Defence Minister Robert Hill today announced another significant milestone in the upgrade of Australia’s F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft.
Senator Hill said the Government had approved a $230 million structural upgrade to strengthen the F/A-18s airframe, to enable the aircraft to continue to be used safely and effectively over the next decade.
The great majority of the structural refurbishment work will be carried out at the RAAF’s Williamtown base near Newcastle. The work will be led by the Hornet Industry Coalition, represented by Boeing Australia and BAE Systems, and will provide jobs for a workforce of approximately 50 technicians. Some of this work has already commenced.
In addition we will buy three new F/A-18 flight simulators at a cost of more than $60 million to improve pilot training by incorporating new weapons and systems being acquired for the aircraft.
The simulators have the potential to be linked so that pilots based across Australia can be locked in mock battles with each other – allowing real mission rehearsal. There is also the potential to link the F/A-18 simulators to other aircraft simulators, giving our fighter pilots the opportunity to interact with other crews such as the Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft. This complex training is vital to ensuring our Air Force remains at the forefront of technological advances. The simulators will be installed at Williamtown and Tindal, and further jobs will be created to provide in-service support to them.
“The Hornet fleet is the mainstay of Australia’s air defense capability,” Senator Hill said. “The Government has also committed to enhancing the aircraft’s already potent strike capability, to ensure that no gap will arise between the retirement of the F-111 and the arrival of the Joint Strike Fighter.
“The aircraft has proved its worth in operations over Iraq as well as providing a significant regional deterrent. These projects will ensure our fighter pilots continue to have state of the art technology and combat winning training, as well as assuring the integrity of the airframe well into the future.”
Since the release of the Defence 2000 White Paper, the Government has approved funding of around $1.6 billion to upgrade the Hornets and $200 million to provide the aircraft with more effective weapons, and improved situational awareness.
