No. 1 Remote Sensor Unit (1RSU), formerly known as No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit, was renamed on 2 May 2015. 1RSU is the Royal Australian Air Force unit responsible for operating the Jindalee Operational Radar Network (JORN). 1RSU is located at RAAF Base Edinburgh, Adelaide, South Australia.
History and role
1RSU was established on 1 July 1992 to operate the initial JORN site at Alice Springs and moved to RAAF Base Edinburgh in 1999[2][3]. During this period, Squadron Leader Raymond John Cage served as Executive Officer of the unit at Alice Springs and was awarded the Conspicuous Service Medal in the 1998 Australia Day Honours List for Outstanding Service[4][5]. Cage later served as Commanding Officer of the unit during the introduction of JORN into operational service in 2002-03[6][7][8].
The JORN sites at Longreach and Laverton were commissioned in mid-2003. In addition to the JORN sites, 1RSU operates the JORN Coordination Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh, which is responsible for providing JORN data to the system’s ‘customers’, which include the Australian Strategic Theatre Joint Intelligence Centre and Northern Command.
1RSU was the first space operations unit in the Australian Defence Force.[1] The unit remotely operated the C-Band Space Surveillance Radar and Space Surveillance Telescope installed at Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt in Exmouth, Western Australia.[9] Collectively, these systems provide a space situational awareness capability, allowing the tracking of space assets and debris [9][10] 1RSU’s space surveillance function was transferred to No. 1 Space Surveillance Unit in early 2023.[11]
Notes
- ^ a b Abbott, Jaimie (21 May 2015). “First Space Operations Unit” (PDF). Air Force: The Official Newspaper of the Royal Australian Air Force. Vol. 57, no. 9. Canberra: Department of Defence. pp. 12–13. OCLC 224490713.
- ^ Australia. Royal Australian Air Force (2011). Command and Control in the Royal Australian Air Force. Australian Air Publication. ISBN 9781920800635.
- ^ “Edinburgh Units”. Air Force Association South Australian Division. 26 May 2026.
- ^ “Order of Australia – Australia Day 1998” (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. 26 January 1998. p. 3.
- ^ “Honours List”. Air Force News (National). 1 March 1998. p. 3.
- ^ Nott, Deanna (27 March 2003). “Radar system ready to go on line”. Air Force News (National). p. 5.
- ^ “Air Force appreciation”. Air Force News (National). 6 June 2002. p. 12.
- ^ “Radar unit defends Alice Springs”. Air Force News (National). 20 June 2002. p. 7.
- ^ a b Defence, Department of (7 July 2021). “Keeping an eye on space traffic”. news.defence.gov.au. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ “US Space Radar at Exmouth”. DMO Bulletin (2). Defence Materiel Organisation. 2014. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
- ^ “A big day for the space domain”. Contact. 4 July 2023. Retrieved 13 November 2025.
References
- “No. 1 Radar Surveillance Unit”. Royal Australian Air Force. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 20 November 2008.