News Limted journalist Ian McPhedran with his new book Air Force, which includes details of the nation's purchase of fighter aircraft.
Picture: Kym Smith Source: News Limited
Posted on 08/04/2011 8:59:49 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Officers feared purchase of Super Hornets a ploy to cut JSF orders
# Mark Dodd
# From: The Australian
FEARING orders for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft would be cut, Senior Royal Australian Air Force officers assured the Howard government the ageing fleet of F-111 bombers could fly until mid 2013.
Launched this week, Air Force, by News Limited journalist Ian McPhedran, details the claims made by former Defence Minister Brenadan Nelson that the government's surprise decision to buy 24 Super Hornets prompted the air force officers' fears that future JSF orders would be cut.
Dr Nelson said it became necessary to purchase the F/A-18F Super Hornets when the possibility of an air combat capability gap emerged.
It was the need to retire the maintenance-heavy F-111 well before the introduction of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter that created the gap, he said.
Prime Minister John Howard, who shared Dr Nelson's worries, requested a "layman's briefing".
"I said, 'I think we are going to have to buy a squadron of Super Hornets' and he (Howard) said, 'Okay, get it ready and bring it to cabinet'," Dr Nelson related.
This was and the federal government's coffers were brimming.
It was early December 2006, in the pre-global financial crisis era of brimming government coffers, that Dr Nelson had in-principle support to buy the Super Hornets for $6.6 billion.
The surprise announcement attracted the immediate ire of the then Labor opposition which acused the government of financial recklessness.
Other critics said the Super Hornet was a "dog of an aircraft," outclassed by state of the art Russian-war planes which were being acquired by Australia's neighbours.
Dr Nelson dismissed those claims as "uninformed".
(Excerpt) Read more at theaustralian.com.au ...
News Limted journalist Ian McPhedran with his new book Air Force, which includes details of the nation's purchase of fighter aircraft.
Picture: Kym Smith Source: News Limited
They could be right, they need to save that money to keep welfare for the immigrants coming
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.