With JSF we give control of N.Australia air space to Indonesia and India

[anon45]

How is india even a threat to Australia?

 

[jha]

Aussies have a weird way of justifying/demanding military hardware. N. Australia skies ruled by India..? Give me a break.

 

[tranquilium]

Oh please.

180 MKIs in the Indonesian Air Force? There goes all the credibility of this article.

I can tell you from a limited first hand knowledge that the F-35 is far from inferior to anything the Indos can field. The sensor, avionics etc package that the F-35 wields will ensure continued Australian (and allied) air superiority in the region.

I doubt F-35's performance is worse than MKIs. The real problem with F-35 is the cost-effectiveness. Just recently, the cost for F-35 is jacked to 200 million per plane and between now and when it will actually be delivered, it is possible for the cost to increase even more. Originally the main selling point for F-35 is a 5th gen capacity at a price less than F-22, but it is obvious not the case now.

Aussies have a weird way of justifying/demanding military hardware. N. Australia skies ruled by India..? Give me a break.

Oh please, that is certainly NOT the most ridicules reason cooked up by Aussies. Their justification for naval purchase essentially boil down to "prevent China from cut off Australia trade route to China".

 

[Zabaniyah]

Indonesia plans to buy an incredible 180 of the Russian/Indian Sukhoi fighters, almost certainly including the T-50 PAK-FA T-50 and Su-35S. So the question is not whether the JSF is better than the outdated Hornet, but whether it is better than Indonesia’s Sukhoi T-50 PAK-FA T-50 and Su-35S.

Old news:
http://www.antaranews.com/en/news/1285584023/minister-ri-plans-to-have-180-sukhois-in-10-squadrons
http://en.rian.ru/military_news/20120809/175090713.html

If Australia and the US chose the JSF we give control of northern Australian air space to Indonesia, and India in the 2020s. China also has an aircraft that looks better than the JSF. It’s not a question of predicting invasion but rather the knowledge that the countries to our north have air power, which we cannot match.

India? Srsly? China's J-20/31 are still in testing phase, and will take time to mature. And in no way superior to the F-35. Let alone the F-22.

Thank goodness there is. The US has a magnificent aircraft the F-22A Raptor, which was mothballed when it was believed that the JSF would be more effective. If the software systems that have been developed for the JSF were incorporated in an aircraft of the calibre of the F-22 we would be back in business.

Both political parties share responsibility for the JSF. To risk dooming Australia to being a second rate air power a few months before the next election is really unfair. Smith should take it out of politics and appoint a joint party committee to get to the truth.

Both political parties will have to come to grips with what to do in the post-2015 era when our neighbours are going to have air power capabilities, both airborne and surface based, designed specifically to be competitive with (if not overmatch) the F-22A Raptor and, by default, annihilate the Super Hornet and the JSF.

The F-22 is not for export. End of story.

A mix of F-35's and Growlers are more than enough to meet Australia's defense requirements. The F-35 a great plane. The only downside being is its price tag.

 

[jha]

Oh please, that is certainly NOT the most ridicules reason cooked up by Aussies. Their justification for naval purchase essentially boil down to "prevent China from cut off Australia trade route to China".

Yup.. This reason wins hands down..

WTF is wrong with the planners to cite such laughable excuses.

 

[Zabaniyah]

WTF is wrong with the planners to cite such laughable excuses.

Their planners are fine.

Contents of the article are the author's opinions.

 

[SirHatesALot]

WTF i just read

 

[EzioAltaïr]

I seriously don't see why the author's so paranoid. Why will we attack? To stop them from being racist?

 

[RazorMC]

Australia has had some issues with Indonesia, but I don't see them dominating the skies just yet. The F-35 is currently second only to the F-22 itself. The problem is with the outlandish price.

And I don't know why the IAF would want to dominate Australian skies thousands of miles away? Is the author retarded?

 

[xdrive]

Buy 4.5 generation super hornets and invest in hi-tech proven air defences would be the best way to go for Australia.