Media Statement - 6th March 2007
The government’s decision to purchase 24 Super Hornets for $6bn is yet another ad hoc, on-the-run purchasing decision that threatens to undermine Australia’s national security.
This comes on top of the poorly timed decision to commit to the Joint Strike Fighter project. The Minister’s staff have admitted the JSF will not be fully operational until 2018.
With the early phase out of the F-111 in 2010, there will be an air capability gap for at least 8 years. This gap is a problem of the government’s own making by poor defence capability planning.
The cost has also blown out significantly from estimates of $4bn to $6bn, making the per unit cost a staggering $250m including training, weaponry and through-life support.
It appears unlikely that the purchase will have any flow-on benefits to Australian industry. Labor is concerned about the implications of the F-111 phase out on retention of an indigenous military engineering capacity in Australia.
The government should start following its own defence procurement rules. Only then will defence capability planning be genuinely guided by strategic insights. Only then can the defence budget be put on sustainable footing.