Towards a strength posture of 72 F-35A Lightning II, there is the latest news that the F-35 arsenal of the Australian Air Force (RAAF) has now reached 50 units. This was after the arrival of two F-35A units at Williamtown Air Force Base, not far from Sydney, New South Wales in May.
The addition of this latest F-35A fleet brings the current number of aircraft in Australia to 50 units. Quoted from news.defence.gov.au (21/6/2022), it was stated that Air Squadron 3 was responsible for the arrival of aircraft to Australia via ferry flights across the Pacific Ocean from Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, United States of America.
3rd Squadron Commander Wing Commander Adrian Kiely said RAAF F-35A aircraft participated in Exercise Black Flag 22-1 and integration activities with the United States Air Force (USAF) 422 Test and Evaluation Squadron prior to the ferry flight to Australia.
Adrian Kiely said that as F-35A arrivals to Australia continue to increase, there is an opportunity for air refueling to be carried out by the US Air Force's HC-130J turboprop tanker aircraft.
Throughout 2022, the Australian Air Force will receive 15 F-35As, and in 2023 the last 9 will be delivered. A total of 72 F-35As ordered by Australia were delivered under Project Air 6000 Phase 2A/2B.
The Australian government targets the F-35A's optimal combat readiness level to be achieved by 2022-2023. The first batch of F-35A deliveries to Australia took place on 10 December 2018, where the first delivery consisted of two F-35As.
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