RAAF F-35As in a shelter at RAAF Base Townsville. Photo: ADF.
The Federal Government has announced that RAAF Base Townsville and the Australian Army’s nearby Lavarack Barracks will receive a $35 million infrastructure upgrade.
The upgrades are part of the government’s wider policy to improve the facilities and resilience of Australia’s northern bases, announced after the April 2023 release of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR).
According to a 24 January statement, about $16m will be invested at RAAF Base Townsville, including hangar refurbishments and upgrades to headquarters facilities and water infrastructure.
RAAF Townsville has no permanently based RAAF aircraft but is regularly used for RAAF F-35A, F/A-18F Super Hornet, P-8A Poseidon and visiting nation aircraft deployments. The base has two ”wagon wheels”, each with five fighter aircraft-sized shelters and quick access to the runway, as well as ordnance loading areas and visiting squadron headquarters facilities.
On the other side of the base, the Australian Army operates a squadron of 16 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift and two leased AW139 liaison helicopters.
An additional $700m, which has already been announced, is being spent on new facilities to accommodate the army’s new AH-64E Apache attack helicopters from 2025.
Over at the Lavarack Barracks on Townsville’s southside, $19m will be spent on upgrades to a new military working dog facility, training yard, dog obstacle course and messing facilities.
In the statement, Assistant Minister for Defence Matt Thistlethwaite said the DSR had made clear that, in the current strategic circumstances, the Australian Army and Air Force must be optimised to support operations in the north.
“The Albanese Government is committed to ensuring we deliver the necessary upgrades to Australia’s network of northern bases, which is critical to the capacity of our defence force to keep Australians safe,” he said.
“These projects, to be delivered by local businesses, will create opportunities in the trades and construction industries and deliver more than 600 jobs in North Queensland.”
In a media conference to announce the upgrades, Mr Thistlethwaite added: “The great thing about these projects is that they are a partnership between Defence and local industry, and many small to medium-sized enterprises will be involved in delivering this work for Defence and that will include Indigenous businesses.
“In the process, 615 jobs will be created in the local economy through this $35m investment.”
The work is expected to be completed in 2025.
