 In 2004 it was awarded the RAAF's Hawker Siddeley Trophy for most proficient base of the previous year.In 1997 an Antonov An-124 Ruslan aircraft carrying weapons and four helicopters belonging to the mercenary company Sandline International was diverted from its planned destination in Papua New Guinea to Tindal during the Sandline affair.The helicopters were subsequently stored at the base, without Sandline being charged rent.