702 Squadron - Cannington

702 Squadron was initially established as a HQ Flight at Wright Street Highgate, then Palmerston Street before 2 FLT moved to Claremont in 1961. It was suspended mid-1985 and re-established in Wanneroo in 1986. The Flight now called Squadron was located at the Wanneroo Showgrounds, then moved to the Kingsway Christian College before moving to the location in Madeley with its own facilities on a 1 Ha property in 1993. Though support of parents and the community, buildings were constructed and a parade ground laid. It was closed at the end of 2006, Ten years later it was successful re opened in its current location in Cannington parading on Wednesday evenings.

Our Squadron emblem comprises of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, this aircraft was chosen as it is a more recently announced asset to the RAAF. As 702 Squadron is the most recent Squadron addition to 7 Wing, we believe it is appropriate to pair the two together as being the next step towards the future of the AAFC. 702 Squadron was closed around the time the Federal Government first announced that Australia would participate in the “system development and demonstration phase” of the US led Lockheed Martin Joint Strike Fighter program.

The background of the Squadron’s Emblem is significant to the geography of Perth, the Darling escarpment also known as the Perth Hills. This is depicted as the blue hills in the patch. They are visible from all the previous and current locations of 702 Squadron throughout the Squadron’s history. The cadets that helped establish the Squadron come from a variety of locations around Perth all of which is connected by the Perth Hills.

The lowest layer of blue in the patches design features the Canning River of which 702 Squadron most recent establishment is situated in the City of Canning. This is unique to 702 Squadron as it is the first time in the Squadron’s history to be posted to a location south of the Swan River. The “Southern Cross” represents our bonds to Australian history and culture, it is used throughout various Australian National Markings and relates to the RAAF motto “Per Ardua Ad Astra” which roughly translates to the motto of 702 Squadron as “Dare to Rise” which is paired with the history of the F-35.

The aircraft has taken approximately 10 years to be introduced into Australia, despite controversies and is the same timeframe in which 702 Squadron took to be reintroduced back to 7 Wing.