Australia May Cancel Boeing Contract, Report Says

Team Infidel

Team Infidel

Forum Spin Doctor
Seattle Times
December 31, 2007
Australia will review its air-combat spending program, which includes a $5.8 billion deal for 24 F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter bombers from Boeing, the Sydney Morning Herald reported today.
The review is being will start "as soon as practicably possible," a spokesperson for Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon said in an e-mail.
Fitzgibbon took office after Kevin Rudd's Labor Party defeated John Howard's Liberal-National coalition government last month.
The government may cancel the Boeing deal or try to renegotiate it, the Herald said.
Former Defense Minister Brendan Nelson agreed to buy the planes in March. He drew criticism for not involving Australia's defense chiefs.
 
Cost

If Boeing could have bought back some of the older Hornets to off set the price of the newer models it would have help the process. Isn't first delivery dates for the F-35 set for 2010/2012 so it's still a time a away and there could be delays since it is a new type. (1) Keep it simple as a mid size fighter and mid size attacker was there something the older Hornets weren't capable of doing? (2) Another simple question was the maintenance and operational cost getting out of hand for the older F-111, yes or no? The New E/F Hornets replacing the F-111's crap doesn't cut it for me there two different platforms.
 
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Found this

I found this and thought I'll add it to the thread. Why were the fighters ordered in the first place is the question I would asked Australia's higher ups? Replacing a true cold war striker with a mid size fighter/attack aircraft isn't possible from the get go. It seems politics were involved here and not military minds this should have been addressed sometime ago and not at this stage, right? The F-111 is one of my favorite cold war striker it's a huge low level striker in the truest sense and nothing is even made in it's class anymore except the Su-34. I assume the real reason for the cut is high maintenance & operational costs and not that the aircraft isn't performing anymore. Did Australia's AF just need more aircraft or fighters to hold them over until the F-35 came online? If that was the case then what's the problem then, if you needed fighters then you needed them period, right? If that wasn't the case well somebody needs to step to the plate because killing an order this late isn't good. In most cases there are three sides to a story what's the third side here?


Scrapping Hornets could harm US ties


Mark Dodd | January 01, 2008

CANCELLATION of the controversial $6.6 billion contract to buy 24 F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter-bombers could hurt Australia's diplomatic and commercial relationship with the US, a national security think tank has warned.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute's Andrew Davies said the Super Hornet purchase could also end up being the "right plane (for the RAAF) for the wrong reasons".
His comments came as Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon yesterday reaffirmed his Government's pre-election pledge to review the purchase announced without warning in March by then defence minister Brendan Nelson.
At the time, Dr Nelson said the deal was made after advice from the Defence Department and RAAF that the US-built Super Hornet offered the best solution to a looming air combat capability gap.
In a statement released yesterday, Mr Fitzgibbon stopped short of saying the purchase would be cancelled, a decision experts say would cost taxpayers several hundred million dollars.
The acquisition of the Boeing-built Super Hornet is designed to fill a gap stemming from the retirement in 2010 of

Full story
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22992942-2702,00.html
 
May be with all their other ground commitments they are looking carefully at the need for these sort of aircraft, and just what they would need them for. With quite large troop commitments in different parts of the world they feel one or the other will have to go.
 
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