America's Cast-offs
The Age
Thursday March 11, 2004
WHAT 18 F-111G fighter-bombers were brought from the US to augment the RAAF's existing fleet.
PURCHASED 1992
PRICE $160 million
VERDICT The purchase was planned to extend the F-111s' service to 2020. However, the claimed "bargain" price of $70 million was more than doubled by the US. Escalating running costs and wing cracks prompted the air force to warn that the nearly 30-year-old planes should not be flown after 2010, potentially leaving a major gap in Australia's air combat capabilities.
WHAT Amphibious landing ships, Manoora and Kanimbla.
PURCHASED 1994
PRICE $60 million each
VERDICT The price seemed too good to be true, and it was. On delivery, the ships were found to be riddled with rust. The navy was forced to spend another $280 million making them shipshape. A new ship would have cost about $500 million, but would have double the service life.
WHAT The 11 Seasprites were designed to operate from a new navy patrol boat that was never built.
PURCHASED 1997
PRICE $1 billion
VERDICT A disaster, running three years late and yet to see service, with problems upgrading their Vietnam War-era airframes paling in comparison with software difficulties.
WHAT M1 Abrams, the America's main battle tank.
PURCHASED 2004
PRICE $550 million
VERDICT This looks a good deal, at about half the price of new tanks, given the price included training, logistics and lifetime support. Questions remain over if and
where the army will use these difficult-to-transport giants.
A bigger issue is the condition of the tanks, which are up to 15 years old. Will they be the cream of the crop of the US Army's cast-offs?
© 2004 The Age