6 RAAF Supers to Growlers (Fewer F-35s?)

I like the way some Americans are condescending. However it was made clear from the get go but I guess some dumb Yanks have trouble with English....

I love the passive-agressiveness of some Aussies

There was some confusion a few months ago about whether 12 of the existing SHs that had been pre-wired would be converted to Growlers, but now it is clear that they will not be converted at this time, and additional airframes built as Growlers will be procured instead. That leaves the option to convert the some of the original SHs if needed.

Yep - you are still at it.

From Defense Industry Daily:

"May 3/13: White Paper. Australia’s Labor government releases its 2013 Defence White Paper. It commits Australia to 3 F-35 squadrons (72 planes), which is pretty meaningless from a government that will be long gone before those larger buys become reality. It is a good way of spending less now by promising more later, knowing all the while that the promise isn’t likely to be kept. The Labor government adds that any decision on a 4th F-35 squadron to replace the Super Hornet fleets won’t be made until “around 2030.” Given budgetary entitlements and demographic realities, we wouldn’t bet on that, either.

As a matter of more immediate interest, Australia’s plans for their Super Hornet fleet have changed:

“…the Government has decided to retain the current 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets (one operational squadron) in their current air combat and strike capability configuration. The Government has also decided to acquire 12 new-build EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft instead of converting 12 of Australia’s existing F/A-18F Super Hornet aircraft into the Growler configuration.”

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/aus ... nuereading

It commits Australia to 3 F-35 squadrons (72 planes), which is pretty meaningless from a government that will be long gone before those larger buys become reality.

Not really meaningless given the current opposition (likely future Govt later this year) are also supportive of the F-35 for Australia.