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The RAAF chief has sounded the death knell for Australia's ageing F-111 bomber fleet.
Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd said the aircraft faces increasing but unknown risks due to major problems with wings,airframe,electrics and hydraulic systems.
The first F-111 arrived in 1973 and the RAAF plans to retire the fleet in 2010.
Air Marshal Shepherd said any move to extend the aircraft's life could cost up to $8 billion and still the fighter could not compete with modern designs.
He said what some were proposing for extending the F-111's life could be likened to taking an EH Holden, launched in 1963 and a good car in its day,reworking it from the ground up, calling it a V8 Commodore, then expecting it to win first time out at Bathurst.
"As the sole operator of the F-111 in the world we have an excellent understanding of what it takes to operate and maintain and we know there are significant issues to be addressed to extend its life," Air Marshal Shepherd said.
"There are increasing and unknown structural and systems risks with the wings, the airframe, the electrics and the hydraulics as the platform nears the end of (its) fourth decade of life."
As well, he said the rocket motors used to propel the F-111's unique crew module away from a crashing aircraft would reach the end of their life in 2015 and had not been manufactured since 1997.
Air Marshal Shepherd was giving evidence before a parliamentary committee examining the outlook for Australia's longstanding regional air superiority.
Under current defence plans, the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornets will fill the F-111 role to around 2015. The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will then enter service, doing the job of both Hornets and F-111s.
The plan has sparked a heated debate in defence circles with some urging the retention of the F-111 and the purchase of the F-22 Raptor instead of the JSF.
Analyst Dr Carlo Kopp has advocated retaining the F-111 for its unequalled ability to conduct long range strike missions.
He said Australia needed a fighter that could not be challenged over coming decades, and that was not the JSF.
"Put simply, it is too small and its performance and stealth will not be
good enough," he said."There is only one multi-role aircraft in production today that meets this benchmark - the F-22 Raptor now operational with the US Air Force."
But Air Marshal Shepherd said the F-22 was too expensive."The limited numbers provided by the budget would not be enough to provide adequate air superiority coverage," he said."Analysis and common sense shows that 30-40 airframes - no matter how capable they are - won't be enough to defend Australia."
Analyst Dr Alan Stephens said the JSF had been designed from the outset as a stealth aircraft able to operate within a complete network of airborne early warning aircraft, refuelers, ground radars, unmanned surveillance aircraft and satellites.
He said it was the complete system which would prove decisive, not just advanced aircraft.
"Advanced military capabilities demand far more than the mere ownership of technology," he said."They also demand high quality people, excellent training, good doctrine, effective command and control, the ability to conduct joint operations, and networked systems, all working together, a model which is far beyond the capacity of most defence forces, let alone those of the South-East Asia/South-West Pacific regions."
Air Marshal Geoff Shepherd said the aircraft faces increasing but unknown risks due to major problems with wings,airframe,electrics and hydraulic systems.
The first F-111 arrived in 1973 and the RAAF plans to retire the fleet in 2010.
Air Marshal Shepherd said any move to extend the aircraft's life could cost up to $8 billion and still the fighter could not compete with modern designs.
He said what some were proposing for extending the F-111's life could be likened to taking an EH Holden, launched in 1963 and a good car in its day,reworking it from the ground up, calling it a V8 Commodore, then expecting it to win first time out at Bathurst.
"As the sole operator of the F-111 in the world we have an excellent understanding of what it takes to operate and maintain and we know there are significant issues to be addressed to extend its life," Air Marshal Shepherd said.
"There are increasing and unknown structural and systems risks with the wings, the airframe, the electrics and the hydraulics as the platform nears the end of (its) fourth decade of life."
As well, he said the rocket motors used to propel the F-111's unique crew module away from a crashing aircraft would reach the end of their life in 2015 and had not been manufactured since 1997.
Air Marshal Shepherd was giving evidence before a parliamentary committee examining the outlook for Australia's longstanding regional air superiority.
Under current defence plans, the RAAF's F/A-18 Hornets will fill the F-111 role to around 2015. The new F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will then enter service, doing the job of both Hornets and F-111s.
The plan has sparked a heated debate in defence circles with some urging the retention of the F-111 and the purchase of the F-22 Raptor instead of the JSF.
Analyst Dr Carlo Kopp has advocated retaining the F-111 for its unequalled ability to conduct long range strike missions.
He said Australia needed a fighter that could not be challenged over coming decades, and that was not the JSF.
"Put simply, it is too small and its performance and stealth will not be
good enough," he said."There is only one multi-role aircraft in production today that meets this benchmark - the F-22 Raptor now operational with the US Air Force."
But Air Marshal Shepherd said the F-22 was too expensive."The limited numbers provided by the budget would not be enough to provide adequate air superiority coverage," he said."Analysis and common sense shows that 30-40 airframes - no matter how capable they are - won't be enough to defend Australia."
Analyst Dr Alan Stephens said the JSF had been designed from the outset as a stealth aircraft able to operate within a complete network of airborne early warning aircraft, refuelers, ground radars, unmanned surveillance aircraft and satellites.
He said it was the complete system which would prove decisive, not just advanced aircraft.
"Advanced military capabilities demand far more than the mere ownership of technology," he said."They also demand high quality people, excellent training, good doctrine, effective command and control, the ability to conduct joint operations, and networked systems, all working together, a model which is far beyond the capacity of most defence forces, let alone those of the South-East Asia/South-West Pacific regions."