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Australia to buy Super Hornet fighter jets, says minister
Sydney (AFP) March 17, 2008 Australia will proceed with a 6 billion dollar (5.6 billion US) plan to acquire 24 Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets from the US Navy, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said Monday. The newly elected Labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd considered scrapping the purchase, which was agreed by the previous administration of conservative leader John Howard. But Fitzgibbon said after a review of Australia's air combat capabilities, the government had concluded the Super Hornet fighters were capable aircraft and the only ones that would be ready by 2010 when they are due to replace the current F-111 fighters. Fitzgibbon said that while the government would honour the contract, the replacement of the current F-111 fighters was "made in haste but is now irreversible". "The cost of turning the F-111 back on would be enormous and crews and skills have already moved on," he said. Fitzgibbon said the Super Hornet was capable of fulfilling Australia's needs. "We embrace the Super Hornet as a very special aircraft which is more than up to the job," he said. "It is the only aircraft which can meet the small delivery window created by the former government's poor planning processes and politically driven responses," he said in a statement. The Royal Australian Air Forces' current fleet of F/A-18 Hornets will remain in service until 2015 when they will be gradually replaced by the new Lockheed F-35 Lightning Joint Strike Fighter (JSF). The Howard government last year ordered the 24 extra Super Hornets from the US to ensure there was no air capability gap between the retirement of the F-111s and arrival of the JSF. "Cancelling the Super Hornet would bring significant financial penalties and create understandable tensions between the contract partners," Fitzgibbon said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links The Military Industrial Complex at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Air Tanker Wars Part Two
Washington (UPI) Mar 14, 2008Northrop Grumman is arguing that it won the U.S. Air Force's new air tanker contract in a fair fight. |
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