[Yo-Yo]

Unfortunately, the Aussies never purchased F-15s. They were flying F/A-18A/Bs and F-111C/Gs. They purchased Super Hornets as a stop gap to retire their F-111s, then when the F-35s come online the Super Hornets will replace their old regular Hornets which will be retired.

Unfortunately, even if the U.S. allowed export, the F-22 still was not the aircraft that Australia needed. The primary mission of the F-111 was to loiter for hours on end in maritime interdiction, and to provide long range strike capability against potential targets in the Indonesian island chain.

The F-22 didn't have the legs nor the payload for those missions, and neither does the F-35 or the F/A-18E/F/G.

There was an interesting proposal for the RAAF to retain their F-111Cs, update and modernize their avionics, and replace the TF-30 turbofan engines with the GE F110 turbofan, just like the F-14 did. That would have really upped the F-111s performance, range, and maintainability for less than new build F-35s.

[Dundee]

The F-111’s were so worn down that there was no way short of a complete rebuild (air frames and all) could see them get any more service.

I know the person who tried to sell the idea to the RAAF. Complete dingbat.