Recently, the Indian media Eurasian Times quoted Australian military critic and senior journalist Ryan Tuxi criticized the F-35 fighter jets that suggested purchasing the Fourth Squadron in Australia's Defense Strategy Review. Tuxi bluntly stated that Australia's purchase of F-35 fighter jets was Australia's biggest mistake and it was simply a complete disaster because F-35 could not fight against China at all.
The reason why Tuxi is so angry at the content in the Defense Strategy Review is that this document will have an important impact on Australia's defense focus in 2023. The report was proposed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Abbot in August this year. Defence analysis companies and defense analysts from all over Australia can submit reports to it. The purpose is to help the Australian Ministry of Defense better understand areas that should be prioritized to ensure that the Australian Defense Forces is sufficient to deal with national defense security in 2023 and beyond.
Currently, Australia has three squadrons of 72 F-35A fifth-generation stealth fighter jets. If Australia continues to purchase F-35A fighter jets , the total number will reach 96. In Asia-Pacific region, the scale of equipment is second only to Japan.
Tuxi believes that Australia's biggest mistake in purchasing the F-35 fighter is to purchase this fighter. Not only should it not continue to buy it, but even the fighter jets that have been purchased should require a refund from the United States, because the F-35 fighter not only cannot fight against China, but has long had high cost problems.
It is not difficult to see from Tuxi's attitude that the reason why he opposes Australia's continued purchase of F-35 fighter jets is that the performance problems of the fighter jets cannot form an advantage for China, while on the other hand, it is the cost problem that has always existed.
First of all, in terms of cost, Australia joined the F-35JSF plan as a third-level industrial partner as a third-level industrial partner and invested 144 million yuan in development funds. It belongs to the angel investor , an angel investor of the F-35 project, and promised to purchase 72 F-35A fighter jets at a total price of US$16 billion. In this way, the average price of an F-35A is about US$220 million, which is similar to the price of India's "Ravel" fighter jets purchased by France's Dassault Company. So far, the Australian Air Force has received 54 F-35As and plans to put the remaining F-35A fighter jets into operation by the end of 2023.
In addition to the high procurement costs, the later upgrade and maintenance costs are also outrageously high. Since the F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter, in addition to its stealth design in appearance, the stealth paint on its fuselage is also one of the important conditions to ensure the stealth performance of the fighter, so huge amounts of funds are needed to maintain it.
Previously, Australian Air Force Deputy Marshal Leon Phillips claimed that Australia is expected to spend $10.87 billion to maintain the country's F-35 fleet until 2053. At the same time, the Australian Ministry of Defense announced that the F-35A fighter will have less than expected flight time in the next four years, with a flight time of 25% less than originally planned, a 17% less in 2023, a 14% less in 2024, and a 13% less in 2025. Australian media speculated that the reduction in flight time may be related to the maintenance of the fighter, which means that the Australian Air Force's F-35A fighter has to save maintenance costs by reducing flight time.
In addition to the maintenance costs, the upgrade of the fighter's software also makes Australia suffer. At present, Australia's latest F-35A has used the BLOCK 3F software. This software not only requires frequent upgrades, but also has high cost. The upgrade also has conditions and restrictions. The two F-35As that Australia initially purchased in 2013 were no longer able to be upgraded.
even if it can be upgraded, it cannot fight against China and Russia. The Deputy Chief of Staff of the US Air Force expressed concerns about the Block3F software and said: "The blocks that are about to be offline are not blocks that I feel can fight against China and Russia." The solution is to upgrade Block4 again. The new Block4 system enhances the capabilities of electronic warfare , improves the ability to identify targets, and can also hang more missiles, but the software is expected to be delivered in 2027, and the cost is of course very expensive. It can be said that Australia's F-35A fighter has become the "money tree" and "cash machine" of Lockheed Martin.
In addition to cost issues, another strong opposition to Tuxi is the performance of the F-35A fighter. As a fifth-generation fighter, the combat radius of the F-35A is only about 1,000 kilometers, and this is only theoretical. When fuel consumption is consumed, such as acceleration, missiles, supermaneuver, etc., its real combat radius is likely to be only 500 kilometers. Even if it can be equipped with a tanker, its combat radius is only 1,500 kilometers. Australia's distance from Zengmu's dark sand, the southernmost tip of China, is more than 3,000 yuan. The F-35 is beyond the reach, and although it is said that it is the fifth-generation fighter of , the , which has 4S standards, namely stealth, supermaneuverability, supersonic cruise and over-visual combat, in fact, the F-35A's supersonic cruise capability has always been questioned. It is reported that at the maximum flight speed of Mach 1.6, the F-35A can only maintain a 50-second flight time, and then it must slow down, otherwise it will face the risk of the airframe disintegration in the air. Such performance is almost unsuccessful against China's J-20 stealth fighter .
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