The Joint Strike Fighter’s projected use of Salt Ash Air Weapons range will be halved in a move to decrease the impact of aircraft noise on local homes, the Deputy Chief of Air Force has announced.
Air Vice-Marshal (AVM) Geoff Brown said the Defence Department had completed its review into the way JSF will use the range and the news was good for nearby communities.
“Through this review of our proposed JSF training activities we have assessed that we can make a significant difference to levels of aircraft noise near the range which will in turn refine the Australian Noise Exposure Forecast in that area,” AVM Brown said.
“RAAF Williamtown has long been part of the Hunter region. Air Force has worked with the Port Stephens Council and the local community to find a way to decrease the noise footprint of the JSF, while still achieving essential training. The decreased usage by JSF of Salt Ash Range will be balanced by increasing use of training simulation.”
The new noise map, which will eventually amend the existing 2025 Australian Noise Exposure Forecast (ANEF), will be made public in the coming weeks to coincide with the release of Port Stephens Council’s draft Development Control Plan.
The current iteration of ANEF 2025 – released on 23 Oct 2009 – classified parts of Medowie, Salt Ash, Oyster Cove and Swan Bay as exposed to aircraft noise, which had implications for planning and development.
AVM Brown said reducing JSF’s proposed use of the range would bring the noise contours back closer to the previous ANEF 2012 and ensure the future of the range as an essential training environment for Air Force.
“By no means are we closing the range as Air Force will need to retain it for its Lead-In Fighter training capability, currently the Hawk,” AVM Brown said.
“This review outcome doesn’t change the noise contours in other parts of Port Stephens, where we have no room to move on our requirement to get aircraft into and out of the Williamtown base.
“However, it does greatly improve the circumstance of communities in the immediate vicinity of the range and decreases the planning challenges for Port Stephens Council.”
