F35 Joint Strike Fighter

[MOTIV8]

Australia wants 100 of the new F35 JSF (Joint Strike Fighter), planes which have a price of $US45 million (This figure could and probably will blow out), each to replace our thirty-three F-111 and seventy-one F/A-18 aircraft as they are withdrawn from service, in 2010 and 2012–15 respectively.

Defence Minister Robert Hill signing a ministerial exchange of letters for the Joint Strike Fighter Program with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, 30 October 2002. © Defence Department.
The customer base includes the US Air Force (1763 units), US Navy (480 units) US Marine Corps (609 units) and the Royal Air Force and Navy (150 units) – a total of some 3002 aircraft with export orders expected to bring the total to in excess of 4500.
Other potential customers who will participate in the System Development and Demonstration phase of the program include the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Italy and the Netherlands.
Physical Characteristics

Empty Weight ~ Approximately 27,000 lbs (12,250 kg)

Internal Fuel ~ Over 18,000 lbs (8,200 kg)

Payload ~ Over 13,000 lbs (5,900 kg)

Maximum Takeoff Weight ~ Well in excess of 50,000 lbs (22,700 kg)

Length ~ 50 feet (15.2 m)

Wingspan ~ 35 feet (10.7 m)

Wing area ~ Approximately 460 sq ft (41.4 sq m)

Speed ~ Supersonic

Combat Radius (internal fuel and weapons) ~ Over 600 nautical miles (1,100 km)

Crew ~ One

Weapons ~ A wide selection of US and UK air-air and air-ground weapons including ASRAAM, AMRAAM, JDAM and Laser Guided Bombs


3 Generations of RAAF fighters

[minux]

I thought this was decided against and we are getting another fleet of outdated US crap. Obviously things have changed again

Lovely Jet they are.

Will say, the big pig's(F-111's) are great to work with in joint excercise ops.

[lukedog]

trouble is that there isnt any replacement out there can match F111, thats why they just keep upgrading em

[MOTIV8]

If they retire the F111s too early there will be a big gap in our air strike capability and that just wouldn't be too wise.

The problem is that to keep the flying pigs airworthy is going to cost way too much money to justify the expense and the airframes themselves are just not safe anymore.

[xlr8_87]

meh, they're alright, they should have forked out the extra cash and gotten the F22 Raptors

[deserthead]

Old news.
We're also getting new C-17s so we can finally have a heavy lift capability.

[MOTIV8]

Old news.
We're also getting new C-17s so we can finally have a heavy lift capability.

If it is such old news then update us.

Make a post about these C-17s.

I for one would like to see more of these RAAF aviation stuff posted.

[michaelw]

How can we sing the National Anthem at the footy/olympics/V8's/motorcycle races without the pig flying over with its arse on fire???

Mike

[deserthead]

Ok, the RAAf have just released that they r acquiring, not sure how many, C-17s for a heavy lift capablity.
These won't replace the C-130s but cause they r soooo small, they'll be able to actually move large things in one hit.
These big arse bastards r guna be a Richmond I believe. Not sure how soon though.

The C-17 is the little brother of the C-5, one crashed on the news not long ago. The C-5 its tail is something like 5 stories high. Big mofo of a plane!!!

[Garth]

that plane kinda reminds me of the yf-22, very similar in size, shape and body style.

i remember being out in the middle of the ocean, on my huge floating target, and watching the a-4 comming in and simulating a air raid. then you would see the big boys come in and buzz ya, the f1-11, and the fa-18's, it was great, wings back, full speed, was wonderfull

[EGG]

The F-35 looks boring as batshit

we should have gone russian
MiG 1.42 and S-47 Berkut, neither of them are going into production, but they look the goods

[ThePride]

i fly them in battlefield 2 lol.
or soemthing similar

[Baritji]

Australia didnt purchase the F-22 simply because we will never need an aircraft like that. It really is quite obsolete, even for the US. Pretty much because the role it was designed for no longer exists. Thats why the US government almost shut the program down a few times, and partly why they cut their orders for the F-22. They shutdown the Commanche for the same reasons...

Australia has enough problems without forking out over 400 million for each F-22.

I can't wait for the C-17s, they are very cool planes. For some reason the big heavy lifters excite me a lot more than any fighter! We will be purchasing at least three, and probably 4. First A/C should be delivered at the end of this year, with the last delivered early 2008. 36SQN will operate them out of Richmond, and will move to Amberley once the last aircraft is delivered. I believe that most of the Hercs from 36SQN (They operate 12, i think) will be used to support special forces sometime next year.

Cheers

Oh, and Egg... Russian aircraft are about as reliable that old lawnmower in the corner of your shed that you havent been able to get to work properly for 15 years.

[burnz]

THA PLANE THA PLANE
shut up tattoo

[Baritji]

Hey guys,

Since some of you seem interested in this kind of stuff, I thought I'd share some more info on the C-17, and also my favourite aviation photo, ever!

Info is Here

[jules]

they look very nice but how many are the yanks also selling to indonesia?

[VZCalZone]

that is a big arse tail

[Tasmaniak]

I personally would have no issue with seeing the pigs disappear. They were alright until you tried to bank....took all day and half the countryside to swing thos bitches back 180 degrees. I always hated them and always will.

[Baritji]

12 volt dude. You flew F-111s? Awesome if you did! I must say I am rather jealous of anyone that is near perfect enough to fly fast jets. Care to share any of your experiences? I've been an aviation enthusiast all my life so I would love to hear some stories if you care to share em!

[Wombat]

I just love the way we have outdated yank stuff foisted on us as what we "must have"...

Aren't we getting rid of the German Leopard tanks and getting something like the US Abrams? The Leopard has a gas turbine and will run on all sorts of fuel quality, but the Abrams has a piston engine, which must run on high quality diesel. Isn't a better bet for a tank something which can run on any old crap, without being tied to a vulnerable supply line?

The F-111 is still a great aircraft for our region. The one thing that people in defence apparently do worry aout is that we are the only country in the region without dedicated attack helicopters, such as the Apache or Cobra...other countries in the area have been spending up big on this sort of craft, except for us.

But hey, we don't need a good military force at all...everyone in the region are our bestest buddies....aren't they.....?

[Tasmaniak]

the F-111 isn't that fast. Shove a firecracker up my arse and I'll move faster then those things.

[foammedia]

We wont need planes anymore, with all our new power stations will will be able to get in with the big boys and do evil stuff like this

http://www.stupidcollege.com/Video/Nuclear_Test.wmv

:O

[deserthead]

If it can be noted about our "Defence" force is its exactly that.
DEFENCE
Not Offence.
They only appropriate machines which will aid in defending the country.
If they so happen to be able to provide some sort of offensive capability, great.

But fot the most part, thats what our Army, air force, navy are here for, DEFENCE

[Julie]

oh wow new toys for all the retards to watch at richmond raaf when they should be watching the bloody road lol

[Fekason]

the F-111 isn't that fast. Shove a firecracker up my arse and I'll move faster then those things.

I'm impressed. At Mach 2.5 +, you'd almost keep up with the Gillette Mach 3!