Dropping from 5 to 4 harrier squadrons is easy, change the name of the Naval Strike Wing to NAS 800 and don’t stand NAS 801 back up. :diablo:

According to EADS, it will take two years between the first flight of the 400M and its entry into service (ie first deliveries planned for late 2012).

According to Boeing, twelve months are foreseen to certify the 787 (eio in late 2011).

Could anyone explain what accounts for this much longer certification period for the 400M?

Military versus Civil certification.

I assume the Military certification process if stricter due to the harshness of the possible operating environments plus the need for redundency of systems etc.

alertken.

The Australian Army and RAN were formed from the colonial units of what became the states and territories of Australia. They are/were formed and trained along British lines and many of the early officers were British, or at least british trained.

The colonial units were formed alongside Australian Based British units in the mid 19th century from memory. Please think before you post.

In terms of the ‘big stick’ capability, the F-111 is definitely a show-stopper – it gave Australia a major capability within the region. It was the right aircraft, since no others could have done the same job as well. The other thing to remember is that, since Aussie missions were always going to be conventional, its ability to fly out a few hundred miles, and drop two dozen 500lb bombs (each) was crucial. The only other aircraft that could have come close would have been one of my personal favourites, the A-6 Intruder!

The Buccaneer could probably do the job. 😀

The Avon-engined Mirage would have been a major benefit, not only in terms of the reliability, but also in terms of commonality with the Avon Sabres and Canberras. I wouldn’t argue, however, that the Mirage was the most important, especially in light of the situation re: Vietnam involvement. This does make me wonder if a different type might have been a better option, but there aren’t all that many good alternatives. The F-104 had plenty of issues, the EE Lightning had some issues, especially range; the only type I would have loved to see in Aussie service would have been the Saab Draken! It already used the Avon, had an excellent radar, and excellent performance.

The Avon Sabre gave great service both when being used by the RAAF and afterwards, as many examples were later leased to regional airforces.

In terms of support aircraft, obviously the Hercules and Caribou would be the winners, given their sterling service over many years. Australia had a very sensible procurement strategy as well, buying twelve -A models, then twelve -E models, then twelve -H models, and finally twelve -J models. This meant that they maintained a good fleet, without the massive block obsolescency problems that some operators have had.

Hopefully a second batch of C-130J’s will be ordered, i’m not holding my breath though.

One final thing would be to mention the Canberra, since it proved to be so useful within the region, especially Malaya and Vietnam. I would have loved to see an Aussie built equivalent of the USAF’s RB-57F, which would have given Australia a major boost in terms of recon capability.

Some of them were probably tasked with Recon, I know that some of the F-111’s were set up as RF-111C’s.

I would go with the F-111 since it was an airplane nations like Australia should not have had.

Is that supposed to be an insult? We paid for the development of the Australian version, we paid for the aircraft. Why shouldn’t we have gotten them?

By fluke and circumstance they wound-up with an airplane few in the non-Superpower class of nations could and made hay with it while the sun shined. Tech has now passed it by, by and large, so it’s sunset is with us.

Indonesia had some pretty good stuff themselves in that time frame…..

No similar manned airplane will take its place but that is not saying that Australia’s capabilities have diminished and considering their military plans it’s quite the opposite…….

Aerial Refueling capacity and smart bombs make the range and payload of the F-111 less of an advantage. Remember that our B707 tankers could not refuel the F-111’s in flight.

As for the topic.
WW2 Era: Catalina, Short Sunderland and Beaufort.
Post WW2: C130, Caribou, P3.

Edit: Oh, if the F111 had been cancelled because of delay’s, the back up plan was ordering something like 40 F4’s and half a dozen KC-135’s, just to give an indication of their capability.

Obviously not. 😉

Obviously. Since you arent making any sense with your comments and all that.

Read carefully: Build. To. Print. :diablo:

Are you trying to make a point? Because I’m not getting it.

With approximately 10% of the British Army’s 109,500 soldiers due to be sent to Afghanistan with a massive amount of equipment how safe is the British mainland from attack from unfriendly nations?
I realize that this is an incredibly unlikely scenario but how much of a fight could what’s left of the Army back in Britain give?

Er, all the heavy equipment is in the UK and Germany. Plus there are 14 TA Battalions on top of the 20-30 Regular Battalions in the UK. Long Story short, the UK is keeping a heavy brigade group in A-stan, however on top of that are RAF Regt, GR.4 Sqdn, Navy/Marine Junglies etc.

A lot of the Manpower in A-stan would be aimed at logistics and transport rather then combat. For example the “500 more troops” are probably the merlins, their Maintenance guys, plus additional RAF Regt guys to defend them.