Australia's F- 35 Procurement

[macnz]

ABC Australia News Four Corners Examination of how Australia decided to purchase the F35A (45mins)

Whatever your view point, interesting insight (and great footage) to the project management and aqcquisition politics around this plane.

www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/2013/02/18/3690317.htm



________

Also here is a news feature - Inside Lockheed Martin's highly secretive F-35 factory - from ABC Australia covering Australia's first F35A rolling off the production line.

www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-25/inside-lockheed-martins-highly-secretive-f-35-factory/5622842

[11SQNLDR]

Thanks for posting - a very informative and well made doco on the controversial programme!

[beagle]

I reckon it's an ugly looking thing.

[richard1098]

The first RAAF F-35 takes to the air: australianaviation.com.au/2014/09/first-flight-for-first-raaf-f-35/

[macnz]

As Australia accepted its first LHD last Friday to be delivered to RAN 28 Nov [see 1 at bottom for link] there was also an article published by ADM's Tom Muir [see 2 at bottom for link] about the government's ambitions to field F-35Bs on the LHDs.

In Brief:
Australia's LHD 'as aircraft carrier' headache
It has been widely reported that in the lead up to the 2015 Defence White Paper, Prime Minister Tony Abbott ordered Defence to assess the benefits of F-35B jump jets and converting the Canberra class Landing Helicopter Docks (LHD) to accommodate them.

“In 2012 ...a highly classified Operational Analysis Supporting Paper which indicated that “planners have grave doubts about the capabilities of the jump jets. According to the newspaper, the conventional variant was 'more effective than the jump jet in almost all cases'.

The key issue identified was that the F-35B STOVL version carried less fuel than other the other versions, reducing weapons payloads and reducing the amount of time the aircraft could spend over a target area....For a target 300 nautical miles away from the aircraft carrier, the jump jet can spend only 20 minutes over its target before turning back, compared with 80 minutes for the conventional jet.”

29 April 2014 estimated basic costs per aircraft (the airframe, engines and avionics):
US$105.5 million – F-35B STOVL variant
US$89.7 million – F-35C carrier version

(1) Australia receives first Canberra-class LHD
Source: www.janes.com/article/44335/australia-receives-first-canberra-class-lhd

(2) Australia's LHD 'as aircraft carrier' headache
Source : www.australiandefence.com.au/news/australia-s-lhd-as-aircraft-carrier-headache