Government Wants JSF But RAAF Pilots Want F-22 Raptor

摘要

The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) would be buying the best possible advanced combat aircraft in the new Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) but the project could still be marred by problems including crashes, delays and cost blowouts. RAAF commander Air Marshal Angus Houston recently warned that no programme to introduce a complex piece of defence equipment ever went smoothly and the JSF was likely to be no exception. Air Marshal Houston said recently that the JSF stealth characteristics and advanced electronics would give it a decisive edge over fourth generation Russian aircraft such as the Su-30MK now being acquired by regional nations including China, Indonesia and Malaysia. AM Houston said key features of the JSF project included the containment of costs and tight management to minimise possible technical problems and delays. "That is not to say that the project is without risk," he said. "The software development task is truly challenging. There have already been weight growth problems, typical of most fighter aircraft programmes at this stage of development but of sufficient gravity to cause some delays.