Current Events in Asia-Pacific

From Flight International DATE: 04/01/08 SOURCE: Flight International Australia to review Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet purchase By Emma Kelly Australia's newly elected Labor government is to review the country's air power capability, in a controversial move that could see the previous administration's A$6.6 billion ($5.8 billion) order for 24 Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets dumped, and the planned purchase of up to 100 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters also face a fresh assessment. Australia became the first export customer for the Super Hornet (US Navy F/A-18F pictured below) last March, with its two-seat fighters scheduled for delivery from 2010 a…

From Australian ABC news service https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-10/ghost-shark-underwater-drone-fleet-plan/105758720?utm_source=abc_news_web&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_web&utm_content=link

From DefenseNews Australia May Sue After Grounding U.S. Helicopters By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, SYDNEY The Australian navy has grounded a one-billion dollar ($750 million U.S.) fleet of U.S.-built helicopters over safety concerns and may sue the contractors, the defense minister said May 15. The navy ordered 11 of the anti-submarine and anti-ship Super Seasprite helicopters but none of the 10 delivered since 2001 have been in full operational service due to technical problems. Defense Minister Brendan Nelson said he had banned the Seasprites from flying and that the government was considering scrapping the fleet altogether. ”I have asked the department of defense…

Australia, U.S. launch joint exercises By Meraiah Foley - The Associated Press Posted : Monday Jun 18, 2007 7:32:59 EDT SYDNEY, Australia — Australia and the U.S. launched their biggest joint war games Monday, with 27,500 troops backed by a U.S. aircraft carrier engaging in exercises aimed at consolidating the allies’ military dominance in the Asia Pacific region. The biennial Talisman Sabre exercise pits 20,000 U.S. troops and 7,500 Australian forces against two fictional enemies — the Kamarians and Musorians — in a variety of land and sea-based scenarios designed to test their skills in combat, peacekeeping and humanitarian relief efforts. The exercise,…

Last week, Harriers and the HMS Ark Royal. This week, the F-111 ... Australia's F-111 retirement to close chapter of aviation history

Australias Submarine Folly (The Diplomat, Flashpoints blog) Link to the Australian Defence White Paper 2013.

From australian ABC news service: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/japanese-ambassador-slams-china-over-raaf-laser-incident/100849886

From Defense Aerospace [excerpt] Link to Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade - 07/02/2012 - Department of Defence annual report 2010-11 (PDF) CV32: Note that AGSI's Harpoon 3 (H3) MilSim was the simulation used!

I noticed this in 'The Australian' newspaper (november 24th). The link to the www article is: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/natio...f-1225802738569 The summary: OFF-the-shelf military purchases offer big savings and reduced risk for taxpayers compared with do-it-yourself, but come with a major trade-off -- a potential sacrifice of the nation's defence self-sufficiency, a federal government-backed security think tank warned yesterday. The article mentions some of our recent less than ideal R&D and design/ building efforts and compares them to some recent success with straight purchases such as USA battle tanks. Considering we don't even make our own washing …

Missiles launched from Bushmaster vehicles could soon be operated by the Australian army

Guys Just wondering if anyone had thoughts and time to put down some quick notes on Australias Collins Class subs? How have you seen their performance or abilities, good/bad/ugly?

From Naval Today Ah, this is likely to give the ChiCom navy planning staff a Maalox moment, for which they richly deserve. With the Vietnamese submarine program underway, things in the SCS may look a little differently - or it will be like kicking over a hornet's nest. What says the forum?

From Defense Aerospace Air Warfare Destroyers – The Foundation Laid (Source: Australian Minister for Defence; issued Oct. 4, 2007) I am pleased to announce the signing of the final contracts to build three Air Warfare Destroyers (AWDs) for the Royal Australian Navy. At a total cost of approximately A$8 billion, this is the largest naval shipbuilding project ever undertaken in Australia. The signing follows two years of hard work by the AWD team in the design selection phase of the project that resulted in the Australian Government choosing the Spanish Navantia F-100 warship as the platform for Australia’s next generation Hobart-class AWDs. The first o…

Full Article Looks like the second Azmat class units was added, the Paks NOB.

Apparently sounds as MiG-29K should be overhauled after each carrier landing! http://www.defensenews.com/land/2017/08/04/indian-navy-wants-russian-mig-29k-jets-to-be-ruggedized/

http://www.australiandefence.com.au/news/bae-systems-offers-queen-elizabeth-carrier-design-to-india

PM Says Bangladesh To Buy 1st Submarines (DefenseNews)

From The Diplomat [excerpt]

From Washington Times [excerpt]