IAN MCPHEDRAN
THE Abbott Government is set to give the green light to the nation’s biggest ever military purchase allowing Defence to order up to 86 American made stealth fighter jets for the RAAF.
The planes will cost about $90 million each when they roll off the assembly line between 2018 and 2020 and the overall project will cost some $14 billion during the 30-year life of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
It is understood that a submission to buy will be presented to Cabinet’s National Security Committee for approval within weeks.
The head of the Pentagon’s largest ever defence project to buy 2400 of the “fifth generation’’ fighters has assured Australia that the controversial project was “back on track’’ and that Australian jets would be delivered on time and on cost.
US Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan told News Corp Australia in Sydney that apart from some “trust and credibility’’ issues with the prime contractor Lockheed Martin and engine maker Pratt and Whitney, the JSF program was hitting all of its milestones.
Read the full story at NT News