Issue 316: Lightning Strikes Twice

But April 23’s announcement by Prime Minister Tony Abbott approving the purchase of a further 58 F-35As finally affirms the jet as the cornerstone of future RAAF airpower. Because that hasn’t always been a certainty, especially since the March 2007 decision to acquire 24 F/A‑18F Super Hornets, ostensibly as a short-term ‘bridging’ fighter to replace the F-111. And even as late as a year ago in 2013 the Gillard government under Defence Minister Stephen Smith was considering acquiring further Super Hornets as a hedge against F-35 delays.

So while the RAAF’s original goal of replacing all its classic F/A-18s and F-111s with a ‘single-type’ fleet of 100 F-35As may never now come to pass, the acquisition of a total of 72 F-35As, augmented by the existing 24 F/A‑18Fs and the 12 forthcoming Growlers will serve Australia well over the next decades, providing a balanced and flexible airpower force.

Risks still remain with the F-35 program – much software development is yet to be completed, and the aircraft’s sophisticated Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) is proving troublesome. So the jet’s introduction into Australian service may not be smooth sailing. But the clock is ticking for the RAAF’s classic Hornet fleet – their need to be retired by the early 2020s drives this decision to begin acquiring the F-35 in substantial numbers now.

It is a balance of risks assessment – the risk of keeping ageing aeroplanes flying versus the risk of introducing an immature new system into service.

The RAAF is comfortable with that level of risk, pointing out that Australian IOC with the F-35 is not planned until 2020, about four years after the US Air Force, so even if USAF IOC is delayed, that still provides Australia with some buffer.

Let’s wait and see about that. In recent years the F-35 has tracked well against its ‘rebaselined’ program schedule set in 2010, and the US Air Force and Marines in particular are fully committed to making the jet work.

Unlike for the US Navy with the Super Hornet, there is no ‘plan b’ fighter option for them.

But the RAAF is even better placed. With 24 Super Hornets in service and 12 Growlers about to enter production, even if the F-35 runs into fresh delays, the RAAF, while it may find itself spread a little thinly, will still have enough advanced fighters in its ‘carports’ to manage that transition.

The RAAF is comfortable with that level of risk. . . Let’s wait and see about that.

Remembering a mate

The Australian Aviation community, from the small team in our Canberra office to our contributing writers and photographers, is remembering a colleague, mentor and mate in Julian Green, who died on May 8 aged 49.

Julian, who joined Australian Aviation as editor in September 2012, was diagnosed with terminal cancer in early December 2013, which forced him to formally resign from AA soon after.

Professionally, Julian was tremendously capable. His career in aviation took him from a contributing writer and photographer for AA in the 1990s to a stint on the Qantas corporate communications team and from there to Sydney Airport, where he would run the original domestic low-cost terminal, before moving to Newcastle Airport, where he was CEO, and finally to CEO of Jersey Airport in the Channel Islands. But his return to Australian Aviation not only took his career full circle, but allowed him to return to what he was most passionate about – aviation writing and photography.

“Passion” is an over-used word, but Julian truly had a passion, and enthusiasm, for aviation. That passion, combined with his leadership skills and strategic vision saw him enjoy an impressive aviation career. But as much as the CV was impressive, more so was the impressions he would make upon those he worked with. Said one former colleague: “He was always positive, with drive and enthusiasm and always a smile. ” As a tribute to Julian, this issue we have used the ‘Locked On’ photo spread pages to showcase his not inconsiderable talents as a photographer. Unfortunately the many 6×4 prints of Julian’s we have on file don’t blow up very well to the double-page spread size. So, with the exception of the Wunala Dreaming Kai Tak image Julian once told me was his favourite photograph he had taken, I had to forego using some of his beautiful portraits from the 1980s and 1990s of aircraft like Canadian Pacific DC-10s, Aircalin Caravelles, Compass Mk I A300s and Mk II MD-80s and the like to feature a couple of his more recent images. But the shots chosen do, I think, highlight his eye for detail and sensitivity as a photographer.

He has left a great contribution not just to Australian Aviation, but the broader aviation community as well. Thanks J.

Julian is survived by his wife Kristina, his father Richard and children Harrison, Thomas and Lauren. Our thoughts are with them.