FLIGHT

Canberra intends to convert 12 Super Hornets into Boeing EA-18G Growlers
COMBAT AIRCRAFT
Minding
the gap
Australia is leaning towards a
combination of Super Hornets
and F-35s for its long-term fighter
fleet, as delays bedevil the latter
GREG WALDRON SINGAPORE
ne day before the opening of the Avalon
Oair show in 2011, US Navy Vice Adm
Dave Venlet, then-newly appointed executive
officer of the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme,
gave his first press conference after
assuming the role. The notoriously tough
Australian defence journalist corps hammered
him with questions about development
delays and aircraft software releases.
Venlet ended the conference forecasting
that the F-35 would gain another customer by
the end of 2011. This prediction ultimately
came true with Tokyo’s December 2011 decision
to buy 42 F-35As, choosing the stealthy
type over the Boeing F-18E/F Super Hornet
34 | Flight International | 19-25 February 2013
and Eurofighter Typhoon. Venlet has since
been replaced by US Air Force Lt Gen Christopher
Bogdan. Nonetheless, questions about
the F-35 will again be paramount at this year’s
Avalon. Although the F-35 made good
progress during flight testing in 2012, concerns
about costs and other issues persist.
Little more than one year after the last iteration
of Avalon, in May 2012, Canberra dealt a
blow to the F-35 programme when it decided
to reduce costs by ordering just two F-35As
and delaying the acquisition of an additional
12 F-35As until 2014-2015. Australian media
reports at the time suggested that Canberra
hoped for savings of A$1.6 billion ($1.67 billion)
from the postponement.
“When we embarked upon the project, we
did a couple of very sensible things: firstly, we
chose the conventional Joint Strike Fighter,
and secondly, we put a fair amount of padding
in our cost and in our timetable,” said
minister for defence Stephen Smith at the
time of the announcement. “On the timetable,
we have been making sure that we don’t end
up with a capability gap. We’ll make that decision
formally by the end of this year in terms
of the capability gap, but my current advice is
that the life of our 71 F-18 Classic Hornets and
our 24 Super Hornets is sufficient for our air
combat capability, but we’ll make an advised
judgement before the end of this year.”
The May 2012 announcement marked an
abrupt reversal from Canberra’s stated intentions
in 2009, when it approved the acquisition
of the original 14 F-35As for A$3.2 billion
(AIR 6000 Phase 2A). The original plans also
called for Canberra to place a massive order
for 58 aircraft (AIR 6000 Phase 2B) in 2012,
followed by a decision on an additional 28
aircraft in 2015. Had this course been followed,
Canberra would have committed to
100 F-35As by 2015.
ECONOMIES OF SCALE
The three planned orders would have set the
stage for the Royal Australian Air Force to operate
a single fighter type and thus enjoy significant
economies of scale in acquisition and
long-term sustainment. While inducting this
massive fleet of F-35s, Canberra would retire
its ageing F/A-18A/B Hornets in 2020, followed
by its Super Hornets in 2025.
The May 2012 announcement also said
Canberra would “launch a transition plan to
assess options to ensure that a gap does not
emerge in the RAAF’s air combat capability”.
This foreshadowed a December 2012 letter of
request (LOR) to Boeing asking for more
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