May 4, 2009 -- Australia’s new White Paper confirms the procurement of around 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, with a final decision in the third quarter, in addition to a host of new weapons for all three services. (Lockheed Martin photo)The 2009 Defence White Paper, released today, delivers an Air Force for the 21st century that will be better equipped, fully networked and better prepared to meet Australia’s air power requirements.
The Government today confirmed that it will acquire around 100 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for the Royal Australian Air Force. “After an extensive Air Combat Capability Review and further detailed analysis associated with the White Paper, I am confident the Joint Strike Fighter is the right aircraft to meet Australia’s future air combat needs,” the Minister for Defence, the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP said.
Mr Fitzgibbon said that the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter represented value for money for the Australian taxpayer and the detailed review of the program gave him confidence that the aircraft presented the best available option to guarantee the Royal Australian Air Force maintains air superiority in the Asia-Pacific region well into the future.
“The Air Combat Capability Review found that a potent and flexible air combat capability is a cornerstone of Australia’s defence posture. The review concluded that control of the air over our territory and maritime approaches is critical to all other operations in the defence of Australia.” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
The Review determined that the transition of Australia’s air combat capability to fifth generation air combat aircraft technology, will enable Air Force to maintain a regional air combat superiority and a significantly enhanced ability to contribute in a broader Asian and global context if required.
The Review concluded that a fleet of around 100 fifth generation multi-role combat aircraft would provide Australia with a potent and flexible air combat capability to 2030 and that the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is the preferred platform. Other combat aircraft considered by the Review were judged to be unsuited to Australia’s multi-role air combat capability requirements.
The findings of the review were subsequently supported through extensive analysis in support of the White Paper. Importantly the Force Structure Review considered the mix of military capabilities needed to ensure the security of our nation and to protect our strategic interests. This included the vital enabling capabilities provided by the KC-30A Multi-Role Tanker Transport and Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning & Control aircraft.
Separate projects will also be undertaken to deliver state of the art air-to-air, air-to-surface and maritime strike weapons to complete the capability that will be delivered for use by Australia’s Joint Strike Fighter multi-role aircraft.
The first stage of the acquisition will be to acquire not fewer than 72 aircraft, to provide three operational squadrons and a training unit. Second Pass approval for the first stage of acquisition is scheduled for the third quarter of 2009 at which time the detailed delivery schedule will be considered.
Acquisition of the fourth operational squadron of Joint Strike Fighters will be made at a later date in conjunction with a decision on the timing of the withdrawal of the 24 F/A-18F Block II Super Hornet bridging air combat fleet.
“Australia’s future air combat capability will therefore be based on four operational air combat squadrons consisting initially of three squadrons of Joint Strike Fighters and one operational squadron of Super Hornet aircraft, which will eventually be replaced by a fourth squadron of Joint Strike Fighters,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“The Australian public can be reassured that the exhaustive review conducted into our future air combat needs has proven the Joint Strike Fighter has the flexibility and growth potential to meet our needs. Additionally, our knowledge of the cost, capability and schedule risks surrounding the Joint Strike Fighter project has also matured to the point where we now have greater confidence committing to what is undoubtedly one of the largest and most important military acquisition in our nation’s history,” Mr Fitzgibbon concluded.
(Defpro)
April 4, 2009, Vladivostok -- Russia's Admiral Panteleyev destroyer is escorting its first convoy of merchant vessels through the Gulf of Aden, the Russian Pacific Fleet said Monday.
A flotilla of Pacific Fleet ships, comprised of the Admiral Panteleyev, salvage tug SB-37, the Izhora and Irkut tankers, a naval infantry unit and two combat helicopters, arrived from Vladivostok to the Gulf of Aden on April 27 to take part in international anti-piracy efforts off the Horn of Africa.
The convoy is expected to pass through the dangerous waters by Tuesday evening, when a new one will be formed for the return journey.
Russia's defense minister said last Wednesday Russian warships would continue to patrol pirate-infested waters off the Somali coast to ensure the safety of commercial shipping in the area.
The Admiral Panteleyev is an Udaloy-class missile destroyer armed with anti-ship missiles, 30-mm and 100-mm guns, and Ka-27 Helix helicopters.
The warship replaced another Russian destroyer, the Admiral Vinogradov, which joined the anti-piracy operation off the coast of Somalia at the beginning of January.
During its mission, which ended in mid-March, the Admiral Vinogradov destroyer escorted 12 convoys comprising a total of 54 ships from 17 countries, and thwarted several pirate attacks on various vessels.
Around 20 warships from the navies of at least a dozen countries are involved in anti-piracy operations off Somalia. According to the United Nations, Somali pirates carried out at least 120 attacks on ships in 2008, resulting in combined ransom payouts of around $150 million.
(RIA Novosti)
Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers
May 4, 2009 -- Minister for Defence the Hon. Joel Fitzgibbon MP, today welcomed an announcement by the AWD Alliance of the signing of a further two contracts for provision of elements of the combat system for Australia’s three Hobart Class Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) during his visit to Techport South Australia.
“These latest contract signings mean that the AWD Alliance now has in place contracts for the majority of the AWD combat system, and since mid-2008 the Alliance has signed contracts for the provision of combat system capability worth more than $350 million,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
The Alliance has signed a contract worth $40 million with Raytheon Missile Systems, USA for the provision of the Very Short Range Defence-Air capability and with Adelaide-based Babcock Strachan and Henshaw Australia for the ships’ Torpedo Launch Tubes worth $10 million.
“The Torpedo Launch Tubes will be manufactured under licence from the US with around 60 per cent of the contract value undertaken in South Australia, providing a boost to the local economy,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
“Final assembly and testing will be carried out at Babcock’s new Techport facility in Adelaide.
“This follows the award late last year of a $40 million contract to BAE Systems Australia for the provision of a satellite communications capability for the AWDs, of which about 45 per cent will be spent in South Australia,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.
(Australia Defence)
F-35 JSF
April 2, 2009,Sydney -- Australia will spend more than $70 billion boosting its defenses over the next 20 years in response to a regional military build-up and global shifts in power, the government said May 2.
A long-term strategic blueprint for the future of Australia's armed forces warned that war could be possible in the Asia-Pacific region in the next two decades, as emerging powers such as China flexed their military might.
The United States would continue its military dominance and be an "indispensable" ally for Australia, the defense white paper said.
But as emerging or resurgent powers such as China, India and Russia tested U.S. primacy, the paper said there was "a small but still concerning possibility of growing confrontation between some of these powers."
"China will be the strongest Asian military power, by a considerable margin," the paper said. "A major power of China's stature can be expected to develop a globally significant military capability befitting its size.
"But the pace, scope and structure of China's military modernization have the potential to give its neighbors cause for concern if not carefully explained, and if China does not reach out to others to build confidence regarding its military plans," it said.
If it did not take these steps, the paper said, there would be "a question in the minds of regional states about the long-term strategic purpose of its force development plans, particularly as the modernization appears potentially to be beyond the scope of what would be required for a conflict over Taiwan.
"China will have even more interest in convincing regional countries that its rise will not diminish their sovereignty," the paper said.
Greater engagement with Beijing was essential for encouraging transparency about Chinese military capabilities and intentions, and securing greater cooperation in areas of shared interest, the paper said.
China's Premier Wen Jiabao in March vowed to modernize his nation's military across the board, asking legislators for a 15.3 percent increase in defence spending for 2009 to 472.9 billion yuan ($69 billion) - double 2006 funding levels.
The global financial crisis was likely to accelerate a shift of power to the Asia-Pacific, and regional security would pivot on how strategic dynamics were managed between the U.S., China and Japan, the blueprint said.
A major conflict on the Korean peninsula remained a possibility, and the paper said the collapse of North Korea could not be ruled out, while Myanmar remained a "serious challenge."
An escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan was also of "significant concern," and the paper said Islamist extremism would pose a direct threat to Australia and its interests.
The paper reiterated Canberra's commitment to the conflict in Afghanistan, which it said could endure another decade or longer.
Canberra will acquire long-range cruise missiles, double its submarine fleet to 12 and buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets and eight new warships under the plan, titled "Force 2030."
"Force 2030 will mean the best fighter jets, the most versatile armored vehicles and the most sophisticated submarines available to defend Australia's national security," said Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the report's Sydney launch.
The Sino-focused strategy, which was widely leaked to the press, was met with unease in Beijing, where it was reportedly perceived by some as Australia aligning itself with the United States against China.
"China definitely will not accept Australia adopting the so-called 'China threat' thesis," Beijing professor Shi Yinhong told the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper on Friday.
"[China] will have to publicly criticize [the paper]," added Yinhong, international relations specialist from the People's University.
(Defense News)
rhsukarsa
