Article Posted on : - Apr 12, 2011

The RAAF's Super Hornet fighters. A file photo

CANBERRA (BNS): As the much-touted Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme gets delayed, Australia may consider buying more F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters for its air force.

Australian defence officials are set to visit the US this week for an update from Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the JSF F-35 Lightening II, about the delivery schedule of the jets, The Australian reported Monday.

The country plans to buy up to 100 F-35 fighters and has placed an initial order for 14. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was expected to induct the first batch of F-35 advanced stealth fighters by 2018.

However, the US Air Force too is buying the same variant of the Joint Strike Fighter as the RAAF and has pushed back the dates by which it expects to have its first squadrons operational from mid-2016 to 2017 -- and possibly now to mid-2018, the news report said.

Despite assurances from Lockheed that the first 14 fighters will be delivered to it on time, Australian defence officials believe that deployment of the new generation fighters in the RAAF would not happen before 2020 or even later.

As the RAAF's aging classic 'Hornets' would be nearing the end of their life span by that time, to bridge the gap in its air defence, Australia is weighing the option to buy 18 more Super Hornets at a total cost of $1.6 billion.

The Australian Government had signed a $6 billion deal with the US in 2007 to acquire 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets. The fighters are being delivered in batches.

Buying additional Super Hornets would make economic sense, because the $6bn purchase price for the first 24 Super Hornets included the infrastructure to support them and that can be used for the additional aircraft, the news report said.