Crunch time for fighters

The Australian ^ | 24th October 2009 | Patrick Walters

[naturalman1975]

KEVIN Rudd is poised to sign off on Australia's biggest military buy -- up to 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters for the RAAF.

The sign off is happening as pressures continue to bear down on defence spending in the face of the global financial crisis.

Federal cabinet's national security committee is set to approve the $16 billion F-35 acquisition in late November but the number of aircraft in the RAAF's initial squadron could be cut from 24 to as few as 14.

On present planning the air force will get its first operational squadron by 2018 with two F-35s to be handed to the RAAF for test and evaluation purposes earlier in the decade.

Defence Materiel Minister Greg Combet is convinced that the JSF is the best choice for the RAAF's next generation air combat capability.

Combet, who recently toured the F-35 plant at Fort Worth, Texas, and held high-level talks in Washington, says the Obama administration's clear preference for the JSF, ahead of any other advanced fighter, is an important sign. "My trip to the US reinforced my confidence that this is the right aircraft for the ADF," Combet told The Australian's Defence report this week.

"On all relevant issues -- that is, the capability of the JSF, its cost and the schedule for delivery, and Australian industry participation -- I came away with greater confidence."

[HANG THE EXPENSE]

Good luck OZ.I hope you get a bunch of them.The battle of Milne bay held the line back in 42 with Aussie P-40s and 49thFG P-40s.Was touch and go there for awhile.