$12.4 billion spent on more fighter jets Wednesday, 23 April 2014

The federal government has announced it will spend $12.4 billion to purchase 58 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters (JSF). This follows through on the Defence White Paper 2013 to acquire three squadrons of the JSF to replace the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) McConnell Douglas F/A-18A/B Hornets, which will be withdrawn from service in 2022. An initial order of 14 JSFs was approved in 2009; the total of 72 will provide a fourth training squadron for the RAAF.
 
The acquisition cost includes associated facilities, weapons and training. This involves the construction of $1.6 billion in new facilities and infrastructure, including sites at RAAF Base Williamtown in NSW and RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory. There will also be economic benefits to Australia’s defence industry with jobs and production boosts for skilled workers and technical manufacturers, according to the government.
 
The aircraft are scheduled to start arriving in Australia in 2018 before entering service with the RAAF in 2020.
 
Although the JSFs will initially operate alongside the RAAF’s McConnell Douglas F/A-18F Super Hornets, the federal government is considering the acquisition of another JSF squadron to replace them in the future.
 
By 2020 Australia will have 72 Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters. Photo: Lockheed Martin
 
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