A Super Review

Both Elements of the Review Though Seem Puzzling. It Makes Some Sense to Review the Super Hornet Acquisition Process. Certainly the Decision Was Made Quickly, and at the Time It Seemed the Raaf Felt It Unnecessary to Acquire a Bridging Fighter – if Only Because It Didn’t Feel It Would Get the Funding, or of It Did That That Funding Allocation Would Come From Other Projects. But It’s Hard Now to See Under What Circumstances the Super Hornet Could Be Cancelled.

As Andrew Mclaughlin Points Out in His Defence Update Column This Issue (P88), More Than Half the $6 Billion ‘pricetag’ for the Super Hornets is for Basing, Personnel, Weapons and Support Costs That Would Have to Be Spent Regardless of Aircraft Type in Service.

Then There’s the Issue That the Raaf is Well Advanced in Winding Down the F-111 Fleet in Preparation for the Super Hornet’s 2010 Arrival – for Example the Last of the F-111g Trainer Fleet Was Quietly Retired Last September. Plus There is the Half Billion Dollar (and Climbing) Contract Termination Fee.

Finally, the Relatively Affordable Super Hornet Buys Australia Time in Negotiating Its Jsf Purchase. As Andrew Details in His Indepth Jsf Feature From Page 42 of This Issue, Early Build F-35s Will Have a Far Higher Unit Cost Than Later Aircraft. While the Dmo (Defence Materiel Organisation) Has Been Talking to the Jsf Program Office About Buying the Jsf Early in the Production Run but at Late Production Run Prices, Acquiring the Super Hornet Takes Some of the Urgency Out of the Need to Buy Early Build Jsfs, Thus Putting Australia in a Much Better Position to Negotiate Over Price.

So if, as Seems Likely, the Super Hornet Will Survive the Review Process, Why Review It? And by the Same Token Why Include the F-22 in the Second Part of the Air Combat Review, if, as Seems Just as Likely, It Won’t Survive the Process Either? The F-22 is an Awesome Aeroplane, and Its Combination of Stealth, Supercruise and Range Would Make It Ideally Suited for Combat Air Patrol and Defensive Counter Air Missions Defending Australian Airspace. But It Has an Awesome Pricetag to Match, and Its Limited Air-to-ground Capabilities Mean It Would Need to Be Bought as Part of a Two-tiered Mix With a Multirole Fighter, Such as Jsf, or Even an Enlarged Super Hornet Fleet in Place of Buying Jsf.

But Bigger Obstacles Than Just Cost Are the Facts That the F-22, by Law, Cannot Currently Be Sold to Export Partners, and That Unless the Usaf Can Get More Funded, Production Will Wind Up in 2010.

So if the Super Hornet Stays, and the F-22 is Ruled Out, Why Have a Review at All? (Perhaps Other Than to Beat the Opposition Around Over a ‘hasty’ Super Hornet Buy, and to Appease the Vocal F-22 Lobby?)

A New Recruit

Australian Aviation’s Editorial Team Has Expanded With the Addition of a New Reporter, Ellis Taylor. Ellis’s Name is Probably Familiar to You Already as He Has Contributed to the Magazine on a Freelance Basis in the Past, but Joins the Aa Staff After Spending a Year Working for Jetstar in Various Management Areas Under the Airline’s Graduate Program. So His Industry Experience and Enthusiasm for Aviation Will Make Ellis a Great Addition to Our Little Team.

Ellis is Also Based in His Home Town of Perth, Which Along With Freelance Contributors Geoffrey Thomas and Bob Grimstead Gives Aa a Terrific Presence in One of Australia’s Booming Aviation States.

Flightpath Tv to Take Off

in Other Australian Aviation News, We’re Excited to Have Committed to Become the Australian Print Media Partner to Flightpathtv, a New Aviation Television Series.

With a Six Month Series Planned, Flightpathtv Should Quickly Establish Itself as the Premier Aviation Magazine Show on Television and the Web, Something Along the Lines of Top Gear. The Producers Plan That Each Half Hour Show Will Take Viewers Around the World and Behind the Scenes at Major Airshows and Events, Meeting Famous Pilots and Profiling Some of Aviation’s Most Significant Aircraft.

The Series Will Initially Screen in Prime Time on the Aurora Channel on Foxtel/austar in Australia and Sky Tv in New Zealand.