05 Desember 2017 A35-003 takes off from Fort Worth. (photo : AustralianAviationCarl Richards) The Royal Australian Air Force’s third F-35A Lightning II, A35-003, has completed its first flight. Photographer Carl Richards captured these images of A35-003 taking off on its first flight, from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, on December 1. The aircraft is due to be delivered to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona in early 2018 to be used for pilot and maintainer training, before being permanently relocated to Australia in 2020. A35-003, known to its manufacturer Lockheed Martin as AU-3, had its RAAF markings, including its 3 Squadron tail flashes, applied in early November, the final phase of the aircraft’s production process. 3 Squadron is due to become the first RAAF F-35 operational unit. ( AustralianAviation )
15 November 2017 Australia's future submarine (photo : Navy Recognition) Christopher Pyne reveals vision for export version of Australia’s Future Submarines AUSTRALIA could export a brand new submarine in 20 or 30 years, Defence Industry Minister Christopher Pyne says. Mr Pyne was asked at a major submarine conference in Adelaide on Tuesday morning whether it would be possible to sell submarines overseas now that Australia is embarking on the $50 billion Future Submarines project. He replied that we would never sell the French-designed Shortfin Barracuda — we want to keep the best submarine in the region for ourselves. However, he said, we could develop an “export version”, in the same way the French did, to both sustain the industry here and meet the needs of other nations. Mr Pyne has previously talked up the possibility of Australia as an arms exporter, but the focus has been on simpler warships. However, he said today the idea of exporting submarines was “something we can explo...