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Updated: Sun Aug 29 16:43:38 UTC 2010
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Australia
Must Formally Request
an F-22 Export Assessment
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Air Power
Australia - Australia's Independent Defence Think Tank
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Air Power Australia Media Release
22nd
February, 2007
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Contacts:
Peter Goon Mob: 0419-806-476 / Dr Carlo Kopp Mob: 0437-478-224
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Air Power Australia welcomes the
interest of some observers, including Australian Defence Business
Review (ADBR), in the US LO/CLOEXCOM (formerly LOEXCOM) process. The
LO/CLOEXCOM process has not been a feature of the air power debate
until the Defence Minister attempted to exclude the F-22 from
consideration, with a letter from US Deputy Secretary England, and
subsequent
misleading comments on the process involved. Regrettably, ADBR's
recent article merely plods through the Defence 'party line' developed
to
stifle debate. Australia must formally request a US LO/CLOEXCOM assessment of the F-22.
Had the authors of the article in question delved into the LO/CLOEXCOM
subject
from a positive, rather than a denigrating and defensive, perspective,
they
would have seen that LO/CLOEXCOM exists to address the concerns of the
Obey
amendment, and does not contravene it.
The article posed the important question of 'who is the real decision
influencer?' The answer is definitely Australia.
Unfortunately, Defence have failed to recognise that Australia, in any
negotiation, and especially for the F-22, starts from a 'most favoured
nation' status. But we need to demonstrate our traditional, open,
rigorous, and technology-based negotiation skills if we are to generate
the required level of understanding, trust and support America has
always given us in the past.
The fact that Defence still refuses to acknowledge the F-22's existing and growing strike capabilities,
and has not sought the availability of the aircraft, demonstrates
nothing more than negligence in managing Australia's security. To
speculate that a LO/CLOEXCOM request would take two years to complete
simply discards as inconvenient the time that will be saved from
the earlier F-22 assessment work the US has done for Australia.
Australia must request an F-22 LO/CLOEXCOM assessment or stand charged
with ineptitude when the inevitable happens and our force structure is
found to be inadequate to assure freedom of operation for our RAAF,
RAN, and especially our Army land forces.
On the question of exports, these will prove to be critical in the
building of a US Air Force F-22 Raptor fleet capable of giving the USA
a global air superiority edge. The F-22 Raptor, with its existing and
rapidly growing strike capability, represents the critical capability
at the core of the of the future US Air Force. All US
political/military/budgetary maneuvering around the F-22 has been aimed
at ensuring that this MUST happen.
Jumping to speculative conclusions is not helpful in generating
informed debate on Australia's force structure and the capabilities
required to deliver air power. The importance of these matters
demands a far better understanding of these fundamental issues than has
been demonstrated by Defence, and their very few supporters in this
debate.
Defence recently claimed in The Age
that
Australia had never initiated the LOEXCOM process. The initial
assessment of the
exportability of the F-22 to Australia predated the decision to join
the JSF SDD phase, and was conducted in response
to the launch of the AIR 6000 project. In July, 2002, one of the Air
Power Australia co-founders advised Defence to request copies of the
reports and
briefings prepared for the
RAAF by the US assessment team.
In the interests of aiding Defence in the recollection of these
matters, Air Power Australia is making that correspondence
public at this time.
It has been a feature of this debate from the outset that Defence have
repeatedly muddied the waters and obfuscated issues, to media,
parliamentary and public attention away from the more important issues.
This behaviour must cease as it contributes nothing of value.
If this present line of obfuscation persists, and Defence continues
with its current source selection and procurement / support practices,
Australia will not only fail to regain its lost regional air
superiority, but inevitably lose all but the dregs of our high
technology Defence Industry skills and capabilities. Australia
deserves better.
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[1] The
Age - Letters - Wed 21st February, 2007, Air Vice-Marshal John Harvey,
Program Manager, New Air Combat Capability project, Department of
Defence, Canberra: "Defence never has made a formal request to acquire
the F-22. Nor
have we ever asked US officials to start a process to lift the
Congressional ban on selling the F-22. It is hardly unusual that
the US should decide that some of its military technology is not
for export, and hence the F-22 remains prohibited from export by US
Congressional legislation."
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Air
Power Australia Website - http://www.ausairpower.net/
Air Power Australia Research and
Analysis - http://www.ausairpower.net/research.html
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