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On March 5th, the Australian Department of Defense announced that it would sell 46 retired F/A-18 Classic Hornet fighter jets to a private military contractor – Air USA.
The Classic Hornet aircraft will be used to provide training services to the United States Air Force and will be prepared over the next three to four years.
Minister for Defence Industry, the Hon Melissa Price MP, said the work will provide employment certainty for workers in the NSW Hunter region.
“The work to prepare these aircraft and components for sale will provide 24 direct industry jobs while Air Force transitions from the Classic Hornet to the F‑35 Joint Strike Fighter,” Minister Price said.
“This highlights the strong performance of the region’s defence industry in servicing and maintaining the Classic Hornets over the past 30 years.”
“Apart from the jobs directly supported by the work at RAAF Base Williamtown, more defence industry jobs are expected to be created across Australia through repair and overhaul work on aircraft servicing components.”
The RAAF Classic Hornet fleet is being progressively retired as the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter is introduced into service. The Morrison Government has now taken delivery of 20 Joint Strike Fighters, out of a total order of 72.
Beginning in 1981, Australia ordered a total of 57 single-seat F/A-18As and 18 two-seater F/A-18Bs from American aviation company McDonnell Douglas, which later merged with Boeing. Four of these jets were subsequently lost in crashes over the years.
Of the remaining 71 Hornets, Australia agreed to sell 25 to Canada in 2017. Canadian authorities decided to buy these jets to supplement the Royal Canadian Air Force’s own CF-18 Hornet fleet as an interim solution while the country continued to look to acquire an all-new fleet of fighter jets, a saga that you can read about in more detail in these past War Zone pieces. The U.S. government, which still exercises export controls over the jets, approved that deal the following year.
The Australian Department of Defense does say that Air USA plans to use the aircraft it does receive for air combat training in the United States, which could include sorties as part of the huge adversary air support deal the U.S. Air Force concluded in 2019.
The entire multi-part contract was worth an estimated $6.4 billion, though the exact amounts that each of the seven firms who got hired actually received is unclear.
Air USA isn’t the only one to have made plans to acquire additional combat jets in preparation to meet the requirements of this contract. Airborne Tactical Advantage Company (ATAC) and Draken both purchased second-hand fleets of French-made Mirage F1s, while the latter company bought an additional number of ex-South African Cheetahs, a Mirage III derivative.
TacAir bought a group of former Royal Jordanian Air Force F-5E Tiger II jets, which it then upgraded into its F-5AT Advanced Tiger configuration.
As of January, Top Aces was still in the process of taking delivery of 29 F-16A Viper fighters from an unknown source, possibly Jordan.
All of these companies are part of a contract to be an aggressor in US Air Force training exercises.
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Any fighter without the name starting with SU, is an expensive piece of crap and quantity wins war Russia produces value for money , effective is Russia’s speciality. Russia has supplied Indonesia with SU 35 ,the Aussie will understand his USA hollywood plane is as reliable as the black hawk flying garbage bin.
Yep,brain dead kweer,then the obese feminist both in lockeeds scam,under abbott + turnbull to turn australians once rigid airforce to the subsonic fleet of endless garbach that refuted to take on the storn in its maiden test flight to brisbane opting to return to base,this is what I mean, never mind the russian craft even the chinese now have supreme class fighter jets which in term with soviet design + advanced specifics will fly rings around that (soviet yak 31) f35 knockoff!
Still though I suppose it’s good for hitting stationary targets,infastructures,100 dolla tents and spear chuckers,I guess that’s the main strike capabilities of the futures,sly,hell there is no toilet paper nor sugar on the shelfs,now we suppose to believe these useless fools can save oz if?
https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/2fc3cb8b4fc90fc22463d5bae423e2ca9d9fe7b4860f3c6a821eb891479e1481.jpg
At least the sun is shiny.
Bravo Australia ! You have defeated your own Air Force singlehandedly without external help! Now you will depend only on that crap called F(lop)-35 !
As exercises like Red Flag have shown, you’re either flying an F-22, an F-35, or you’re still flying in the past century.
Any real combat or operational success?
Of course not, the turkey can’t shoot, fly properly, or carry a load big enough, or far enough to bother anything less than a platoon of riflemen!
Mach1.6, yeah, real future aircraft, my arse.
Hell “turkey” can’t even turn and run away from danger fast enough let alone anything else !
A real turkey would be more dangerous, ask the israelis.
Bird strikes have grounded all their jets, unless a civilian airliner can fly in front of them.
WOW that last line was epic! Lmao
Actually 1.6 only on paper because it was strongly advised to use sub sonic speed not to overheat and damage stealth protective covering with excessive heat. Also rain, thunder and other climatic changes and effects have divers adverse effects on aircraft and its stealth so it is advised to avoid them.
You have lost against India’s SU-30MKI on Red Flag!
Your F-22 (that is 22 years old !!! ) have lost recently against old French Mirage ! The same thing happened against Eurofighter
Your “flying brick” F(lop)-35 is joke !
That, in a nutshell, is the assessment of combat pilots from over 12 countries who’ve participated in the exercises in recent years. But yeah, let’s listen to the opinions from some internet trolls instead. lol….
12 countries out of 190?
I’d prefer to listen to the other 178 nations who wouldn’t touch that corporate pension fund masquerading as an aircraft.
There are no bigger trolls on the planet than guys from Lockheed Martin. Verify with any Indian or French pilot those info’s I am sure they must know them!!!
F-22 is very good, 22 YEAR VERY OLD, insanely expensive to buy or to fly fighter jet ! Flop-35 is the most expensive CRAP on the planet that has ever existed !
Thats idiot thinking.
Just because something us new does not mean better, there are other things to think about like operation costs, maintenance, facilities, training ect ect.
If the old planes are cheaper to run and can do the same job, why not. Matter of fact, why even risk a plane when a drone will suffice in some cases.
What im trying to say is that sortie costs of modern planes are way too high, when legacy systems will suffice to do the jobs they are doing.
It makes no sense, cutting costs everywhere else just to fly these expensive toys that will take generations to pay off.
Its like I take my ferrari to the grocery store when i my ford parked next to it.
Its a.money pit so lockheed martin makes more dough.
They’ve got 24 Super Hornets as well, so not entirely F-35s. Still it would have been better to buy 75 SH and only 24 F-35.
And why would Australia need any of F-35s? What for are they exactly?
Tagging along with America to the next regime-change mission of course. They need strike-fighters for that.
I’m not saying that’s what they should do, just what they should buy given their foreign policy.
So billions for “regime-change mission”?! Patrolling Afghanistan or some Asian country….or similar. You need 2 squadrons of them to merit status of favorite USA stooge? Of course…. that will help lot to improve security of Australia.
One can hardly call F-35e true strike-fighters, but than if not that what else they could be called?
Corporations with fleets.of fighter aircraft?
Were supposed to be ok with this?
I see factions digging in for a civil war.
Cia nazi/nwo vs anzac/commonwealth.
Corporations vs the people. Thats why there is much bernie hate.
Those are great Air-crafts, don’t dump them for Junk 35.
Did you know that apart from all the other problems with the F35 they also got a problem with the ”magic” – ”invisible” paint ? Yeah, every time they go on a mission, when they return they need to be painted again which takes 80 hours !!! hahahahah
Japs Lost one….God knows where is it?? May be it’s so high tech Aliens took it to learn its amazing tech..?
Its swimming with the deep water fish now! ? [Imgur](https://i.imgur.com/xmDn534.jpg)
? ? ? ?
They’ve reached the end of their airframe lives, they couldn’t keep them if they wanted to.
How is that possible(end of service life)?? Mig-31’s will serve till 2030 or maybe more(though it’s in a different category).
Fighter jets tend to have a service between 6000-10000 hours. The stresses of pulling high-G’s weakens the airframe over time and eventually they need to be replaced. The older they get, the more maintenance they require as well, which makes them not worth holding onto (except for infrequent usage).
MiG-31’s can probably last a bit longer since they didn’t fly all that much during the troubled 90’s and early 2000’s. Nor do they pull many G’s all that often, they just fly fast in a straight line.
hahahahaha junk 35 thats too funny
? ?
Is the US Contractor buying the aircraft known as ISIS or AlQaeda?
We have a right to know. :)
CIA…
That means CIA will have its own air force now…
That aint for agressor training. The air force has its own jets for that and your certainly dont need that many jets anyways. Its a black ops air force thats what it is, without rules of engagement only taking CIA orders.
Yup, this is bad.
Yeah right, aggressors in exercises! What utter bollocks. These will become unmarked planes for various nefarious agencies around the world. Once they leave a country’s airforce and a nation’s control, they will not be tracked ever again by lawful entities of any country, except the US Navy/AF, who will let them pass without notice. Rogue players plenty. Air-USA = Unmarked Scoundrels and Assassins.
I wonder who owns/runs that company air usa, ive seen it.mentionned before, possibly doing some arms trafficing.
This is raising many red flags for me.
an upgraded fleet of F-18s is the best value for money solution. very big mistake there. on the other hand Australia has no enemys near its border so the airforce is just for parades and air shows.
Nearly every time I’d get a job in Forster NSW, F18s would always be overhead dogfighting and occasionally they would fly low along the coast. Forster is about 150kms from the Airbase. Always cool to see though I wish they were Flankers. Anyway, I’m building a deck in Forster starting Monday and hoping to see a F35. It’s a damn shame my country is a vassal state for the Amercian war machine and nearly all Australians wouldn’t know their arse from their head when it comes to geopolitics.
Let alone Australasian.
Unfortunately, Australian foreign policy is based on supporting successive (offensive) allied operations (in violation of a defensive posture and international law).
More unfortunate is their lack of understanding that the actions (of aggression) of this allied bloc/coalition are resulting in globally expanding conflicts some of which are progressing to more advanced stages. In addition to military aggression against successive nations, this coalition is accelerating preparations for potential (probable according to the assessments of various US analysts) kinetic stages of conflict against the PRC, the DPRK, Iran and even the Russian Federation.
Australia is integrated into allied contingency/operations plans for potential war against the PRC. This situation is becoming increasingly probable recognising US-Taiwan moves towards partition from the PRC are moves towards war (refer PRC Anti-Secession Act).
It is also worth noting US actions against the DPRK are largely a replicating the format applied against Iraq preceding offensive operations (only the DPRK is unlikely to significantly degrade its retaliatory capabilities as Iraq did preceding the war against it). The eventual outcome is not likely to be different (war). (Note: A war against the DPRK would involve the intervention of the PRC. This is recognised by many analysts).
US-NATO-allied coup operations to install an aligned regime in Ukraine to facilitate Western bloc economic and military integration/NATO expansion (Ukraine subsequent to the coup being integrated into NATO standards) has resulted in an ongoing conflict against Russian speaking populations that the installed regime remains hostile towards. Stated objectives by the Ukrainian regime of eventually (forcefully) integrating these Russian speaking regions are reinforced by the nature of US-NATO-allied military exercises.
Also worth noting Israeli sources have indicated their preparations to intensify their war against Iran, Hezbollah and Syria (recent Israeli procurements relating to developing capabilities to conduct direct offensive operations against Iran with sources revealing preparations for war against Hezbollah) .
Syria has stated it will liberate all of its territory. This means the current situation is merely a relative calm (as foreign powers will not leave absent of force being employed, diplomacy being ineffective in achieving this requirement).
There is recognition by many analysts that the current low intensity conflict between India (largely replicating the policies of Israel against populations similarly under occupation) and Pakistan is gradually moving towards the situation of eventual full-scale conflict, etc……
There are many concurrent conflicts that are on the verge of triggering various regional conflagrations. If these conflicts develop, the Australians will not be immune to the consequences of their (illegal and aggressive) actions. The transfer of Australian military aviation is and will remain relatively insignificant in comparison to what is more broadly developing.
The Australians have embraced the concept of offensive foreign operations/’force projection’ in collaboration with key allies. They have not enhanced their security in the process. Quite the opposite as they will likely understand if/when the above conflicts develop (as is becoming increasingly probable).
References:
1. “If the war does not significantly change the world’s political map, the U.S. will not achieve its aim” [D. Rumsfeld on the GWOT]
2. “Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatseniuk and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg will discuss restoration of the state’s Euro-Atlantic course and [integration of] Ukraine [with] NATO”… “An agenda of the meeting includes [the] interoperability to NATO standards, reformation of defense and security sectors, defense industry and the Armed Forces of Ukraine according to NATO standards, development of interoperability of the Ukrainian army and NATO forces,” (NATO To Discuss Aid To Ukraine For “Hybrid” War With Russia, December 13, 2014) [Post-coup Ukraine being integrated into NATO]
3. “NATO should’ve been buried at the end of the cold war: instead, the NATO-crats went on the offensive – breaching the understanding reached by Western leaders with then Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev – and expanded into most of eastern Europe….. The seeds of World War III are being planted…” (Our Cold War With Russia Could Turn Hot, by Justin Raimondo, September 03, 2014)
4. “According to a report in China Military Online, escalations between the two superpowers will lead to the inevitable. “The problem is not whether the war will break out, but when,” the report said.” (New Arms Race: China, US Prepare for Missile Warfare, Sputnik, 24/08/2016),
5. “Paul Dibb, the former head of two Australian spy organizations and a deputy defence minister, has just published [‘Why Russia is a threat to the international order’, Australian Strategic Policy Institute] a call for Australian troops to be ready to fight in Europe against [Russia]. [There was a] leak last month of Australian cabinet plans for an Australian Army force to fight in eastern Ukraine, alongside Dutch and other NATO units…” (Australian Armchair General Weaponizes Himself in War Against Russia, John Helmer, 04/07/2016)
6.”if data on Russia-NATO power balance at the Western direction is analyzed, as well as military activity build-up rate at our borders, scale of combat equipment deployment, if the grade of Russia’s demonization is estimated, one can say that preparation to a real war is taking place. [Such] acts are usually undertaken at the forefront of a war [and it is evident] the US is preparing for a [potential] nuclear conflict……” [Colonel General Leonid Ivashov, President of the International Centre of Geopolitical Analysis]
7. “the country responsible for the destruction of the global security is the USA….. Russia does not want war and does not intend to start a war. But today, Russia can see that the explosion of a global war is almost unavoidable and is prepared and will continue preparing. Russia does not want a war but is not afraid of a war. Those who get Russia involved in this process will learn the real meaning of pain”. [Vladimir Putin] (At the Threshold of a Third World War, Southfront, 12/09/2016).
These vermin masonic wankers with turnbull have been sacked for obvious reasons see,anzacs were infact allied to CCCP + CHINA IN WW2,just saw a brilliant russian movie about ww2 accurate and different to the fabled hollywood hero versions,these were tank battles and actuall footage of real tanks ploghinf through some serious deep mud, about time australia wakes up to remind who were the true freedom fighters,fk cias!
Al Qaeda Air Support Services. (CIA-AF)
Indeed, as Australian media have embraced the role of acting as the propaganda arm of groups listed as terrorist organisations (their so-called ‘moderates’ fighting in coordination with these groups), there are also reports that indicate the Australian military is involved in allied operations against Syrian government forces through assisting offensive operations by groups listed as terrorist organisations:
– “In respect of the attack on Deir ez-Zor, it appears the Americans did advise the Russians of an impending attack but, in this case, gave false information as to exactly where the attack was to occur. After the attacks started and Syrian soldiers were being bombed and strafed, the Russians tried urgently to contact the Americans on the deconfliction line. They were unable to do so because for the whole of the attack period the American end of the line was left unattended. This is unlikely to have been a coincidence…. [U.S. Central Command headquarters in Qatar]had precise intelligence as to the exact location of the Syrian troops and their ISIS opposition. Which is where the RAAF comes in. At the time of the attack on 18 September, the RAAF was operating its E-7A Wedgetail aircraft above the battle…… Given that the RAAF had the intelligence data as to the exact location of the respective forces on the ground – which as noted were long term fixed positions for the Syrian defences – and that they had sophisticated observation, analysis and transmission capabilities, why is it that the attack continued on the Syrian Army for over an hour?…..
…….within seven minutes of the U.S.-led attack commencing, ISIS ground forces commenced a well-organised attack on the Syrian defensive positions that were severely compromised by the air attacks…. ISIS was and is an instrument of U.S. geopolitical policy in the same way the Mujahideen were used in Afghanistan in the 1970s and 1980s, the MEK in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and al Qaeda in its various manifestations in the Russian Caucasus, the “stans” around the Caspian Sea and in China’s Xinjiang province. Far from being a “mistake”, the Deir ez-Zor attack was simply another manifestation of the U.S. policy of perpetual war for perpetual profit. The tragedy for Australians is that they are forever the willing pawns.” (Syrian airstrike: More to the September 2016 ‘mistake’ than originally thought, By James O’Neill [Barrister at Law], 8 May 2017)
– “It is not lost on any of the foreign governments arming the Syrian opposition that they are in fact boosting radical Islamist organizations, some of which are close to al Qaeda. But it is not openly admitted. US officials prefer to depict the recipients of those weapons as “moderate” rebels. Israel sources admit that their military assistance reaches the hands of Al Nusra……” (Assad loses battles as US, Israel, Turkey, Jordan, Qatar and UAE arm Al Qaeda’s Syrian branches, Debka [Israel], May 4, 2015), etc…..
It seems Western bloc proxy forces (including groups listed as terrorist organisations) do have an air force working for them.