Aircraft Research and Development Unit RAAF

Aircraft Research and Development Unit
Active	1943 – Present
Country	Australia
Branch	Royal Australian Air Force
Role	Test and evaluation
Part of	Air Warfare Centre Development and Test Wing
Garrison/HQ	RAAF Base Edinburgh and Detachment at RAAF Base Amberley
Motto(s)	Prove to Accomplish
Aircraft	Pilatus PC-9, Pilatus PC-21[1] and F/A-18 Hornet
Commanders
Current commander	Wing Commander D. Rich
Notable commanders	J.A. Rowland (1959) M.A. Skidmore (2000–02) D.J. Fawcett (2003–04)
Insignia
Callsigns	TESTER and DELTA (for formations)

An F/A-18A Hornet assigned to ARDU

ARDU was the last RAAF unit to use the Douglas C-47

An ARDU Pilatus PC-9

The Royal Australian Air Force's Aircraft Research and Development Unit (ARDU) plans, conducts and analyses the results of ground and flight tests of existing and new Air Force aircraft. ARDU consists of four flights located at RAAF Bases Edinburgh, Amberley, Richmond and Williamtown, staffed by qualified test pilots, flight test engineers and flight test system specialists. Up until 2016 the Squadron also conducted flight test for the Australian Army with Army personnel also working within the unit. The flight test crew are long course trained at test pilot schools including the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, the United States Naval Test Pilot School, the Empire Test Pilots' School, the École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception and the National Test Pilot School.

The client base for ARDU encompasses the Air Mobility Group, Air Combat Group, Surveillance and Response Group, Air Force Training Group, and Defence Science and Technology Organisation.

ARDU is now located at RAAF Base Edinburgh in Adelaide, South Australia, and RAAF Base Amberley near Brisbane, Queensland.

History

Originally the formation of the Special Duties and Performance Flight (SDPF) was established in December 1941 at Laverton, Victoria. The unit was reformed as No 1 Air Performance Unit (1 APU) in December 1943, the Unit was responsible for carrying out flight trials of new aircraft as well as aircraft modifications. During World War 2, flying trials included Spitfire, Beaufighter and Boomerang performance tests, as well as evaluations on various aircraft modifications including gun, radar and bombsight installations. In addition, the Unit carried out performance tests on captured Japanese 'Oscar' and 'Tony' fighters. Following the War the Unit was involved in tests on the CA-15 prototype, a Meteor Mk3, Lincoln bomber and De-Havilland Sea Hornet.

The unit was renamed Aircraft Research and Development Unit in September 1947, with detachments operating in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales. In October 1948 ARDU moved back to Laverton with Detachment A at Mallalla, South Australia and Detachment B at Richmond, New South Wales and Detachment C at Edinburgh, South Australia.

By February 1977, all ARDU detachments had relocated to Edinburgh, South Australia, from where it continues its vital role of testing and evaluating both aircraft and weaponry in the RAAF inventory. In 2003, ARDU was re-formed into the Air Warfare Centre (AWC), incorporating several additional operational support roles including those relating to flight testing. On 14 Jan 2013, ARDU established a detachment at Amberley, Queensland.

Commanding officers

Aircraft operated by the SDPF and 1 APU only 1941 to 1947 (Pre ARDU)

Fixed wing aircraft operated by ARDU

Rotary wing aircraft operated by ARDU

See also

• MoD Boscombe Down
• Air Force Test Center
• Flight Test Society of Australia

References

• Air Force News Into the future
• RAAF Aeronautical Research and Development Unit

External links

• Society of Experimental Test Pilots
• Society of Flight Test Engineers
• Flight Test Society of Australia