Australia could still get 28 new F-35 stealth fighters as early as 2029 if the Coalition wins the coming federal election and goes ahead with its pledge to commit $3 billion to the purchase, a Lockheed Martin executive says.
The planes were originally slated to become the country’s fourth F-35 squadron, but when the government unveiled the National Defence Strategy in April last year, it cancelled the order.
This cancellation came despite an additional $50.3 billion in extra funding over the next 10 years, which went into upgrading the Super Hornet fleet to keep it flying until at least 2030—beyond its recommended retirement date of 2027.
Australia currently operates three squadrons of the F-35A, equivalent to 72 aircraft; the final jet was delivered in December 2024.
But if the Liberal-National Coalition wins and puts in an order—the airplane manufacturer might still be able to deliver a squad in just four years, according to J.R. McDonald, Lockheed’s vice president of business development for the F-35 program. The program produces 156 jets each year.
Speaking to reporters at the Avalon Air Show in Victoria, McDonald admitted it would be “an amazing feat” to go from order to delivery in such a short timeframe, but “conceivably, based on where we are buying long-lead parts for Lot 21 we could make that happen.”
“At this point, if somebody said, ‘Inject Australian aeroplanes into the first lot available,’ it would be Lot 21 aeroplanes that would deliver in 2029,” he said.
Speaking on a panel at the air show, Air Vice Marshall Nick Hogan, head of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) capability, said more F-35s would be welcome, “but we will go with the decisions of the government of the day.”
And despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s musing that weapons sold to allies might be able to be remotely disabled from Washington D.C., Hogan says the RAAF would have no concerns with any new aircraft.
Canada and Europe Reconsidering
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair says Ottawa is also looking into possible alternatives for at least some of its planned $14 billion purchase of 88 F-35As, and French President Emmanuel Macron has called on European leaders to end defence purchases from the United States and instead buy from EU manufacturers.But the risk was emphatically denied by the Pentagon’s F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in a statement issued just before the start of the airshow on March 18, saying the programme operates under “well-established agreements that ensure all F-35 operators have the necessary capabilities to sustain and operate their aircraft effectively.”
Hogan noted that the F-35 uses a global sustainment network, rather than being totally reliant on America.
“There’s many countries that are contributing to the sustainment of the platform,” he told the Avalon panel. “I’m not concerned at all for the sustainment long-term of F-35. I don’t have any issues.”
