Planes Will Replace F-111s

There will soon be more Hornets in the Land Down Under. Officials in the Australian government said this week the country will soon order 24 F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter-bombers, valued at $4.6 billion US.

The International Herald Tribune reports the Super Hornets are intended as a stopgap measure, as the Royal Australian Air Force transitions to the Lockheed F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter over the next decade. In the short term, the new fighters will replace aging F-111 strike bombers, which are due for retirement after 2010.

"The JSF is the most suitable aircraft for Australia's future combat and strike needs," said Defense Minister Brendan Nelson. "Australia remains fully committed to the JSF. But the government is not prepared to accept any risk to air combat and strike capability during the transition to the JSF."

Nelson notes the Super Hornet is slated to be in service with the US Navy through 2030.

Powered by two General Electric F414-GE-400 engines, the Super Hornet is built by a team of companies -- including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, GE Aircraft Engines, Raytheon, and more than 1,800 suppliers in the United States and Canada.

FMI: www.boeing.com/ids, www.defence.gov.au/raaf/