Defence Magazine

The PSFD MoU was signed for the US Government by the US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Mr Gordon England, and by Dr Nelson on behalf of the Australian Government and was completed in association with the AUSMIN defence talks in Washington D.C.

Dr Nelson said the MoU signing and AUSMIN talks re-emphasised the strength of the long-term relationship between Australia and the US and emphasised the mutual benefits of defence cooperation.

“Australia is the fourth international Partner to sign the PSFD MoU; the Netherlands, Canada and the United Kingdom have also formally committed to the next phase of the program,” he said.

“The four remaining Partners in the Systems Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase are expected to sign the MoU in the coming months.

“The PSFD MoU provides the cooperative framework for the acquisition and support of the JSF over its life and provides significant financial and non-financial benefits from the ongoing partnership.”

Dr Nelson said the MoU and associated documents also guarantee Australia’s access to the technology and data it needs to operate and support the JSF to meet Australia’s sovereign defence needs.

“Entering into the MoU also opens up billions of dollars in opportunities for Australian industry, building on its success in the development phase.

“To date 21 Australian companies have won approximately US$100 million worth of work in the SDD phase. That work is expected to multiply significantly into the production and subsequent sustainment phases.”

The Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane MP, also welcomed signature of the MoU.

“The Departments of Industry and Defence will continue to work with Australian industry as JSF Team Australia – all of Government and all of industry working together – to secure the opportunities through the life of the JSF program,” he said.

The Government gave First Pass Approval for the AIR 6000 New Air Combat Capability project late last year, though Australia will not make an acquisition decision for the JSF until after Second Pass, scheduled for late 2008.

Capability analysis

Moving beyond legacy acquisition approaches of ‘platform replacement’, Defence is looking at ‘whole of capability’ for its new air combat capability. The stealthy, fifth generation JSF will be integral to ADF network centric warfare – JSF will not be employed as just a stand alone capability.

Defence analysis to date indicates that up to 100 JSF aircraft could replace the capability provided by the current fleets, F/A-18s and F-111s, and retain our regional air superiority well into the future. Ongoing analysis also confirms that the JSF remains the most cost-effective aircraft to meet this long-term need.

Project Manager New Air Combat Capability (NACC), Air Vice Marshal (AVM) John Harvey, said in view of the extensive development and testing to be done, challenges will be faced.

“Ongoing analysis and modeling by the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO), and Air Force/DSTO involvement in simulator exercises in the US and United Kingdom, reaffirms the original assessment that the JSF will mature to provide the capabilities Australia needs,” he said.

Acquisition

To ensure rigour in the process to select and acquire our new air combat capability, Defence is implementing a phased approach to acquisition of JSF, potentially acquiring around 70 JSF aircraft in the first phase (Phase 2A/B) and up to 30 additional aircraft in the subsequent phase (Phase 2C). Phase 2C will also consider advanced weapons and uninhabited combat air vehicles. A final decision on total aircraft acquisition numbers is subject to ongoing analysis.

Cost

NACC IPT assessments are that the JSF Program (including contingency funding) remains affordable within the provisions of the 2006-16 Defence Capability Plan (a cost band of AUD$11.5-15.5 billion).

Defence is monitoring this very closely. While Defence will not risk Australia’s regional air superiority or put troops at risk, we are not going to buy capability at any cost – it must be affordable.

Schedule

“Choosing the optimum time to introduce the JSF has its own challenges. Obviously cost, schedule and capability risks decline the later we wait to introduce the JSF. The opposite applies, however, to our legacy aircraft where cost, schedule and capability risks increase the longer they’re kept in service,” explains AVM Harvey.

Defence’s currently preferred date for first deliveries of the JSF is in the 2012/2013 timeframe with initial operational capability to be achieved in the 2014/2015 timeframe. These dates are, therefore, subject to ongoing review in relation to progress on the JSF Program and progress on the F-111, F/A-18 and associated programs.

While Defence is confident that the JSF will provide the capability required, prudent risk planning demands that Defence continue to refine ‘fallback’ plans to ensure there is no capability gap in the unlikely event that the JSF does not satisfy our capability requirements or is not available when we need it.

Australian industry participation

Having committed US$150 million to join the JSF SDD phase and after four years of intensive engagement with Lockheed Martin and its JSF partners and contractors, the Australian Government has ‘opened the doors’ to JSF industry opportunities.

To date 21 Australian companies have won approximately US$100 million worth of work in the SDD phase.

Way ahead

“With JSF the first truly global program of its type, there is no denying that the program is challenging, but if it weren’t, chances are wouldn’t be good enough to satisfy our future air combat requirements,” said AVM Harvey.

“As JSF is Defence’s largest ever acquisition, we are conducting extensive risk analysis. The NACC project will be the subject of ongoing and, perhaps, increased political and public scrutiny leading to Second Pass approval.”

Defence will continue its intensive engagement with the US Government, Lockheed Martin and local industry to remove barriers to international collaboration on JSF and to capture the opportunities on offer for Australian industry.

First flight

In mid-December 2006, the JSF flew for the first time – a major event in any aircraft program, particularly for the JSF which is the world’s largest defence program, valued at over US$250 billion for US acquisition alone.

Project Manager New Air Combat Capability, AVM John Harvey, said the JSF’s first flight builds on the significant testing that has already been completed.

“This includes extensive ground testing of the complete aircraft, testing of the total system in the integration laboratory and ground and flight testing of the individual systems on surrogate aircraft,” he said.

According to Mr Dan Crowley, Lockheed Martin Executive Vice President and General Manager of the F-35 program, the flight on 15 December 2006 initiated the most comprehensive flight test program in military aviation history. The test flight was only the first of more than 6000 planned by the JSF Program Office and Lockheed Martin with 20 aircraft during the next 18 months. According to Lockheed Martin, the F-35 will enter service as the most exhaustively tested, most thoroughly proven fighter system in history.

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