F-35s for Australia reach IOC milestone
Almost half of the 72 aircraft on order have been delivered.
Australia has become the seventh country to declare IOC for the Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II multirole fighter aircraft.
‘This IOC ushers in a new era of Australian air power that gives the RAAF [Royal Australian Air Force] transformational and game-changing capabilities,’ Joe North, Lockheed Martin Australia chief executive, declared in a 28 December statement.
The RAAF ordered 72 F-35As for $5 billion through the AIR 6000 programme to replace F/A-18A/B Hornet aircraft. It took delivery of the first pair in 2014.
The F-35A fleet is expected to reach FOC for the RAAF by 2023. An 18-aircraft option in the contract is also expected to be exercised, according to Shephard Defence Insight.
Australia currently has a fleet of 33 F-35As, and RAAF crews have surpassed more than 8,780 flight hours to date, with more than 45 pilots and 600 maintenance personnel supporting the fleet.
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