Zealand leads Kahu-style cockpit, radar and mission-computer development in the late 1980s |
| 1960s–1980s | P-3B and later P-3C/K developments | Air Force ocean patrol and antisubmarine reconnaissance | Australian/NZ mission processing, corrosion/fatigue management, secure communications and period-certified torpedoes/Harpoon |
| 1960s–1970s | S-2 Tracker, Wessex and later Sea King | Fleet Air Arm antisubmarine and rescue | Common sonobuoy/sonar support and naval servicing; fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft use separate deck and maintenance arrangements |
| Late 1960s–1970s | E-2A/B, followed by E-2C | Fleet Air Arm airborne early warning for large carriers | National tactical communications and radar-processing support; E-2C follows its 1970s availability |
| 1973–1980s | F-111C land-based strike family | Air Force long-range strike and reconnaissance | Terrain-following/navigation support, airframe reliability, crew survival and weapon-interface upgrades; separate from the naval redesign |
| 1974–1980s | F-14A Tomcat | Fleet Air Arm large-deck interception bridge | Period Phoenix/Sparrow/Sidewinder integration and national EW/communications; support matures before Naval Wing transition |
| 1970s–1980s | A-6E Intruder and KA-6D | Fleet Air Arm all-weather strike and carrier tanking | All-weather navigation, naval servicing and common radio links; tankers have a distinct fuel-transfer role |
| 1970s–1980s | BAC Strikemaster Mk 88 and CAC MB-326H Macchi | New Zealand and Australian jet-training network | Shared conversion training, maintenance and later simulator development; specialist combat roles remain tied to their cleared stores |
| 1970s–1980s | New Zealand CT/4 Airtrainer | Commonwealth basic flying training | Expand New Zealand aircraft production, teaching systems and avionics/simulator work |
| 1970s–1980s | UH-1H Iroquois and CH-47C Chinook | Army utility, lift and medical support | National radios, tropical maintenance and engineer/medical support; Army aviation is separate from Air Force space command |
| 1980 | F-111N WaterPig; FB-111N MudPig; RF-111N SprintPig; EF-111N ScreamPig | Fleet defence, multirole maritime strike, reconnaissance and electronic attack | Purpose-built national naval family; designed internal bay retained, external stores certified by role and year |
| 1985–1989 | F/A-18A/B Hornet; Naval Wing 1985 block | Air Force multirole conversion and Navy block refit | Digital avionics, national warning/datalink integration and local support; later C/D or Super Hornet models belong to subsequent periods |
| Late 1980s | A-4K Kahu development; F-111/P-3 processing upgrades | Compact avionics and maritime-computing centre | New Zealand-led radar/cockpit/weapon interfaces, Australian mission hardware and national certification; tested upgrades then spread through accepted batches |
Production and refit blocks
| Block window | Principal transition | Weapons and sensors | Australian / New Zealand work |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1945–1949 | Wartime piston fleets, CAC production and carrier training | Guns, bombs, rockets, radar direction and conventional radios | Repair depots, licensed manufacturing and retained engineering teams |
| 1950–1954 | Meteor, early Canberra and Sea Fury/Firefly bridge | Improved navigation and radar support; conventional strike stores | Avon and airframe production, ejection/crew-escape development and technical colleges |
| 1955–1959 | Avon Sabre and Sea Venom fleet standards | Early Sidewinder where certified; all-weather interception and carrier aids | Domestic engine support, corrosion control and common cockpit/radio work |
| 1960–1964 | Mirage production preparation; patrol and transport expansion | Sparrow/Sidewinder families and local mission electronics as platform-compatible | Radar test ranges, local assembly and secure communications standards |
| 1965–1969 | Mirage IIIO service; Phantom/Skyhawk bridge, P-3 and E-2 paths | Period air-to-air missiles, maritime sensors and conventional/guided strike certification | New Zealand production/training links; large-deck qualification for heavy aircraft |
| 1970–1974 | Land F-111, A-4K, Strikemaster and CT/4; F-14 route opens | Terrain-following navigation, Paveway/Maverick where cleared; Phoenix on F-14 | Jet conversion, local software and heavy-aircraft engineering; F-111B research feeds naval redesign |
| 1975–1979 | F-14/E-2C carrier bridge and P-3 refinement | Harpoon in the late decade; radar/EW and data-processing improvements | National maritime targeting, engine sustainment and New Zealand avionics teams |
| 1980–1984 | Four-role Naval Wing enters the 1980 block | AIM-9L, Sparrow/Phoenix where role-cleared, early Harpoon and guided bombs; two EF offensive ECM systems | Carrier acceptance, bay/stores management, reconnaissance and electronic-attack integration |
| 1985–1989 | Naval Wing 1985 and F/A-18A/B conversion | Period Harpoon/Paveway/HARM after clearance; improved warning and digital interfaces | Kahu development, mission computers, simulators and upgraded fleet maintenance |
| Later continuity | 1995 and 2003 Naval Wing blocks remain separate | AMRAAM, later precision weapons and networked targeting follow their dates | These later blocks are linked here but are not backdated into the 1980s |
Canberra development
The national Canberra programme advances through a 1950s production standard, a 1960s navigation/escape standard and a 1970s electronic-protection/strike standard. CAC, GAF and the electronics network retain their engineers through the F-111 transition. Faster-engine proposals are evaluated with airframe, inlet, cooling and fatigue constraints; mission effectiveness also improves through navigation, reliability and crew survival.
Prototype branches and the Naval Wing
The CA-15 preserves a postwar development team. The cancelled TSR-2 supplies a possible licensed test and strike-systems research route after 1965. F-111B work provides carrier-handling lessons after the US programme ends in 1968, but the Commonwealth funds its own naval structure, landing gear, arresting arrangements, flight-control work and trials. Mirage 4000, first flown in 1979, remains a competing long-range research branch. These routes support the accepted 1980/1985 Naval Wing without turning every prototype into an extra operational type.
Role and block limits
FB-111N remains the broad all-rounder; RF-111N prioritises reconnaissance and its high-speed requirement; EF-111N has two offensive ECM systems. FB and RF retain their M61 requirement. The internal weapons bay stays as designed. National block tables are programme history: they do not establish that every missile fits every pylon, or change installed Sea Power files. Heavy naval aircraft are assigned to qualified large CVNs, and later USN-style grey schemes remain in the 1995/2003 editions.
Historical design references
The references establish the inherited designs and their historical chronology. Commonwealth selection, local production and block standards follow the national programme register.
Royal Australian Air Force, Avon Sabre introduction: Historical source
Royal Australian Air Force, Canberra manufacture: Historical source
Royal Australian Air Force, Mirage chronology: Historical source
Royal Australian Air Force, aircraft collection and F-111 manufacture: Historical source
Air Force Museum of New Zealand, Skyhawk and Kahu: Historical source
Air Force Museum of New Zealand, CT/4: Historical source
Air Force Museum of New Zealand, Strikemaster: Historical source