Royal Australian Air Force

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF began in March 1914 as the Australian Flying Corps and became a fully independent air force in March 1921. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th centuries major conflicts including both World Wars, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. More recently the RAAF participated in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Future equipment

This list include aircraft on order or a requirement which has been identified.

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• 100 Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter (CTOL variant) — to be delivered by 2012.

:In June 2002, the Australian government announced that committed to the F-35, an announcement which came as a surprise to the other companies tendering for Australia's Air 6000 specification, intended to replace the RAAF's F-111s and F/A-18s. Eurofighter International was offering its Typhoon and Dassault put forward the Rafale. The unsuccessful bidders' appeals tended to rest on the extent of Australian companies' involvement in manufacture of the planes, which it was said would have exceeded any share of JSF contracts. However, Australia has been pushing to be the site for a Asia-Pacific service centre for the F-35. In addition the quality of the Typhoon and Rafale compared to the F-35 has been called into question by evaluation outside Australia. For more details see: Comparison of 21st century fighter aircraft.

Related Topics:
2002 - Eurofighter - Typhoon - Dassault - Rafale - Comparison of 21st century fighter aircraft

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:In May 2005, Defence Minister Robert Hill announced that a final commitment to purchase the JSF would not be made until 2008, replacing an earlier cutoff date in 2006. Preliminary consideration was also being given to switching some of the purchase to the STOVL version, to operate off Royal Australian Navy helicopter assault ships, effectively turning them into miniature aircraft carriers.

Related Topics:
Robert Hill - STOVL - Royal Australian Navy - Aircraft carrier

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• 6 Boeing Project Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft, with the option for 1 more.
• 5 Airbus A330 MRTTs — to replace the ageing 707s in aerial refueling and strategic transport roles.
• Strategic transport — An aircraft in either the Airbus A400M or Boeing C-17 Globemaster III classes is required to improve strategic airlift capabilites.
• Maritime patrol aircraft to replace AP-3C Orions