Article Posted on : - Oct 20, 2010

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aircraft

SYDNEY (BNS): The Royal Australian Air Force has plans to procure three more F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighter aircraft by the end of this year.

"Three additional aircraft would add to the fleet of 11 Super Hornets already here in Australia. Super Hornets are on-schedule and under budget,” Minister for Defence Materiel Jason Clare said.

“They will add to the fire power of our Air Force, taking our air capability to the next generation of fighter plane," he added.

Recently, Australian Defence Ministry has conducted a successful first test firing of the air-to-ground Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW C) outside of the United States.

The Super Hornets conducted two firings of the JSOW C at the Woomera Test Range against two separate hardened concrete targets between 30 August and 15 September 2010.

The glide weapon has a range of up to 100 kilometres and provides a precision strike capability against hardened targets, such as bunkers.

With the arrival of Super Hornets aircraft, RAAF will decommission the final F-111 squadron after four decades of service.

The F-111 squadron will be farewelled in the first week of December at RAAF Base Amberley.