Singapore signs onto Lockheed Martin JSF program
-
Another news about LM's other fighter program
GAO Tells Pentagon to Make F/A 22 Case
The General Accounting Office called on the Pentagon to do a better job of justifying why it needs the F/A-22 fighter plane. The military can now afford only 218 of the planes instead of the planned 277.
More here and here -
I wonder why those news reports dont mention that Australia is part of JSF program
, from what i know we are planning to replace our F/A 18 and F111 A/C with the things.
But the more country's in the program, the lower the per unit price.
so, good on ya mate's
-
Welcome aboard, Sandman!
Well, by the time the JSFs come about, the old Aardvarks ought to have reached their use-by date anyway. Not sure about the F18's though.
Which part of Oz are you from, BTW? -
G'day
Yeah, the pigs are getting a bit old but apparantly with the numerous weapons, airframe, engine and avionics upgrades, the F-111 remains the fastest and longest range combat aircraft in this region, so it appears that they can still kick some ass, also the F/A 18's in the RAAF are mostly F/A 18A's upgraded to C standard, so they are pretty old as it is. But hang some AIM-120 AMRAAM's off em and they can still do some damage... i hope
I hail from the worlds most livable city, Melbourne, Victoria
-
True enough about the upgrades, but I suppose that the key factor in the decision will be the cost of maintenance weighed against the aircraft's contribution to Oz's defence requirements at that point in time.
Ah paisan, a fellow Melbournian - you've got plenty of good company here, including Viper52 and the Bear! -
Upgrades are good and all but when we have to keep grounding the F111's they are starting to cost too much, but the problem is that the F35 dosent offer anywhere near the range/strike capability of the F111, so unless the RAAF gets some new type as well as the JSF, we wont have a decent strike A/C.
A few B-1B bombers would certainly replace em... the indo's wouldent like it tho
They had a fit when we got the F111's in the 1st place (had enough range to bomb Jakarta) -
Well, I haven't stayed up-to-date on what the Australian military's projections are on the nature of their future operations, but looking at their last few operational deployments, would the F111's range really be needed?
-
Sandman, the B-1 makes maintenance of the Pig look like a breeze by comparison, if what I've heard is true!Originally posted by Sandman302:Upgrades are good and all but when we have to keep grounding the F111's they are starting to cost too much, but the problem is that the F35 dosent offer anywhere near the range/strike capability of the F111, so unless the RAAF gets some new type as well as the JSF, we wont have a decent strike A/C.
A few B-1B bombers would certainly replace em... the indo's wouldent like it tho
They had a fit when we got the F111's in the 1st place (had enough range to bomb Jakarta)
The RAAF doesn't need a strike aircraft capable of hitting Jakarta, it needs a decent strike aircraft to accompany the F-35s in defending Australia.
Gedankens right, I was a resident in Melbourne for 4 years, amen to the claim of being the world's most liveable city. I would assume you know Napoleons and Hylands in the city right Sandman? -
Hiya, saw ur peeps F-111 at the Asian Aerospace, saw them do the fuel dump thingy, and the sheer agility of the Aardvark makes it look young again.However, i don't see how the F-35 can possibly replace the Aardvark in terms of range.Hmm.Originally posted by Sandman302:Upgrades are good and all but when we have to keep grounding the F111's they are starting to cost too much, but the problem is that the F35 dosent offer anywhere near the range/strike capability of the F111, so unless the RAAF gets some new type as well as the JSF, we wont have a decent strike A/C.
A few B-1B bombers would certainly replace em... the indo's wouldent like it tho
They had a fit when we got the F111's in the 1st place (had enough range to bomb Jakarta)