Posted on 06/26/2010 6:29:27 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The Australian air force said it will fly six more new F/A-18F Super Hornets from the United States to Australia in early July.
The planes will be stationed at the Royal Australian Air Force base in Amberley in the northeast state of Queensland.
Minister for Defense John Faulkner said a detachment of RAAF aircrew and maintenance personnel from No. 1 Squadron is conducting work-ups with the aircraft at the Naval Air Station Lemoore, Calif.
"The detachment is completing comprehensive flight testing which includes up to 96 hours of test and evaluation flying and two weeks of electronic warfare flight trials from Lemoore," Faulkner said in a written statement.
"Another key task involves working with an air-to-air tanker conducting day and night refueling flights to ensure we are ready for the flight to Australia."
The arrival of the six planes means almost half of Australia's 24 Super Hornets will be based at RAAF base Amberley, around 30 miles southwest of Brisbane and near the coast of Queensland.
(Excerpt) Read more at upi.com ...
Don’t you just love it when our allies get excited and still willing to pay $M for our 30+ year-old technology? :D
There are diferences between the Hornet and the Super Hornet.
its not 30+, maybe 15+ and its better than what we have now
plus we’re only getting these because f-35 keep getting delayed
The Super Hornet is about 20% larger, 7,000 lb (3,200 kg) heavier empty, and 15,000 lb (6,800 kg) heavier at maximum weight than the original Hornet. The Super Hornet carries 33% more internal fuel, increasing mission range by 41% and endurance by 50% over the “Legacy” Hornet.
I hope they are being made welcome in the local eating and drinking establishments around NAS Lemoore. One of life’s great privileges is treating our uniformed servicemen to drinks and meals, and I would also love a chance to do this for our greatest allies the Aussies and British.
Don’t you just love it when our allies get excited and still willing to pay $M for our 15+ year-old technology? :D
When is our muslim marxist leader going to want to nationalize our aerospace industry?
Ping
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