Australian Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jura said:

do you know how long was that survival contest?

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Jeff Head said:

Well, I the fact is, from multiple sources, including the Australian government, that the F-35B is being considered in the upcoming Australian Defense White Paper, which I believe is due in the second quarter of 2015.

The government has requested that it be looked at and the Defense leaders have stated that they are doing so.

I do not believe a final decision has been made, one way or the other.

The announcement and the consideration are public knowledge...so to say that there is "no prospect," for it, is simply incorrect.

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I know that there are those who discount it, and some are ou and out are against it...however, the reality is that operating a squadron of F-35Bs off of each of the Canberras would make very good sense.

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Simply put—there’s nowhere near enough money in the Defence budget, even if promised increases in funding manage to fight their way through the competing government priorities.

By any reasonable calculation, the DCP is heavily oversubscribed. I can’t recall a time in which there were so many very large projects. The DCP doesn’t have just one elephant in the room, it has a herd of them. The future submarine, future frigate, F-35 joint strike fighter, armoured vehicles for the Army and maritime patrol aircraft projects total, by my estimation, over $100 billion for the acquisition phase. To put that in perspective, the current annual acquisition budget is around $5 billion.

In other words, the ‘mega fauna projects’ would consume two decades worth of the current funding on their own—leaving little or no room for all of the other projects that are necessary to keep the ADF effective. This can’t work

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SamuraiBlue said:

The interesting part is;

So the Germans has not thrown the towel yet.

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Lethe said:

It was a thought bubble from our Prime Minister. The same Prime Minister who recently declared that coal was "good for humanity" and that he was going to "shirtfront" Vladimir Putin. Point being: the PM says a lot of dumb things.

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Australian government under pressure to hold submarine tender after eyeing Japan deal

(Reuters) - Prime Minister Tony Abbott is under pressure from regional officials, labor unions and members of his own party to have an open tender to build Australia's next-generation submarine, which would be a blow to Japan and the United States.

Reuters reported in September that Australia was leaning toward buying as many as 12 off-the-shelf stealth submarines from Japan in a deal that would net it a major portion of Australia's overall A$40 billion ($34.3 billion) submarine program.

Senior U.S. naval officers have been enthusiastic about the possibility of Australia partnering with Japan, which would give the three navies increased interoperability at a time of greater American strategic focus on Asia and as China's navy grows rapidly........ to read more

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Australian official confirms Taranis test location
By: CRAIG HOYLELONDON Source: Flightglobal.com 8 hours ago
A senior Royal Australian Air Force official has confirmed flight testing of the BAE Systems-led Taranis unmanned combat air system demonstrator took place at the nation’s Woomera test range, removing a classification status previously imposed by the UK Ministry of Defence.

Speaking during a 5 November eventto mark forthcoming changes to the management of the range complex in South Australia, Air Cdre Stephen Osborne, Commander Aerospace Operational Support Group, said: “Woomera is the recognised home of military unmanned aerial systems testing in Australia, and it is fast becoming the destination of choice for our partners across the full spectrum of test and evaluation. For example, the British Ministry of Defence project Taranis successfully flight trialled its advanced unmanned combat air vehicle at Woomera in August last year.”


A first series of flights was conducted with the stealthy type at Woomera, with a second round having been performed between late the same year and January 2014. The latter involved flying the aircraft in what BAE describes as a “fully stealthy configuration, making it virtually invisible to radar” (below). Additional trials are now the subject of discussion between the company and the MoD.

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Pacific Sentinel said:

WASHINGTON, Nov 12, 2014

The U.S. State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Australia for C-17 Globemaster III aircraft and associated equipment, parts and logistical support for an estimated cost of $1.609 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale today.

The Government of Australia has requested a sale of up to 4 C-17A Globemaster III aircraft, 19 F117-PW-100 Pratt & Whitney engines, 4 AN/AAQ-24V Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) Systems, 4 Small Laser Transmitter Assemblies, 4 System Processors, 4 AN/AAR-54 Missile Warning Sensors, 1 AN/ALE-47 Countermeasure Dispenser, 1 AN/AAR-47 Missile Warning System, 5 Trimble Force 524 Receivers, 2 GAS-1 Antenna Units, 2 Controlled Reception Pattern Antennas, 1 AN-USC-43V Advanced Narrowband Voice Terminal, 16 Honeywell H-764 ACE Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems, spare and repair parts, supply and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical documentation, United States Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and technical support services, and other related elements of logistics support. The estimated cost for up to four C-17As, support and services is $1.609 billion.

This sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to improve the security of a major contributor to political stability, security, and economic development in Southeast Asia. Australia is an important ally and partner that contributes significantly to peacekeeping and humanitarian operations around the world. It is vital to the U.S. national interest to assist our ally in developing and maintaining a strong and ready self-defense capability. This proposed sale is consistent with those objectives and facilitates burden sharing with a key ally.

Australia's current heavy airlift capability consists of six C-17A aircraft. The proposed sale of additional C-17As will further improve Australia's capability to deploy rapidly in support of global coalition operations and will also greatly enhance its ability to lead regional humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. Australia has the ability to absorb and employ these additional C-17As into its inventory.

The principal contractor will be the Boeing Company in Long Beach, California.

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