Australian Committment to buy F-35

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 03 Sep 2007, 05:09

Lightning II a "Tough Task": The F-35's lengthy development is more difficult than the traditional "marathon" analogy, said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin general manager for the Joint Strike Fighter. The program is more akin to a triathlon, Burbage recently said at a conference in Adelaide, Australia. "We are just now coming out of the water-you could call the development phase the swim," the Sydney Morning Heraldquoted him as saying. "We're about to start the test and initial production phase, which you could describe as the bike ride ... [and] then comes the higher production, sustained phase which is when the real marathon comes into play." The Herald also reported that Australian Defense Minister Brendan Nelson reaffirmed his nation's commitment to a buy of 100 F-35s, despite a recent decision to make a stopgap purchase of 24 F/A-18 fighters.

From Air Force Magazine Online.

jgibson_sniper · Post by **jgibson_sniper** » 03 Sep 2007, 13:20

They backed out of buying the super hornets? thats a shame.

GZR_Sactargets · Post by **GZR_Sactargets** » 03 Sep 2007, 15:55

jgibson_sniper wrote:They backed out of buying the super hornets? thats a shame.

The article says they are buying 24 FA-18s to fill the gap while waiting for the F-35s. Doesn't say what version of the Hornet. That could be just an oversight by the reporter.