RAAF Base Amberley

is a Royal Australian Air Force base located 8 km southwest of Ipswich, Queensland and 50 km southwest of Brisbane, Queensland. It is currently home to No. 1 and No. 6 Squadrons (operating the General Dynamics F-111) and No. 36 Squadron (operating the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III jet transport. Amberley's largest squadron in terms of personnel is No. 23 (City of Brisbane) Squadron, an RAAF Active Reserve Squadron. Amberley is one of only two airfields in Australia (the other being Darwin International Airport) that is listed as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle [ [http://www.globalsecurity.org/space/facility/sts-els.htm Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites ] ] .

Location

RAAF Amberley is the largest operational base in the Air Force, employing approximately 3,500 uniformed and civilian personnel. There are a variety of other formations on the base such as training colleges and maintenance areas. The base is also a Transoceanic Abort (TOA) landing site for the Space Shuttle program.

Amberley is currently undergoing a $64 million dollar re-development program. By 2015 the RAAF hopes to have Amberley operating as its 'superbase' with flights of F/A-18 Super Hornets, F-35 Lightning II, A330- Multi-role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and C-17 Globemaster.

Climate

Amberley Air Force Base enjoys good weather almost all year round. There is generally a humid summer and a relatively dry, windy winter period. Amberley experiences thunderstorms during summer and fogs during winter. Showers and rain events can occur at any time of the year. Average temperatures range from 20 to 31 degrees Celsius in the summer, and 6 to 21 degrees Celsius in the winter.

Units

External links

*WAD|YAMB

References