Super Hornets For RAAF
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Dragon79, I did see some rumblings in a few defence magazines a year or so ago but nothing since then, at least not in the public domain
I doubt it would go down to well with our Indonesian etc friends to the North, would seem like we are acquiring carriers by stealth (force projection), any one fancy 'liberating' west Papua and then giving the whole island back to the New Guinean people,then again if our Deputy Sheriff has gone and signed a defence pact with the Japanease who knows?
Looks like johnie wants to side step Indonesia and our back yard and involve Australia in the big boys club of the Japanese/Chinese/North Korean/South Korean tensions.
If the federal bugets got as much money in it as the Government boasts, then lets do it properly and buy 2-3 LHD plus escorts equiped with a Sqn or two of Navy F35 STOVL plus those big Hovercraft the UCMC has for beach assults and a few more NH90's for LHD based air assult,and while were at it form the Royal Australian Marine Corps.
I doubt it would go down to well with our Indonesian etc friends to the North, would seem like we are acquiring carriers by stealth (force projection), any one fancy 'liberating' west Papua and then giving the whole island back to the New Guinean people,then again if our Deputy Sheriff has gone and signed a defence pact with the Japanease who knows?Looks like johnie wants to side step Indonesia and our back yard and involve Australia in the big boys club of the Japanese/Chinese/North Korean/South Korean tensions.
If the federal bugets got as much money in it as the Government boasts, then lets do it properly and buy 2-3 LHD plus escorts equiped with a Sqn or two of Navy F35 STOVL plus those big Hovercraft the UCMC has for beach assults and a few more NH90's for LHD based air assult,and while were at it form the Royal Australian Marine Corps.
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Ben88
LHD - Landing Ship Helicopter/Dock (found this on google http://www.amphib.com.au/), its the project that is going to be late and over budget after the AWDs.
Why is it that everything has to be considered, in terms of, will it upset our neighbours to the north. I know theres alot of them, but I didn't think they had the ability to move large numbers over such a large distance to come an visit?
Would seem to me that the LHDs are pretty much force projection and acquiring the STVOL version would be more force protection for the force projection, if you get my intention, along with the AWDs. And if we are getting involved with the big boys club, might be time to muscle up.
LHD - Landing Ship Helicopter/Dock (found this on google http://www.amphib.com.au/), its the project that is going to be late and over budget after the AWDs.
Why is it that everything has to be considered, in terms of, will it upset our neighbours to the north. I know theres alot of them, but I didn't think they had the ability to move large numbers over such a large distance to come an visit?
Would seem to me that the LHDs are pretty much force projection and acquiring the STVOL version would be more force protection for the force projection, if you get my intention, along with the AWDs. And if we are getting involved with the big boys club, might be time to muscle up.
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Anyone else see the 7:30 Report, story on the Super Hornet last night, very interesting if the story was accurate, that it was Dr Nelsons call to purchase the super hornets and the RAAF did not request the air craft. $6 Billion for an aircraft that the RAAF don't want, sounds like another winner to me. Sure they could come up with other ways to spend the money if it was going.
But then again it could have been more anti-government rhetoric from the ABC...
But then again it could have been more anti-government rhetoric from the ABC...
Evertonian
Dragon, I'd be interested to see the pass & fail rate of RAAF selections vs Defence Dept. selections on aircraft. (Or other services & their military hardware)
I'm not advocating either way, but I think blind Freddy would see the value of the people in the service making the call. From memory (and I was but a wee Buster at the time) I think the RAAF quite liked the Phantom we had on loan & would've been happy with it remaining in place rather than the F111. (happy to be corrected) I'm a fan of the F111 and I think it has served Australia well so, I don't know whether that's a score for either side, perhaps a draw?
I'm not advocating either way, but I think blind Freddy would see the value of the people in the service making the call. From memory (and I was but a wee Buster at the time) I think the RAAF quite liked the Phantom we had on loan & would've been happy with it remaining in place rather than the F111. (happy to be corrected) I'm a fan of the F111 and I think it has served Australia well so, I don't know whether that's a score for either side, perhaps a draw?
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The 7:30 Report was intresting in what it didnt say, they did not look at what the RAAF preffered or other flying credable options (yeah Flankers are great airshow stoppers but their not for the likes of us) , forget the F22 Carlo, it just aint gunner happen, at least for the foreseeable future!
Now that Nelson has buought the SuperBug, and the JSF rolls around on time and budget perhaps we can then keep the 'Bug and convert them to F18G's?
In an ideal world the perfect replacement for the Pig would be the FB22, but then again this is only a CAD aircraft, lets buy the best option for now and in 15 years time look at a mature aircraft mix F22/FB22 + JSF.
now I'M dreaming!
Now that Nelson has buought the SuperBug, and the JSF rolls around on time and budget perhaps we can then keep the 'Bug and convert them to F18G's?
In an ideal world the perfect replacement for the Pig would be the FB22, but then again this is only a CAD aircraft, lets buy the best option for now and in 15 years time look at a mature aircraft mix F22/FB22 + JSF.
now I'M dreaming!
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Buster,
Don't let Milt hear you say that!
Flyingblind,
Flankers tend to be airshow-stoppers because you can't continue the flying displays with all those fire appliances and ambulances charging around...
Frozo,
Slide rules? What, the loads got too big and complicated for fingers and toes?!
Don't let Milt hear you say that!
Flyingblind,
Flankers tend to be airshow-stoppers because you can't continue the flying displays with all those fire appliances and ambulances charging around...
Frozo,
Slide rules? What, the loads got too big and complicated for fingers and toes?!
Evertonian
What, the loads got too big and complicated for fingers and toes?
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http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599...29-421,00.html
6 billion here, 12 to 16 billion there. Serious coin being talked about being spent.
6 billion here, 12 to 16 billion there. Serious coin being talked about being spent.
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Man with all these billions of dollars they are talking about that is a lot of dough... Why not purchase a few hundred thousand C152's launch them all together.. and man nothing's gonna get through that spiderweb of airframes! lol, and in the offensive mode well 1 C152 is pretty harmless just like a mozzie but times that by a 100,000 that might sting! lol!
Raytheon Secures Contract to Equip Australian F/A-18F Super Hornets
(Goleta, Calif., August 2, 2007) -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) has been awarded a $24.4 million U.S. Navy contract to equip Royal Australian Air Force F/A-18F Super Hornets with the ALR-67(V)3 digital radar warning receiver.
The contract, representing the first international sale of the ALR-67(V)3 for the Super Hornet, calls for the delivery of 24 radar warning receivers to the RAAF. Raytheon was recently awarded a contract to provide 55 radar warning receivers plus spares for RAAF F/A-18A+ aircraft as part of the Australia Hornet upgrade program.
"Equipping the RAAF Super Hornet with the ALR-67(V)3 is another step forward in expanding our international business," said Roy Azevedo, manager of Raytheon's Electronic Warfare business area. "The ALR-67(V)3 and its new digital technology provide critical capabilities for self-protection of the F/A-18."
The award, a foreign military sale, originated with the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. Deliveries under the contract will begin in October 2009 and are expected to be complete by September 2010.
The contract, representing the first international sale of the ALR-67(V)3 for the Super Hornet, calls for the delivery of 24 radar warning receivers to the RAAF. Raytheon was recently awarded a contract to provide 55 radar warning receivers plus spares for RAAF F/A-18A+ aircraft as part of the Australia Hornet upgrade program.
"Equipping the RAAF Super Hornet with the ALR-67(V)3 is another step forward in expanding our international business," said Roy Azevedo, manager of Raytheon's Electronic Warfare business area. "The ALR-67(V)3 and its new digital technology provide critical capabilities for self-protection of the F/A-18."
The award, a foreign military sale, originated with the Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md. Deliveries under the contract will begin in October 2009 and are expected to be complete by September 2010.
Sensors can save F-111, says firm
Steve Creedy | January 04, 2008
A PERTH company is pitching its aircraft structural monitoring system as a way of extending the life of the RAAF's F-111 fleet if the Government opts to scrap its controversial $6.6 billion order for 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets.
Last year the government decided to spend $6.6 billion on a stopgap replacement for the F111. Structural Monitoring Systems has written to new Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon expressing concern that the availability and benefits of structural health monitoring systems were not taken into account when the decision to retire the F-111s was made.
SMS's Comparative Vacuum Monitoring (CVM) technology uses alternating tubes of air and a constant vacuum to monitor structural health and detect cracks in aircraft before they become a problem.
It has already been approved for Australian Defence Force aircraft and is being evaluated for use on military aircraft in Britain, the US and Europe.
The Howard government decided to retire the F-111s early and buy the Super Hornets to bridge a gap that opened up because of delays in Australia's replacement warplane, the Joint Strike Fighter.
But SMS managing director Mark Vellacott, who has a military aircraft background, said he had been surprised when former defence minister Brendan Nelson blamed the decision to retire the F-111s on structural worries.
New ways of looking at structures and monitoring them "can actually reduce that risk quite considerably", Mr Vellacott said.
"And when he said he was worried about the fatigue tests, I was aware from discussions with people in the industry that the spec they had set for the fatigue spectrum was actually incorrect."
Mr Vellacott said he believed Dr Nelson had ignored advice from the industry, and that a range of issues had not been taken into consideration.
He said SMS sensors had been used on P3 Orions and Blackhawk helicopters in Australia and on Nimrods and Sea Kings in Britain, and that the company had ongoing programs in the US with C130s.
"We have a lot of experience flying CVM on military platforms and also we've had the director-general, technical airworthiness, in Australia accredit the technology to use on Australian military aircraft," he said.
"So we've got a lot of credibility and background and we've got a system that can be fielded at the moment with instrumentation that's ready to go."
Mr Vellacott said it was unclear whether the F-18 contract was a done deal with Boeing, and acknowledged it would cost millions of dollars to back out of it.
However, he believed the new Defence Minister should review the whole program and look at structural health monitoring as an alternative.
SMS, listed on the ASX since 2004, has been testing civilian applications for its technology.
A PERTH company is pitching its aircraft structural monitoring system as a way of extending the life of the RAAF's F-111 fleet if the Government opts to scrap its controversial $6.6 billion order for 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets.
Last year the government decided to spend $6.6 billion on a stopgap replacement for the F111. Structural Monitoring Systems has written to new Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon expressing concern that the availability and benefits of structural health monitoring systems were not taken into account when the decision to retire the F-111s was made.
SMS's Comparative Vacuum Monitoring (CVM) technology uses alternating tubes of air and a constant vacuum to monitor structural health and detect cracks in aircraft before they become a problem.
It has already been approved for Australian Defence Force aircraft and is being evaluated for use on military aircraft in Britain, the US and Europe.
The Howard government decided to retire the F-111s early and buy the Super Hornets to bridge a gap that opened up because of delays in Australia's replacement warplane, the Joint Strike Fighter.
But SMS managing director Mark Vellacott, who has a military aircraft background, said he had been surprised when former defence minister Brendan Nelson blamed the decision to retire the F-111s on structural worries.
New ways of looking at structures and monitoring them "can actually reduce that risk quite considerably", Mr Vellacott said.
"And when he said he was worried about the fatigue tests, I was aware from discussions with people in the industry that the spec they had set for the fatigue spectrum was actually incorrect."
Mr Vellacott said he believed Dr Nelson had ignored advice from the industry, and that a range of issues had not been taken into consideration.
He said SMS sensors had been used on P3 Orions and Blackhawk helicopters in Australia and on Nimrods and Sea Kings in Britain, and that the company had ongoing programs in the US with C130s.
"We have a lot of experience flying CVM on military platforms and also we've had the director-general, technical airworthiness, in Australia accredit the technology to use on Australian military aircraft," he said.
"So we've got a lot of credibility and background and we've got a system that can be fielded at the moment with instrumentation that's ready to go."
Mr Vellacott said it was unclear whether the F-18 contract was a done deal with Boeing, and acknowledged it would cost millions of dollars to back out of it.
However, he believed the new Defence Minister should review the whole program and look at structural health monitoring as an alternative.
SMS, listed on the ASX since 2004, has been testing civilian applications for its technology.
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Tubes of air?
"SMS's Comparative Vacuum Monitoring (CVM) technology uses alternating tubes of air and a constant vacuum to monitor structural health and detect cracks in aircraft before they become a problem."
Will those tubes of air make the radar morph into an AESA, turn the cockpit NVG compatible, provide a fighter data-link or make the F111 able to carry slammers, 9X or JDAM?
I didn't think so. Who cares if the airframe is good to go for 100 years, it's all the stuff bolted to it that is crap.
Will those tubes of air make the radar morph into an AESA, turn the cockpit NVG compatible, provide a fighter data-link or make the F111 able to carry slammers, 9X or JDAM?
I didn't think so. Who cares if the airframe is good to go for 100 years, it's all the stuff bolted to it that is crap.
Raptor for RAAF? From the Herald-Sun.
Israel, Japan and now Australia wants it.
Israel, Japan and now Australia wants it.
THE Australian Government wants to include one of the world's most expensive fighter jets, the US-built F-22 Raptor, in its lineup of deadly weapons.
Russian-built Sukhoi and MiG fighters will also be on the table when Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon sits down with air force chiefs to review the nation's air combat capability.
Until now, US law has banned the export of the Raptor to any country, even close allies such as Australia, but Mr Fitzgibbon said he would take up the matter with the US.
"I intend to pursue American politicians for access to the Raptor," he said.
Russian-built Sukhoi and MiG fighters will also be on the table when Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon sits down with air force chiefs to review the nation's air combat capability.
Until now, US law has banned the export of the Raptor to any country, even close allies such as Australia, but Mr Fitzgibbon said he would take up the matter with the US.
"I intend to pursue American politicians for access to the Raptor," he said.
Evertonian
Well, without any basis in fact, I'm rather happy that, on appearances, the Govt. is pursuing the Raptor. Saying they'll look at the Russian kit as well won't do them any favours but, WTF. If the Flanker is the best kit in the region (the pilots manning them are another matter) and we can't get the US platform capable of outflying them, well, why wouldn't you look at them?
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