The Billion Dollar Deal

A generation ago the process of selecting equipment for an air force was a relatively simple exercise. You had so much in budget and you had four basic types of aircraft – fighter, bomber, transport and trainer.

Selection ot a trainer and transport was simply a matter of what was available and used by Mother England or Uncle Sam. The bomber requirement usually fell into that of either heavy or medium, B17 or B25/26, with a Hudson tor maritime patrol. A fighter did just that and consequently you looked at an aircraft with good operational range, strength and combat performance. The old Kittyhawk was more suited to New Guinea than was a Spitfire while the long legged P51 was the answer to the RAAF’s dream.

Today that has all changed.

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