TSAMTO, November 24. The Australian Ministry of Defense announced the arrival at the Williamtown Air Base after a flight from the US Air Force Base Eglin (Florida) of the next batch of three F-35A Lightning-2 fighters.
Thus, at the moment, the Australian Air Force has received 44 of the 72 aircraft of this type planned for delivery. The arriving fighters became part of the 77th Fighter Squadron.
As reported by TSAMTO, the Australian government decided to approve the purchase of the first batch of 14 F-35 Lightning-2 fighters in November 2009. They will replace the F/A-18A/B Hornet aircraft, which are scheduled to be decommissioned by 2022.
Aircraft assembly began in 2011. The first pair (AU-1 and AU-2) was transferred to Australia at the end of 2014 and was used for training personnel and testing at the USAF Air Base "Luke" (Arizona). These aircraft were the first to arrive in Australia for the re-equipment of the 3rd Air Squadron of the country's Air Force on December 10, 2018. The second pair of F-35A "Lightning-2" arrived in Australia on April 8, 2019.
At the moment, the military and political leadership of Australia has approved the purchase of 72 aircraft. The delivery of the last 24 fighters was approved in December 2019. Acquisition of 72 new fighters within the framework of the stages of the AIR-6000 Phase 2A/2B project, the cost of which is estimated at 17 billion. austr. dollars ($ 12.25 billion), will allow the formation of three combat and one training squadron. They will be stationed at Williamstown and Tyndall Air Bases.
In total, the Australian Air Force can receive up to 100 F-35A fighters. Another batch of 28 aircraft to equip the fourth combat squadron can be purchased later at the AIR-6000 Phase 2C stage to replace the F/A-18F "Super Hornet".
The full readiness of the F-35A fleet of the Australian Air Force for intended use is scheduled for 2023.
