It was recently announced by defence minister that Australia will rethink its possition in the JSF pact. The reasons given are varied but center around the theame that the F-35 might not be what we are looking for in Air 6000, and should we commit, we then lock out all other possible contenders for the project.
Australia has one of the toughest selection processes when aquiring any defence material, the recent selection of the EC Tiger and the lead up to it’s selection is testimony to just how we view our selection process.
Another reason for the pull back is the severe competition coming from the Russians for their offer, the RAAF has been very impressed with the Flanker varients and have been back and forth to Russia on many occassions in regards to this plane especially the Su-32 bomber version which could replace the F-111’s in the service. With this thinking the RAAF could have a high commonality factor between it’s Fighter and strike forces, thus reducing the logistical costs imensly, and that is said to be the most appealing factor in the whole deal!
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June 12, 2002 at 4:19 am