February14, 2007:
Australia, which was planning on replacing its existing force of
F-111 bombers with F-35s, has done the math and realized it will have to buy an
interim aircraft. The worn out, 1960s era F-111s, will have to be retired by
2010. The F-35s will not arrive until 2018. Meanwhile, Indonesia is buying
Russian Su-30 fighters. In response, Australia wants to buy 24 American F-18F
fighters, for about $100 million each (including spare parts, training and
such). Australia already operates 72 of the older, and smaller, F-18B. While
the two versions of the F-18 have a lot in common (about 25 percent commonality
in parts), the F-18F is basically a new, and larger, design that is based on
the original F-18. The F-18F deliveries could begin by 2010, and provide
Australia with a high performance fighter-bomber that could cope with the
Su-30. .