Australia is not only a participant in the research and development of the F35 fighter project, but also very active in the introduction of F-35 fighter . At present, Australia has equipped 54 F-35 fighter jets, the third F-35 squadron is under construction, and the construction of the fourth flight squadron has also begun. In the first phase, Australia will have 96 F-35 fighter jets, becoming one of the countries with the most F-35 fighter jets!
However, just as the Australian Air Force and Navy installed a large number of F-35, there were voices of opposition in Australia! Australian senior journalist Brian Toohey believes that Australia should not have purchased four squadrons of F-35 fighter jets. The biggest mistake was to buy these fighter jets at the beginning. Now what Australia has to do is not to continue to install F35, but to get the United States to refund the fee! The reason is that the F-35 fighter jets do not meet the needs of the Australian Air Force at all!
Brian Tuxi said: The that has been equipped in several years has proved that the Australian Air Force's F-35 fighter jets have 23% less time in the air than originally expected, and this situation will continue in the next few years. This means that the F-35 will stay on the ground for more time. Not only will it not be able to complete the tasks that should have been carried out, the F-35's maintenance costs will also increase greatly. By 2053, Australia will have to pay US$11 billion for the maintenance of the F-35A! The flight time is less than planned, but the maintenance costs are constantly increasing. However, in order to make the F-35 fleet still have combat capabilities by 2053, Australia needs to continue to increase the maintenance!
Bryan Tuxi is not the only authoritative person to oppose Australia's continued introduction of F-35s, Australian military expert Anthony Galloway pointed out the more serious problems. Anthony Galloway believes that the combat radius of the F-35 is only about 1,000 kilometers. If the Australian Air Force dispatches the F-35A fighter to enter the South China Sea, it must refuel in air to reach the combat radius of 1,500 kilometers. The combat radius of 1,500 kilometers is the minimum requirement for the Australian Air Force F35A to enter the South China Sea ! But if it is in a state of conflict, the air tanker is very easy to be attacked!
Bryan Tuxi believes that the F-35A needs to be forced to accelerate and slow down during flight, so that it consumes more fuel during flight. Therefore, the actual combat radius of the F-35A is less than the theoretical one of about 1,000 kilometers. In addition, the F-35A fighter's flight speed of Mach 1.6 can last up to 90 seconds. After 90 seconds, the pilot must take measures to slow down the F-35A. Therefore, it is a disaster for Australia to purchase F35A. Even the two F-35As that were purchased at the earliest cannot be upgraded according to the current configuration of Lockheed Martin !
In fact, the outside world's evaluations about the F-35 fighter are mixed! Some people believe that the F-35 fighter has advanced avionics and multi-functional combat capabilities, and is an excellent stealth fighter. Another people believe that the F-35 fighter has a short combat radius, slow flight speed, and not outstanding maneuverability. It is an fighter with average performance, . The avionics system of the F-35 fighter is indeed relatively advanced. It is equipped with an AN/APG-81 active phased array radar, with an optoelectronic distributed aperture system, an optoelectronic aiming system (EOTS), an AN/ASQ-239 electronic warfare system, etc. The comprehensive avionics configuration of the F-35 is an excellent type among the current global fighter jets.
However, advanced avionics systems cannot make up for the F-35's own flaws. The maximum flight speed of the F-35 fighter is only Mach 1.6, which is one of the slowest jet fighter . The combat radius of the F-35 fighter is only a little over a thousand kilometers. These are all flaws of the F-35. The advanced avionics systems are not unique to the F-35. my country's J-20 fighter, even the third-generation and a half-generation fighter such as the J-16 and J-10C are also equipped with advanced avionics that are no less than the F-35. The F-35's avionics are not outstanding, but the flaws are real and irreparable. Overall, the advantages are not obvious but the flaws are too outstanding!
In addition, it is actually very difficult for Australia to invest the F-35 fighter jet in the South China Sea to cause trouble. Australia is more than 2,000 kilometers away from my country's South China Sea. The F-35A can barely fly to the South China Sea after aerial refueling. And after a short stay, you must return unless you conduct a second air refueling. In addition, if Australia's F-35 fighter jets pose a threat to my country's South China Sea region, the People's Liberation Army has enough countermeasures to deal with it!
HM Air Force H-6K bomber has a combat radius of more than 3500 kilometers, and the Longjian-20 cruise missile equipped with can range up to 2500 kilometers. If the F-35A of the Australian Air Force poses a threat to my country's South China Sea, the combination of Air Force H-6K Longjian-20 can completely eliminate the threat in its infancy! In addition, if the Australian Air Force's F-35A poses a threat to our South China Sea, we have to take tougher countermeasures, such as deploying the Dongfeng-26 ballistic missile on the South China Sea islands. After this deployment is completed, it can destroy the Australian deep F-35 base!
As an extraterritorial country, Australia has been constantly interfering in my country's South China Sea issue in recent years, and has continuously sent warship and military aircraft into the South China Sea, seriously undermining the peace and stability of the South China Sea. For example, on May 26 this year, an P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft of the Australian Air Force conducted an illegal reconnaissance operation over the South China Sea. Our Air Force had to dispatch an J-16 fighter to drive it away. There are many such examples!
However, it is certain that China has an overwhelming military advantage over Australia. The People's Liberation Army is not afraid of any opponents coming to provoke in the South China Sea. If Australia insists on continuing to provoke in the South China Sea, the H-6K and Dongfeng-26 are just one of our many countermeasures. With the strength of our Air Force, the Australian Air Force's F-35A will definitely be able to make the Australian Air Force's F-35A come and go! Of course, whether we will deploy these advanced counter-equipment equipment in place depends entirely on Australia. As long as Australia stops provoking in the South China Sea, our country will naturally not make targeted deployments. After all, our country is a country that loves peace very much and will never take the initiative to make military deployments to any country!
