The Air Force will recommend that the Federal Government sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the US in November to secure Australia's involvement in the F-35 program.

THE Air Force is expected to choose the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) version of the new Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) to enhance Australian air combat capabilities.

Chief negotiator for Australia Air Vice Marshal Ray Conroy said it was likely the Air Force would adopt the conventional take off and landing (CTOL) fighter version of the F-35.

Three designs of the JSF are to be developed including a carrier variant (CV) and a short take off/vertical landing variant (STOVL).

A standard version would avoid any software risks and delays associated with trying to create an Australian model of the fighter, according to AVM Conroy.

Defence will make a recommendation to the Federal Government in October to proceed with entry in to the JSF project.

AVM Conroy said at a briefing in Canberra last week that it was hoped the Government would sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the US in November to secure Australia's involvement in the F-35 program.

The signed memorandum would allow Australia to enter the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase of the project.

Participation in the SDD will be an opportunity for Australian industry to be part of global development, production and support for one of the largest international Defence projects in history.

Chief of Air Force Air Marshal Angus Houston said the Joint Strike Fighter would fit beautifully into the developing ADF structure of a highly sophisticated network-enabled warfare environment.

A newly-formed integrated project team has been formed in Canberra to manage the fighter project as a follow on from the Air 6000 project.

The team of about 20 is expected to grow in number and involves personnel from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources and representatives from across Defence.

Air Commodore John Harvey, leader of the Integrated Project Team, said the F-35's combination of stealth, payload, precision munitions and advanced sensors would provide a significant enhancement to the Air Force and the ADF.

"Coupled with air-to-air refuelling and Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, the F-35 will provide a significant improvement over existing F-111 and F/A-18 aircraft," he said.

Defence negotiation and project teams have been involved in extensive round table discussions with US Defence and industry personnel to ensure Australia's involvement in the SDD stage.

The commitment will see Australia become the eighth international partner alongside Canada, the UK, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Italy and the Netherlands.

The partnership will enable Australian industry to begin tendering for development projects from as early as December, contributing to the production of an estimated 4500 aircraft worldwide.

The Air Force is seeking to acquire up to 100 joint strike fighters to be phased in, commencing as early as 2012, as a replacement for the F/A-18 and F-111 aircraft.

By Shane Fairlie