RAAF'a Super Hornets to be ready next year

THE air force will have 12 new front-line, multi-role fighter jets ready to send to Afghanistan by the end of 2010.Australia will come under growing pressure to take over from the Dutch when they withdraw forces, including the Kandahar-based F-16 fighter jets, from southern Afghanistan late next year.The Dutch planes regularly support Australian ground troops in Oruzgan Province.By December 2010, the RAAF's No 1 Squadron of 12 Boeing Super Hornet fighters will be at its Amberley base in Queensland and ready to go."They will be able to be deployed to wherever the Government wants to deploy them," air force chief Air Marshal Mark Binskin said.After accepting the first jet yesterday at Boeing's factory in St Louis, Missouri, Air Marshal Binskin said the Super Hornet – with its state-of-the-art radars and other systems – was an ideal platform to support troops on the ground in Afghanistan and elsewhere.He also said that while there was no "dedicated" plan to deploy RAAF fighter jets to Afghanistan, "as a force, we have the capability to do it".The first of the $60 million, two-seat fighters in RAAF colours rolled off the production line yesterday.Dozens of air force personnel, led by Air Marshal Binskin, joined about 1000 guests for the unveiling ceremony. They included Group Captain Steve "Zed" Roberton, who will command the Super Hornet Wing, and a team of RAAF pilots and support staff posted to the US Naval Air Station at Lemoore in California. where they are training with the U.S. Navy. The 24 new fighters will be known by their U.S. Navy designation of "rhino" and will replace the RAAF's 40-year-old F-111 jets, known fondly as "pigs".The F-111s have become the most expensive air force planes in history to operate, requiring a huge 180 hours of maintenance for every one hour in the air. "It is a big, beefy-looking aircraft. so we will go with the rhino," Air Marshal Binskin said of the new design.

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