During a visit to Washington Former PM John Howard signed billions of dollars in contracts with Lockheed Martin to purchase Strike Fighters.This was apparently against the wishes of the boffins in Australia's Defences Forces at the time whom were assessing the Fighters against the competing aircraft from France and Russia.

I understand that the defence people ran simulations in which the LM Strike Fighters were sent on a mission against their Russian counterparts and none returned, and the aircraft carrier? that they had to refuel upon, was also destroyed.

Among reasons were, that the Russian aircraft could travel twice the distance on the same amount of fuel. They also had other strategic advantages such as stealth capability.

Australia's air superiority in our region has been taken for granted by Australians during the era of the French F-111 , and the LM Strike Fighters we have coming are now the subject of complaint in the U.S Congress about their rising cost without results.

Should this purchase prove a mistake?, does that mean that Australia's regional air superiority is no longer a given, as a result of this deal?. And, what can the Australian Govt do now, if the SF continues to remain in limbo and continues to escalate in cost?.

Who built the F111 mate?

Considering that the purchase of fighter aircraft is a 30-40 year decision, there is a requirement that there is long term spares and upgrade support.

Given the state of Russia 10 years ago this was far from guaranteed.

The military treaty with the US gives Australia access to the latest avionics which is almost more important than the aircraft. This is certainly not available from Russia, and is available to a lesser extent from France.

Get Real SM.

One of my first jobs was writing software for FA18s. Why? Because the RAAF couldn't get the US to make any of the mods they wanted. We're just too small to be bothered with. It doesn't matter who we buy our stuff from when you're only buying 10 of them.

Anyway, I think you all should be more worried about the submarines we're supposed to be building in Adelaide at 3 times the cost of outsourcing with no crew for them anyway.

How many F 111's did the French build?
Have you been on the sauce again? Are you looking at Mirage's?

I'm still waiting to find out which French Co built the F111.

Perhaps we should have bought a heap of the virtually new, unused F111s the US have out in the desert. I know it might be a bit like having a vintage air force, but that may not be too bad with F111s.

Houellebecq, you can't beat politics, when it comes to defence, but it sounds like you all ready know that. It was another labor government that saddled us with a fleet of subs designed by a country that doesn't even have a navy.

Now our blokes have at last made them fit for use, except for the machinery of course, but poiltics has them based in Perth. There is no way you could even man the patrol boat fleet, if it was based in Perth.

Can you imagine what a young sailor's wife, with young kids says, when he wants to move her to Perth. When he's likely to be sent off for months, she won't move more than 50Km from mum. [Well he would be sent off, if the subs ever worked].

Lovely place for a visit, Perth, but who would want to live there. Even with the pay rate they offer submariners, it's too expensive, & too damn far away. Add to that the fact that not everyone wants to spend their life under water, & you get a very small pool of crew to chose from. This way, at least, we only wear out the investment, one sub at a time.

Ruddy may have found yet another way to throw money away, but then, South Australian unions are screaming for another bone, so why not one shaped liks 6 subs?

Labor politics. We even send ships to New Castle for refit, when the dockyard doesn't have a single welder qualified to stick the things back together, & the ships crew cost the earth, having to stay in pubs for months.

Buy some lousy aircraft, why not? After all, it's hard to change the habits of a lifetime.