Quote:
Originally Posted by Tasman
Australia would almost certainly order more Super Hornets so that the SH/JSF mix would change from the 24/72 expected now (with the 24 SHs maybe replaced eventually by a fourth squadron of JSFs) to something along the lines of 48/48.
Cancellation of the F-35A would open up a whole new ball game as I am not sure that an all FA-18E/F force would suit Australia's needs. In this scenario I think we would see Australia requesting an 'export' F-22 to supplement the SHs. I guess aircraft like the Eurofighter Typhoon would be examined if the F-22 was still unavailable for purchase.
Cheers
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I do get the point about the Super Hornet not having jazzy things like super-cruise, but otherwise I don't see it as being a
bad choice as our standard AC. It has proven strike capability, a fair amount of operational flexibility (Growlers and the buddy-tanking system) and it would be a lot cheaper for us to convert over to it than it would to convert over to the JSF, as we would have to change less of our infrastructue around. Obviously there are range concerns however I don't see us needing or wanting to set up a large MEZ anytime soon. A 100+ fleet of Hornets would also allow us to maintain total dominance over our neighbourhood, since we'd have at least a 3 to 1 advantage over all our neighbours in gen 4.5 planes. Couple that with better avionics packages, better weapons and superior training (Especially concerning flight hours) and we'd be looking pretty good against our neighbours. More to the point, having a massive superiority is really just something we want to flash around, we WILL NOT be fighting a hot war with any neighbour in the coming decades. If anything, the RAAF is going to be defending our neghbours.