Retrait des F-111

Australia will retire its last [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]in a ceremony at [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] on 2 December.

As the last operator of the swing-wing, long-range strike aircraft, the event will close a chapter in aviation history that began with the first flight of the F-111A prototype almost 46 years ago at the then-[Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]' factory in Fort Worth, Texas.

Over the years the F-111 performed several roles for the US Air Force, including long-range strike, and with the EF-111 Raven variant, electronic warfare.

In [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] service F-111s participated in the Vietnam War, the US attack on Libya in 1986, and Operation Desert Storm in 1991 against Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
By 1997, the USAF had parked all of its "Aardvark" fleet. But the RAAF's Amberley-based 82 Wing continued to keep the "Pig" flying for another 14 years. Australia started operations with the F-111C in 1973, and retired its last ex-USAF F-111Gs in 2007.

Taking the bomber's place will be a fleet of 24 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] F/A-18F Super Hornets.

The first 11 are already in Australia.

Another three are to be delivered this year, with the new type to be declared operational later in December.

Another 10 two-seat F/A-18Fs will be delivered by October 2011 to fully replace the F-111 - but for only about 10 years.

The RAAF originally announced plans in 2003 to replace the F-111 this year with the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].

But after Lockheed announced the first major delay to the programme in 2004, Canberra moved to order 24 Super Hornets in 2006 as a stopgap.
Also based at Amberley, the Super Hornets are slower and have less range than the land-based F-111, and are optimised for carrier landings.
The Boeing type also lacks the very low observable level of stealth advertised for the F-35, 100 of which are expected to be acquired for the RAAF.

But the service is receiving a fighter with [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]'s state-of-the-art APG-79 active electronically scanned array radar, which has already received high praise from 82 Wing Commander Gp Capt Steve Roberton for its ability to track air and ground targets simultaneously.

The F-111 features the Pave Tack targeting system to guide precision munitions, but the F/A-18F sports Raytheon's advanced targeting forward looking infrared pod, with third-generation thermal imaging.
Australia earlier this decade completed the integration of Rafael's AGM-142 Raptor air-to-surface missile with its F-111, but recent tests with the Super Hornet's Raytheon AGM-154C Joint Standoff Weapon have demonstrated an advanced strike capability.
The retiring type is also powered by costly to maintain Pratt & Whitney TF30s that have been used in the F-111's signature air show display: the "dump and burn".

The 1960s-era F-111 also lacks a communications suite on a par with the modern standard for transmitting data seamlessly between airborne platforms.

Perhaps more than any other deficiency, it is this shortcoming which has pushed the RAAF to retire the type even before its original replacement is ready to be fielded.

Australia's air force inventory also includes 55 F/A-18A fighters and 16 F/A-18B trainers, as listed in [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].