MC-55A PEREGRINE INBOUND

[red750]

EDINBURGH SA: The first of the RAAF's new MC-55A Peregrine ISREW special electronic missions aircraft is inbound to Australia on its delivery flight.

The aircraft, RAAF MC-55A Peregrine AU3 (US civil registration N584GA) departed Majors Airport in Greenville Texas where contractor L3Harris is located on Friday bound for Tucson Arizona before crossing the Pacific Ocean and landing at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam at Honolulu in Hawaii on Saturday.

 

The aircraft, flying under its US civilian registration number N584GA and callsign SAME55, is almost certainly inbound to its squadron home base at RAAF Base Edinburgh on Adelaide's outer fringe where its operator, the RAAF's Number 10 Squadron, has been based long term.

 

While MC-55A AU3/N584GA is the first Peregrine airframe known to be actively under delivery to the RAAF in Australia, it was the third of four MC-55A Peregrines to be identified during the long and complicated systems design and development of the Australia-unique MC-55A Peregrine platform.

 

The RAAF is acquiring four MC-55A Peregrine Special Electronic Missions Aircraft under the delayed $2.46 billion Project Air 555 (Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance Electronic Warfare (ISREW) Program, to equip the RAAF's No 10 Squadron which previously flew the small fleet of now retired AP-3C(EW) Orions, withdrawn from service in 2023.

 

 

[onetrack]

The MC-55A Peregrine is based on the Gulfstream G550 business jet. A huge difference to the AP-3C Orions.

 

Interestingly, the G550 ceased production in 2021, after being superseded by the G600 in 2019. However, Gulfstream continued to produce the G550 until 2021 to meet military and Govt orders.

[facthunter]

Grumman is the Manufacturer. Gulfstream is the Model and they are great stuff,. Nev