More stealth for RAAF

[red750]

Defence Minister Richard Marles has given his strongest hint yet that Australia could purchase the in-development B-21 Raider.

 

In an interview with The Australia yesterday, he was reported to have said the next-generation stealth bomber was “being examined”.

 

The RAAF is also looking at increasing its F35 fleet from 50 to 72.

[spenaroo]

Makes sense, we need something with long legs to be a factor in any indo-pacific conflict.

we lost the capability to strike un-refueled when we retired the F-111

and there aren't many options for a new bomber or long range strike aircraft. shame we never got the platypus

Edited September 1, 2022 by spenaroo

[red750]

10 minutes ago, spenaroo said:

shame we never got the platypus

Is that the Su-34? That's what comes up in an internet search for Platypus aircraft.

[Yenn]

Typical of Australia we purchase an in development aircraft and then contribute billions to an unknown performer. Just have to hope it will work.

[facthunter]

That's the way of complex things. The  development of the RB-211 nearly sent RR (and the UK)broke. Nev

[APenNameAndThatA]

16 hours ago, Yenn said:

Typical of Australia we purchase an in development aircraft and then contribute billions to an unknown performer. Just have to hope it will work.

The Sydney Opera House and F111 both were over budget and disliked at the time, but they worked out okay. But, it would be reassuring to buy stuff off the rack, as it were. 

[facthunter]

By that stage it's out of date.   Nev

[spenaroo]

17 hours ago, red750 said:

Is that the Su-34? That's what comes up in an internet search for Platypus aircraft.

That's the one.

there is a reason the SU-24 is still flying in many air forces. and aircraft such as the tornado were kept for the strike role long after their replacement for air to air roles.

[Old Koreelah]

Australia’s few refuelling aircraft are our vulnerable point.

[facthunter]

Having fuel is too.. You only need an old airliner refitted.  Nev

[kgwilson]

Well I wonder how the F35 will work out. It is the most expensive development of all time at over 1.7 Trillion USD and was 10 years late in initial delivery. The original concept was created in 1994 but the first F35 A didn't fly till December 2006. The development program was fraught with problems and component failures and the timeframe meant that much of the specialised avionic were obsolete before the aircraft even flew requiring billions more to be spent on new and upgraded equipment. The current program is still problematic requiring costly upgrades and combat testing keeps getting pushed back which is supposed to be completed before full scale production can take place. Some pilots seem to like it but most are not very complimentary. It is outperformed by the SU-28 plus aircraft. 

[red750]

Here is a link to the article from which the opening post was copied.

 

https://australianaviation.com.au/2022/08/marles-hints-raaf-could-buy-b-21-raider-bomber/

[Flying Binghi]

22 hours ago, Yenn said:

Typical of Australia we purchase an in development aircraft and then contribute billions to an unknown performer. Just have to hope it will work.

Like that idiot Turnbull and the French submarines…🤨

 

 

 

 

.

[Yenn]

That idiot Turnbull and the LNP aren't even aware that it was their poor decision making and later realizing their mistake that caused the fallout with France.

I wonder who is making the decisions now, because just looking at the latest wars it seems that fighter jets are an expensive plaything. A much more useful tool would be drones and how many of them could we buy for the price of one fighter jet, plus how much would we save on pilot training.

[Old Koreelah]

Instead of spending squillions importing the toys (which too quickly become obsolete) a clever country would properly invest in local education, training, research and infrastructure… so we have the people and skills to build our own weapons! 
 

The most successful nations invest heavily in educating their youth; at one stage, South Korea devoted over 14% of GNP to education. At present, Australia spends about 5%. 

[facthunter]

WE are the CLEVER country. Remember.  WE don't invest in educating our own people and seek them from countries that need them more than we do to drive down wages. Nev