Defence to get new jets, patrol boats

[juddy]

Australia will buy an additional 12 Super Hornet combat aircraft and replace the Navy's hard-working patrol boat fleet.

The 2013 Defence White Paper, released on Friday, also says the federal government remains committed to the advanced Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter due to enter service around 2020.


The Hornets are the dedicated Growler electronic warfare version, we paid extra for 12 to be fitted for but not with this capability and now they have decided to build new ones, seems a bit of a waste of money.

Makes you wonder if we are committed to the F35 Program, Denmark have decided to store there test aircraft, and consider there role in the project, I think other s may follow.


The government will also bring forward the replacement of the Navy's Armidale class patrol boats, which are used to intercept asylum seeker boats arriving in Australian waters.

As well, the Navy's supply ships HMAS Sirius and HMAS Success will be replaced as soon as possible.

I thought Sirius was a new ships?

The white paper makes no commitment to acquiring advanced Hobart-class air warfare destroyers.

Neither does it make a firm decision on long-running proposals to acquire long-range surveillance drones to watch over Australia's northwest.

But Australia still plans to replace the RAAF's ageing AP-3C Orion maritime surveillance aircraft with Boeing P-8A aircraft and unmanned aircraft, with a final decision due later this decade.

[VladTepes]

One wonders about the wisdom of using what are essentially civilian purpose aircraft and adapting tehm for military use. Would make a a stray genuine civvy aircraft a much more dangerous place to be !

[Lotz-A-Landies]

The military have been using civilian aricraft since before WWII, the DC3 and Locheed Constellation, Short Sunderland, the B707 as AWAC and air to air refuellers the DC10 also as air to air refuellers B737, B747 and B767 in various configurations for transport, cargo and AWAC roles.

I cant see us adding a couple more will add a lot more risk. After all it has only happened once when the Russians shot down a Korean Air 747.

[dhc4ever]

also dont forget the current P3 Orion was derived from the Lockeed Electra turbo prop airliner from the 1950's and the English Nimrod was a derivative of the Comet, so civilian planform aircraft in the military are nothing new.

As to having the 12 fitted for not with growlers, it just means if they fit the reqired black box's well have 24 out of 36 aircraft in Growler configuration.

[VladTepes]

Yeah good point.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

I know we don't do political comments here, but I take announcements like this with a grain of salt, particularly when there is no information about the funding of the acquisitions and its from a bunch who have removed $5.5billion from the Defence budget over the forward estimates and its now in the run up to an unwinable election.