Page 66 - Australian Defence Mag Sep 2020

66 SUSTAINMENT AIR
SEPTEMBER 2020 | WWW.AUSTRALIANDEFENCE.COM.AU
“We’re also in a Co-operative Program with the US Navy for the Advanced Growler’s Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) capability. One aspect for consideration is the ratio of rep- resentation you have inside the program; your influence and input depend on how weighted your capability stake in that program is.
“To contrast differences between the Co-operative F-35 and P-8 programs, the P-8 program only involves two part- ners (the RAAF and the US Navy), whereas Australia is one of several international partners in the F-35 program,” he explained. “It’s a very different dynamic, in terms of how those Co-operative Programs are mechanised but, in es- sence they should work in exactly the same way.”
F-35 CO-OPERATIVE PROGRAM BENEFITS
TO AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY
The Lockheed Martin F-35 program was set up at the out- set as an international program, whereby partner nations could buy into the initial System Design and Development (SDD) phase and therefore shoulder some of the costs – and risks – associated with its development.
Australia joined the program as a Tier Three partner in 2002 and has accordingly enjoyed had significant influence on the development of the F-35. Although Turkey has recent- ly left the program after it ignored US demands to cancel ac- quisition of Russian surface to air missiles, the international partnership includes the US, the UK, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway. A number of other nations are acquiring variants of the F-35, but through an FMS process, not as part of the Co-operative Program.
Partners have been able to bid for a share of the manufac- turing work commensurate with their level of membership and this model continues to work well for Australian industry.
With the number of F-35s now in service around the world increasing exponentially, focus is now increasingly turning to the sustainment space.
ABOVE: The global nature of JSF support has raised some interesting issues for air forces worldwide.
LEFT: The RAAF’s fast jet fleet is in a period of transition.
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