Australia welcomes more F-35 Lightning II at RAAF base Williamtown

Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (Photo Courtesy Lockheed Martin)

The Australian Government’s multi-billion dollar Joint Strike Fighter program has reached a new milestone with seven F-35A Lightning II aircraft arriving at RAAF Base Williamtown.

Minister for Defence, Senator the Hon Linda Reynolds CSC said the F-35 program is on track to provide Australia with a fifth generation aircraft that is at the forefront of air combat technology.

“This brings the total number of F-35A’s that are operating at RAAF Base Williamtown to 13, with another five aircraft based at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, USA,” Minister Reynolds said.

“This is the most advanced, multi-role stealth fighter in the world which will deliver next generation capability benefits and provide a major boost to air combat capability.”

In addition, the Australian Government has approved the next 24 aircraft – meaning all 72 Australian F-35A Lightning II aircraft are now locked in. Initially, RAAF stated the requirements of 100 F-35 Ligntning II aircraft.

Defence has also signed onto an international deal known as the Block Buy Contract, valued in total at USD$34 billion, which will deliver 45 of Australia’s F-35A Lightning II aircraft.

“The deal is great news for Australia with the unit price now five-percent below the estimate at Government approval in 2014,” Minister Reynolds said.

“The F-35A is a key part of the Morrison Government’s $200 billion investment in Defence capability which includes investing in next-generation air combat capability for Australia.”

© 2019, GDC. © GDC and www.globaldefensecorp.com. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to www.globaldefensecorp.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.