'Davef68' I'm glad this thread about RIPing the Skyhawks (a new one?) has been overtaken NOT BY ME (the notorious thread jacker) for 'yet another moan about Oz F-35Bs on Oz LHDs'. The AFR article cited tells an outright lie:
"...The Spanish Navy's version of the troop transport assault ship, which utilises the same underlying design as the Royal Australian Navy's troop assault ship, is equipped to carry Harrier jump jets...."
And yet the JCI was designed (many years ago granted) to operate the F-35B with info known at that time.
I get that a lot of ADFers do not want Oz F-35Bs on Oz LHDs. My view in a nutshell would be IF the RAAF have a role for some F-35Bs ashore (it has been mentioned in passing recently by an RAAF AVM) then a few RAAF F-35Bs could be embarked on our LHDs - IF REQUIRED for Fleet Defence and then disembarked when not required. Yep embarked for the odd training session, whilst the F-35B is a piece of cake to fly onboard in STOVL mode by all pilot accounts, it should be a doddle for any RAAFie CHAPpie.
But hey I don't want to derail this thread about SKYHAWKS. I happen to have participated in the Fleet Defence A4G era when four A4Gs were embarked on the ASW carrier HMAS Melbourne from 1969 - 1971 (I was late 1971 to early 1972). We were at the back of the bus. Later when ten more Skyhawks arrived to flesh out the numbers/roles onboard then - when the threat went away - the A4Gs of VF-805 took on other roles.
Modifications mentioned for embarking F-35Bs on LHDs are not expensive in the overall scheme of things. Ships are modified during refits quite a bit, as MELBOURNE demonstrated to enable operation of the A4Gs & S2Es early on - then modified again because first deck mods were not good enough <sigh>. Having F-35B H8ters exaggerate their claims 'why things cannot be done' is not new. Look at the long running thread here about the F-35. And yet IF the F-35B IS required on Oz LHDs it will be made so - and without much fuss.
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"...Separately, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) has mentioned the possibility of a further Super Hornet order, apparently without much conviction,
while also suggesting the F-35B...
...The service [RAAF] seems to still harbor hopes of an all-Lightning fighter and strike force. In a little-noticed address to an ASPI meeting in July, the head of the RAAF, Air Marshal Leo Davies, listed the candidates for Australia’s next combat-aircraft program as Super Hornets, F-35As and
F-35Bs.
Davies did not explain the merits of the third, quite surprising option, the
F-35B. But an obvious possibility is that Australia has begun to wonder about the survivability of its northern airbases in the face of attack by Chinese cruise and ballistic missiles...."
21 Oct 2016 http://aviationweek.com/combat-aircr...-super-hornets
FULL TEXT HERE: http://www.f-16.net/forum/viewtopic....thical#p354900
The 'politicians' at that time
2015 were significant - the now former
PM and now former
DefMin.