The Australian, AUSTRALIA'S next warplane, the Joint Strike Fighter, will be equipped to launch long-range missile strikes anywhere in Asia, a decision that is likely to upset our regional neighbours.
Defence Minister Robert Hill has revealed he plans to arm the JSF fleet with the new long-range cruise missiles previously slated for the shorter-range F/A-18 fighters.
The move, combined with the arrival of five new air-to-air refuelling aircraft from 2007, will give Australia a greater long-range strike capability than it has with its F-111 strike bombers.
In an exclusive interview with The Weekend Australian, Senator Hill confirmed the plan to place long-range cruise missiles on the JSF when the stealth fighter is delivered to Australia from 2012.
“It is our preference,” he said. “And with modern in-flight refuelling you increase range even more.”
With only one air-to-air refuel, a JSF armed with cruise missiles could hit targets as far north as Thailand and with repeated mid-air refuelling it could strike anywhere in Asia.
The plan to arm the JSF with cruise missiles is likely to further unsettle regional neighbours, including Indonesia, which has warned that Australia's decision to buy missiles could spark an arms race in the region.
Canberra announced in August that it would buy one of three types of long-range cruise missiles with ranges of up to 400km – four times the range of any missile now available to the RAAF. However, Canberra said at the time that the new missiles were to be fitted to the F/A-18 fighters and the P3 maritime patrol craft. It made no mention of also placing them on the longer-range JSF.
That decision was criticised by Indonesia's chief foreign affairs spokesman, Marty Natalegawa. “You cannot arm yourselves to the teeth and expect that will lead, of itself, to a sense of security,” he said. “You have to work with the region to share in a sense of security.”
In order to calm nerves in the region, Australian diplomats have briefed Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand about the missiles.
The decision will extend Australia's strike capability further than ever before. The JSF has a range of 600 nautical miles (1111.2km) compared with only 290 for the F/A-18. The F-111 has a range of 1000 nautical miles, but this would be exceeded by a JSF armed with long-range cruise missiles.
“It will provide an expanded capability for strike operations beyond what we now have with the F-111,” said Aldo Borgu of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute.
The Government has yet to decide what cruise missile it will buy, but the most likely candidate is the joint air-to-surface standoff missile (JASSM), a 909kg, precision-strike stealth cruise missile that has a range of 400km and flies autonomously to its target after launch.
However, any final decision may be determined by which cruise missile can be successfully fitted to all three RAAF planes – the P3s, the F/A-18s and the JSF.
Australia plans to buy up to 100 JSFs to replace the F-111 and F/A-18.
