New
Australian Government Wants to Consider
F-22s
Dec 2, 2007
By Bradley Perrett
Australias new Labor government is likely to join Japan in seeking
to overturn the U.S. ban on exporting the F-22 Raptor, although
Canberra is far from deciding it wants to buy the Lockheed Martin
stealth fighter.
The government of incoming Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who won a
landslide Nov. 24 election victory, is showing a commitment to the
armed forces at least as strong as its predecessors, with a
defense policy that calls for greater readiness for the Australian
Defense Force (ADF), not cutbacks.
Australian defense analysts expect Labor to back the main
procurement decisions of the former Liberal-National government of
John Howard, although the new administration plans a policy review
and might face a budget shortfall in a few years.
While in opposition, new Defense Minister Joel Fitzgibbon
repeatedly called for Australia to consider the F-22 instead of the
Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning, the previous governments preferred
next fighter.
Under project Air 6000, the Royal Australian Air Force will next
decade replace its 70-odd F/A-18A and B Hornets and, possibly, the
24 F/A-18F Super Hornets that Canberra ordered this year. Up to 100
combat aircraft are planned.
Though Fitzgibbon hasnt gone as far as saying Australia should buy
the Raptor, in the election campaign he said that Labor would ask
Washington to lift the ban on sales so Canberra could reconsider
its options.
The Australian Defense Dept. strongly prefers the cheaper and more
flexible F-35 over the F-22, whose design emphasizes air combat.
The department is likely to present Fitzgibbon with the same advice
now that he has become its minister.
The U.S. Congress reaffirmed the ban on F-22 exports as recently as
July. Japan, which is keen to buy the aircraft, responded by
launching development of its own stealth fighter demonstrator
(AW&ST Sept. 3, p. 24).
Rudd plans to pull Australian troops out of Iraq, but only after
consultation with the Iraqi government and with the U.S. and
Britain. He may decide simply to switch emphasis from Iraq to
Afghanistan, following Britains lead.
Moreover, theres no other sign that the new government lacks
commitment to Australias U.S. alliance. Rudd, a Mandarin-speaking
former diplomat, has always voiced unusually strong support for the
alliance, and he lists it first among the three pillars that
support his defense policy. (The others are active membership of
the United Nations and comprehensive engagement with Australias
neighbors.)
Any changes in procurement policy are most likely to appear in a
planned review expected next year.
The new defense white paper will address the requirements for the
ADF to deploy more units at higher readiness levels, deploy at
shorter notice [and] sustain operations for longer periods,
according to the official Labor policy statement.
The defense budget has been expanded by 3% a year above inflation
since 2001, and Labor says it will stick to that policy at least
until 2016.
But Australia is planning significant new capabilities for its
armed forces while renewing old ones. Analyst Mark Thomson notes
that the budget is more stretched than generally realized, saying
the new government will find that there is not enough money to do
all the things the previous government planned to do.
Thomson, of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, says the
budget will buy new capabilities but doesnt have the funds to
sustain them. For example, it will pay for six Boeing Wedge*tail
airborne early warning and control aircraft, based on the 737, but
theres no additional money for their running costs.
The same goes for extra NH90 helicopters that Eurocopter will build
in Brisbane and a pair of 27,000-ton assault ships to be supplied
by Spains Navantia.
Thomson expects that the Defense Dept.s habitual slowness in
getting projects to contract might cover the gap. If it doesnt, he
thinks the government, awash with cash amid a strong economy, will
probably allocate the extra money.
Labors policy largely avoids mentioning specific equipment
requirements, but two programs for the Royal Australian Navy are
emphasized.
One is that Labor wants to get an early start on preliminary work
on replacements for the navys six Collins Class submarines, even
though none of those boats is due to leave service before 2025.
Local construction will be necessary, Labor says, partly because an
off-the-shelf design wouldnt fill future requirementsmeaning it
wouldnt be big enough to deliver the necessary range and weapons
load.
The new government also describes an order for a fourth air-defense
destroyer as a strong option. Local contractor ASC has been
tapped to build three of the 6,250-ton ships to a design by
Navantia. Former Defense Minister Brendan Nelson, now leader of the
opposition, says a fourth unit would cost A$1.5 billion ($1.3
billion)an extraordinarily high figure for a production design,
indicating the great premium paid for local development and
construction.
The new government doesnt appear likely to drop support for local
industry, howevermost notably, shipbuilding.
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