Posted on 07/10/2009 5:05:50 PM PDT by naturalman1975
THE air force's new-generation Super Hornet fighters will be fully operational by the end of next year, prompting speculation whether they could be deployed to Afghanistan.
As the Dutch are due to withdraw their F-16 fighters from Oruzgan province later next year, the Rudd government is expected to examine the option of deploying combat air power to support coalition operations.
Air force chief Mark Binskin said yesterday that, although there was not a plan to deploy fast jets to Afghanistan, the RAAF could deploy either the new Super Hornet or the older generation F/A-18s, which will remain in service until the arrival of the F-35 joint strike fighter later next decade.
If a decision is made to send combat aircraft to Afghanistan, the Super Hornet is more likely to be deployed, given its advanced communication systems and seamless interface with US combat aircraft operating in the theatre.
The first of the RAAF's new F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters was rolled out three months ahead of schedule yesterday at Boeing's assembly line in St Louis in a formal ceremony attended by Air Marshal Binskin and senior US defence officials.
The two-seater, twin-engine fighters will form part of No 1 Squadron RAAF, the first Super Hornet unit based at Amberley, Queensland, with an initial batch of aircraft due to arrive by next March.
The air force will acquire 24 Super Hornets equipped with the new generation APG-79 radar and weapons systems at a cost of $6.3 billion. They will become the RAAF's front-line combat arm, pending the arrival of the F-35, and will replace the F-111 strike force, which will be be withdrawn from service by the end of next year.
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.news.com.au ...
Blitz?
Short for blitzkrieg? ;-)
I love the absolute overmatching of our forces and these stone age Taliban types. Prepare to become grease spots in the high desert!
Amen!
It’s a nick, much like your screen name.
F 111’s??? I was surprised how long after WWII, the Mess. BF109 was used by several nations.
parsy, the surprised
Understand … just having some fun at the expense of history. ;-)
The late 1960’s BTW.
parsy, who had to look it back up.
Including Israel.
Whoa! That is ironic.
parsy, who loves those old airplanes.
I’m familiar with the Blitz. My hobby is the history of WWII. That is why the pun on “blitz” nickname for the pilot. ;-)
Yes, but Blitz struck me as an odd choice given that The Blitz was pretty hard on London...
Yes, but Blitz struck me as an odd choice given that The Blitz was pretty hard on London...
Yeah, but we're talking about the RAAF here; the Australians.
ping
*nevermind*
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IIRC, those were Czech-built Avia S-199s.
This Bf 109 derivative was nicknamed “Mule” by its pilots because of the bizarre way it handled, i.e. oversensitive controls, sluggish acceleration, jumping up and down when landing and slow rate of climb.
The Superbugs will be assigned to No. 1 Squadron at RAAF Amberley in QLD.
WgCdr Glen “Blitz” Braz is the SQN CO.
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