Thu, Mar 04, 2010
Support For Australia's AEW&C "Wedgetail" Program
Boeing has gotten started on the first maintenance training
program conducted under the five-year In-Service Support (ISS)
contract for Project Wedgetail, Australia's 737 Airborne Early
Warning and Control (AEW&C) program.
Training began on February 15 with five Boeing Defence Australia
instructors and 32 students from the Royal Australian Air Force
(RAAF) No. 2 Squadron. The 147-day program, held in the AEW&C
Support Center at RAAF Base Williamtown, is a combination of
classroom- and computer-based lessons, Operational Flight Trainer
(OFT) simulator sessions, and "real life" flight line training.
"Realistic, integrated training is essential to mission readiness,
and our Wedgetail 737 AEW&C training programs are designed to
mirror the way RAAF personnel are expected to perform maintenance
activities in the field," said Grant Drew, an AEW&C maintenance
instructor for Boeing Defence Australia.
The AEW&C Support Center, established in 2004 under the
Project Wedgetail System Acquisition Contract (SAC), houses the
OFT, an Operational Mission Simulator and a Mission Support System
to support Australia's six 737 AEW&C aircraft.
ISS training follows a series of basic maintenance training
courses delivered under the Project Wedgetail SAC. Boeing delivered
the first two Wedgetail aircraft to the RAAF on Nov. 26, allowing
flight and mission crews to launch the first ISS maintenance
training programs using the aircraft.
Four Boeing Defence Australia employees also entered the ISS
maintenance training program on Feb. 15 in order to become
maintenance instructors. In addition to completing the program,
they also will learn teaching techniques, curriculum development
and how to deliver training using the Wedgetail Maintenance
Training System. "My colleagues are operating at the forefront of
defense training with Boeing's 737 AEW&C platform. I'm
privileged to learn from them, carry on their exceptional work and
teach future RAAF maintainers," said Peter Whitty, who will become
a Wedgetail ISS avionics maintenance instructor for Boeing Defence
Australia after completing the program.
When they graduate, the new Boeing Defence Australia instructors
will take on the job of delivering RAAF Wedgetail 737 AEW&C
maintenance training programs. The five current Boeing Defence
Australia instructors will move on to train instructors and
maintainers for Boeing AEW&C systems in production for Turkey
and the Republic of Korea.
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