JSF: Australia Joins Up
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Posted
by Robert Wall at
11/25/2009 2:28 AM CST
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The odds were pretty high Australia would go through with its plan to buy F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but with the backdrop of cost and schedule concerns in the U.S., it wasn't a done deal.
But today Canberra confirmed it is going ahead with the program, although the full acquisition is being phased and the next review comes in 2012. But today's decision means Australia is rather firmly in the program, with any step back away from a full procurement a high hurdle.
The F-35, all in the CTOL configuration, will be used largely to replace the Royal Australian Air Force's older F/A-18 fleet.
Today's decision merely affects the first 14 F-35s to be used in testing and to prepare the groundwork for fleet-wide introduction of JSF. The bill for those fighters, along with infrastructure and support, comes to A$3.2 billion.
In 2012, the government will debate the full procurement for three operational squadrons, or 72 aircraft. Defense minister John Faulkner says that by then the government "will have much firmer cost estimates for the remaining aircraft."
Whether another squadron will be acquired to replace F/A-18Fs will be reviewed later. Only that purchase would take Australia up to its stated commitment for 100 F-35s.
Australia expects the first JSF in 2014, with the first squadron ready in 2018 and the three squadrons ready in 2021.
Anyway, glad to see the Australian Government going ahead and making a tough decision. Let us hope it is the right one!
Yes. Hope is a wonderful thing.