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RAAF is planning to transit six more F/A-18F Super Hornets from the United States to RAAF Amberley in early July, 2010. The Minister for Defence of Australia, Senator John Faulkner, said a detachment of RAAF aircrew and maintenance personnel from No 1 Squadron is currently conducting work-ups with the brand new aircraft at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. "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," Senator Faulkner was quoted as saying in a news release by the Australian...

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...

The Royal Australian Air Force is on track to stand up the first Boeing F/A-18F operational squadron in December with two extra aircraft than originally planned and a new appreciation for the Super Hornet's capabilities. A fleet of 24 F/A-18Fs will replace the RAAF's General Dynamics F-111 on an interim basis. Delays to the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in 2004 forced the RAAF to acquire Super Hornets as a stopgap in 2006. But the F/A-18Fs are due to be retired by 2021 as the F-35 is delivered. So far, Boeing has delivered the first five F/A-18Fs to 1...

RESIDENTS living near Evans Head are already used to seeing pigs fly, and soon they’ll be able to see a rhino do the same Five F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter jets, known affectionately as ‘rhinos’, recently arrived in Australia to replace the aging F-111 fleet, nicknamed ‘the pig’, because of their hunting ability. With the Super Hornets based at RAAF Amberley south of Brisbane, the new combat jets are expected to make use of the Evans Head bombing range for training exercises. For some residents near the range, it is now a case of keeping their eyes to the skies as...