Callsigns of Australian Army, Airforce, and Navy aircraft

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|  Australian Defence Force (ADF) aircraft types  |  ADF squadrons  |  ADF aircraft callsigns  |
| ADF Airfields and frequencies | RAAF HF frequencies |

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ADF AIRCRAFT TYPES

 

Operational ADF Aviation Sqns/Units

AIR FORCE | ARMY | NAVY | CONTRACTOR

 

ADF CALLSIGNS

A tradition of Australian squadrons is to maintain some of the same callsigns regardless of newer aircraft being introduced.
Some current squadron callsigns listed date back several decades.

Callsigns marked "confirmed" have been either logged by our listeners in the previous 12 months, or are sourced from (unclassified) ADF documents and defence sources.

Other callsigns listed are from my previous logs dating back to the 1990's. I have updated the aircraft type to reflect the current equipment in use by the SQN that the callsign was originally used by.

This list includes Australian Air Force, Army & Navy aircraft, as well as Royal Singapore Air Force units based in Australia, along with other callsigns heard on MHFCS.

FORMATIONS

RAAF formation flights use a single word callsign designated for formation flying.
Individual aircraft in the formation are identified by a number. An aircraft which has broken from formation would then identify itself with the single word callsign followed by it's assigned number. E.G. Formation callsign ADDER, aircraft broken formation callsign ADDER ONE ONE.
Individual aircraft who join to form a formation are identified by the lead aircrafts callsign with the added suffix COMBINE.

Army formation flights will append the following names to the unit callsign - indicating a formation flight and its size/composition: BLACK, BLUE, GOLD, RED, WHITE, YELLOW.

Navy formation flights follow the same format as army flights, BLACK, BLUE, GOLD, RED, WHITE, YELLOW, with the addition of the suffix CUB used solely in 816 SQN.

OPS FREQUENCIES
The Ops frequencies listed may or may not be confirmed, and should be considered not reliable.
They are listed only for your reference.
Ops frequencies are still in the same band although may employ encryption or use frequency hopping.
Due to security protocols, domestic training and exercise flights do not normally use encryption - so you may be able to monitor UHF OPS frequencies for some of these aircraft in Australian airspace.

Frequently Used Unencrypted

234.900, 238.200, 253.600, 256.500, 287.800, 356.500, 278.200, 288.600, 301.100, 301.500, 314.600, 321.200, 324.600, 335.800, 375.400 -
You can also monitor aerodrome ATC, area CTAF frequencies, the inter-pilot frequency of 123.45 MHz, or 127.9 MHz for most air shows. 
Consult ERSA for area frequency listings.

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

V

W

Y

Z

WILLIAMTOWN BASE UHF FREQUENCIES

This list has NOT been recently verified and is considered out of date. It is shown here for archival/reference purposes only.

 

List updated 17/11/2023