RAAF Base Amberley

RAAF Base Amberley is a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) military airbase located 8km southwest of Ipswich, Queensland in Australia and 50km southwest of Brisbane. It is currently home to No. 1 Squadron and No. 6 Squadron (operating the F/A-18F Super Hornet), No. 33 Squadron (taking delivery of the Airbus KC-30A) and No. 36 Squadron (operating the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III jet transport). Amberley is also home to Army units making up the 9th Force Support Battalion (9FSB). Located on, RAAF Amberley is the largest operational base in the RAAF, employing over 5,000 uniformed and civilian personnel. There are a variety of other formations on the base such as training colleges and maintenance areas. Amberley's largest squadron in terms of personnel is No. 382 Expeditionary Combat Support Squadron RAAF (ECSS) providing both garrison and deployed combat support. Amberley was one of only two airfields in Australia (the other being Darwin International Airport) that were listed as a Transoceanic Abort (TOA) landing site for the Space Shuttle. Amberley is currently undergoing a A$64 million dollar re-development program. The RAAF has plans to have Amberley operating as its "superbase" with flights of F/A-18F Super Hornets, F-35 Lightning II, KC-30A, C-17 Globemaster. No. 35 Squadron (Operating C-27J Spartan) is planned to move to the base from RAAF Base Richmond after it is fully equipped with the C-27J.