Hey all, i just have a few questions and opinions on the ADF.. (I hope this isn't breaking the no politics rule, its slightly government related)
I've started to notice that the government tends to have no problem with replacing existing hardware, e.g. the F-35 purchase and the AWD's (which i believe are to replace the FFG's), but as time progresses they don't seem to increase the numbers of the hardware..
For example, the ~100 F-35s are to replace ~80 F/A-18s and ~20 F-111s. Why are we not going for figure closer to 120 or 150, either with more F-35s or with another type of jet?
Also, from the thread in the Naval Tech section, i notice we seem to be relying on the 3 AWD's to replace our 6 FFG's, why not 6 AWD's or even up to 8?
Another thing i noticed is that although the government seems fine with replacing existing hardware, it seems very stand offish when bringing in something new, for example the 2 amphib/carriers imho should have been in our navy since at least the mid 90s, because afterall we are an island continent, in a region that is full of islands.. They would have proved very useful in Timor and the solomons for transport and air defence, and also provided a lot of help in the tsunami assistance earlier this year..
And as for the army, i find it strange that we are only purchasing around 50 M1A1's, especially since those new carriers could probably hold around that many each
I know we have recruitment issues, but i wonder if a more active role was taken in buying new hardware, would it actually help recruitment..
Sorry for the long post, and i must admit im not too knowledgable of all the projects going on, or any procedures which have to be followed when acquiring or deciding on new hardware, so go easy on me if everything i've written is way off the mark
I've started to notice that the government tends to have no problem with replacing existing hardware, e.g. the F-35 purchase and the AWD's (which i believe are to replace the FFG's), but as time progresses they don't seem to increase the numbers of the hardware..
For example, the ~100 F-35s are to replace ~80 F/A-18s and ~20 F-111s. Why are we not going for figure closer to 120 or 150, either with more F-35s or with another type of jet?
Also, from the thread in the Naval Tech section, i notice we seem to be relying on the 3 AWD's to replace our 6 FFG's, why not 6 AWD's or even up to 8?
Another thing i noticed is that although the government seems fine with replacing existing hardware, it seems very stand offish when bringing in something new, for example the 2 amphib/carriers imho should have been in our navy since at least the mid 90s, because afterall we are an island continent, in a region that is full of islands.. They would have proved very useful in Timor and the solomons for transport and air defence, and also provided a lot of help in the tsunami assistance earlier this year..
And as for the army, i find it strange that we are only purchasing around 50 M1A1's, especially since those new carriers could probably hold around that many each
I know we have recruitment issues, but i wonder if a more active role was taken in buying new hardware, would it actually help recruitment..
Sorry for the long post, and i must admit im not too knowledgable of all the projects going on, or any procedures which have to be followed when acquiring or deciding on new hardware, so go easy on me if everything i've written is way off the mark