Thanks to John Howard, Kevin Rudd and of course Julia Gillard, going by tonights 4 Corners, It seems like we are going to buy a lemon for big $$$$.. Every one of them backs the F35. Australian Taxpayers will be paying for this mistake for many years to come. Why didn't the USA let us have some F22's?.. There is only one country in the world that the USA sold the F22 to and I don't think that they helped out in Americas wars of the 21st century. Now an election is due, what about these new subs we need at any cost. I know it will create jobs for SA and Vic but is that the only consideration taken into account when buying defence equipment? The last lot we built were a load of crap..Sweden has a great sub which runs on compressed air. Even the Americans were impressed by its performance! Why not buy some of these subs? What do you fellows think of the F35? Regards Errol 43
^^^^Have a look at this video on the F 35 Regards Errol 43[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27qdB1D0s9M[/youtube]
R we purchasing secondhand stuff They cost alot. How many have we have. Cos we s**kup to the us. Wat a lot of cr*p Is it really a necessity?
We have to ask, what is the threat for the next 30 years? Perhaps we need an aircraft that can support joint operations with our allies because, on our own, we could have the best plane and best pilots but we would be snuffed-out very quickly by any of the Super-Powers. If things got so bad that we had to defend Australia from an land invation from a Super Power, there's not much we can do. If on the other hand, we continue to support our Allies, we need an aircraft to support the expected threat. Think about the actual threat we have in this country, and what future operations we will be involved in, as part of Multi International force. H
RE The Swedish subs. They are "brown water" not "blue water" subs. Hence they are suitable for patrolling etc near European coastlines but aren't suitable for operations that require them to be at sea for extended periods - eg running from Perth to, say, the Timor sea. Fundamentally we are a maritime nation that needs to defend shipping lanes and that basically requires a blue water sub. As demonised as the Collins Class have been in the paper unless we move to nuclear powered subs ( which is what every other navy with long range subs have done) then there simply isn't anything equivalent to the Collins. It really pushed the boundaries of conventionally fuelled subs.
The F-35 is a trillion dollar mistake the US can't admit to, so the hole they're digging for themselves is getting deeper and deeper. But that's what you get for thinking one basic airframe could replace purposes of all the others currently in service.
Seriously, why does Australia need submarines? The collins class sub is a POS and we can't staff them. More pointless government expenditure. The F35 is another turkey. What about the sea sprite helicopter? When was the last time we had a credible defense minister?
Recognise it for what it is. It's just a tax. Protection money. Here are the published US exports to Australia by value (up to 2011): http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/product/enduse/exports/c6021.html From the published statistics, the sum of military type imports (bottom of the table) exceeds the imports of gold. Yes, apparently the second largest producer of gold in the world imports "non-monetary gold" from the USA! And if you are wondering what the trade gap is between the two countries, it turns out in 2011 Australia imported about twice as much from the USA as it exported to it. (exports are listed here: http://www.dfat.gov.au/publications/trade/trade-at-a-glance-2011.html)
Yes but how many of Australia's citizenry (the enlightened people who "vote" in our wonderful democracy) see the word "free" in "free trade" and automatically think we got something wonderful in our favour? The Free Trade agreement was just another nail putting us even further under the control (domination) of our real masters. And few people actually see it for what it really is. where's the sarcasm tag when you really need it??!! Hows that bloody petition going?!
Part 1 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vbnsr2oF2gM[/youtube] Part 2 [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5znJiU9HUl0[/youtube]
At least Australia has decided to go with a mixed fleet now. 10 years ago our official line was all F-35's. I think we should scrap the F35 until they are ready and properly tested, whenever that may be
.... It's funny, the F-35 project is such a big multinational project with top secret departments that this thread will be read 100% :lol: Hi military spooks!
This is a Lightening: [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxyg5GQk8H8[/youtube] The F35 is a Lemon.
I watched a doco on the US choosing the fighter. The key was the vertical take off. For them that meant it could be used across all their bases. I didn't like the one they chose, I preferred the other one. This was in 1996 so already 22+ years old ? Here are a couple of links to the history of the JSF that I found. http://www.jsf.mil/gallery/gal_photo_cddr_mda-ngc-bae.htm http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/mcdonnell-douglas-loses-jsf-contest-10148/ http://www.jsf.mil/history/his_jsf.htm
Is it worse then the eurofighter? All I can remember from the eurofighter is that it cost way more than it was estimated, took far longer and at the time was considered to be a massive waste of money and just an attempt to curry favour with our (UK) new European friends.
95% of the threat we face is just being overrun by economic migrants, commonly referred to as "assylum seekers" who arrive unannounced by boat.