’Why did the Air87 decision go to the French (Eurocopter Tiger)? ‘
Good question Gibbo! Perhaps someone better qualified than I could provide the facts regarding the Tiger buy, however my guestimate is: just a few aircraft required + just a few dollars available + need relatively soon = buy the cheapest one that can do the job. Besides, the ARA commanders will tell you that a helo is just another means of getting the men onto the ground! Conversely, the ADF wants 100 JSF airframes, and that is one hell of a huge buy. But it looks better being 10 years away (Just like my mortgage....hell what a lot of money...costs a lot to set up too, but it looks better over 20 years!).
’The RAAF (& ADF) would be better served by purchasing/leasing current, proven, viable and available airframes that exist today. ‘
Booger,
the ADF already owns the aircraft it wants for the next 7-10 years, and the Hornet upgrade (now in progress) will see it through this time. All defence costings now are done on a whole-of-life system management basis, so if you get rid of the asset early and lease something else you blow the depreciation a and usage budget in a big way with all associated projects (AAMRAM, HUG,...etc) becoming worthless! Even a leased combat machine needs an enormous ADF infrastructure to maintain the system. Besides, the swish airframes built today will be like Beta video recorders and aching for major systems upgrades by the time the open-system JSF comes on line. And if a UCAV can do the job instead of JSF then the yanks would not be committing to 2500 or so airframes. (But wait, perhaps the JSF system will be such that it could be used as a UCAV...just hold that thought!!!)
My well picked friend, you are obviously familiar with the rampant bureaucracy in the 'grey sponge' that justifies so many defense jobs with pithy studies and reviews that most worthy Ppruners could manage in a heatbeat. If these studies finally bubble to the surface in the form of an endorsed project, they often get hammered and modified by the political whims of the goverment - and the ADF doesn't get what it desired anyway. One of the best things about this JSF bit is, as you pointed out, it is likely to be an off-the-shelf buy to fit the US battlesystem (avoiding political footballs such as vote-buying industry support, locally-sourced systems....etc) and the public has 10 years to get used to the idea of spending the cash. With JSF the banker and bully on the block has laid down his cash already, the project will happen, and it's a matter of get on the train now or miss out. Also, in 5-8 years the political pundits will be afraid to pull out the plug because so much will have been invested by then.
RM