Back to top
Woman preparing to drop supplies off.

Mission Aircrew Training

Outside of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), Leidos Airborne Solutions is the largest employer of mission aircrew in Australia and currently runs a highly specialised mission aircrew training system that trains more than 30 mission aircrew per year. Our mission aircrew roles are highly specialised and people new to the role require significant training before taking to the skies.

Our training system is used to train and develop our mission aircrew workforce, which currently delivers around 15,000 flight hours and 2,500 missions per annum of civil Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) tasking and 200 search and rescue missions per annum. Our mission aircrew leadership include former ADF mission aircrew.

Our in-house training team is dedicated to supporting new employees throughout the entire process. The end result is highly proficient crews who are prepared for special mission tasks.

Our mission aircrew roles include:

  • Mission Coordinator (Surveillance and SAR)
  • Electronic Observer (Surveillance)
  • Drop Master (SAR)
  • Visual Observer (SAR)

Mission Aircrew Roles

Drop Master

Woman looking out of a plane for research and rescue mission

Visual Searches for SAR Tasking

The Drop Master conducts visual searches for SAR tasking.

SAR Stores being prepared

Dispatch of SAR Stores

The Drop Master is responsible for managing the dispatch of SAR stores from the aircraft.

Electronic Mission Coordinator

A plane trying to locate a survivor

Communication And Reporting

The Aircraft Mission Coordinator communicates with AMSA for SAR tasking and reporting.

A boat in the ocean

Search And Rescue Tasks

The Aircraft Mission Coordinator coordinates execution of SAR tasks.

Airborne Solutions - aircraft sensor

Mission Sensors And Radios

The Aircraft Mission Coordinator operates mission sensors and radios.

Visual Observer

Woman looking out of a plane for research and rescue mission

Visual Searchers

The Visual Observer conducts visual searching for SAR tasks.

Two men dispatching SAR stores

Dispatches SAR Stores

The Visual Observer dispatches SAR stores from the aircraft under supervision of the Drop Master.

Training for mission aircrew consists of a number of components depending on the role. It may include training on aircraft sensors and systems (Mission Systems, Electro-Optics, Radar, Radios and Direction Finding), operational considerations, task planning, communications, aerial delivery of survival stores and casualty culture.

Join Us

Mission aircrew play a critical role in our civil surveillance and search and rescue operations. Our missions are diverse and require a high level of communication and teamwork.

We seek people with a professional attitude who thrive working in a team, are adept at learning complex tasks, have high level communication skills and love a challenge.

Learn more