MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is ready to go to fight against Islamic State (IS) militants once the government gives an approval, RAAF Air Commodore Steve Robertson told the Sydney Morning Herald on Monday.
On Sunday, the RAAF conducted training flights to practice coordination and communication with their coalition partners. The Sunday practice runs were a key preparation ahead of the Australian government’s decision to join the international coalition in the fight against IS militants, Robertson said.
“The initial flights are essential for us. There’s a few different reasons for them. One is to ensure that we have bed down properly, to getting ready to go, should the government make that decision to commence operations”, RAAF Air Commodore said, as quoted by The Australian.
“We have managed to deploy the largest air task group since Vietnam. We have gotten over here within days and we are ready for combat operations”, Robertson further added.
The Abbott government is expected to hold a meeting later this week to discuss the approval of the Australians’ engagement in the Middle East.
