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Initial funding has been approved for the qualification of a radar for the MDC/BAe AV-8B Harrier II, shown here armed with Maverick air to ground missiles and Mk82 bombs. Likely candidates are the Hughes APG-65 from the F-18 and the Ferranti Blue Vixen which is presently being optimised for an advanced version of the Sea Harrier.
Newsdesk – Military Aviation
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Defence Budget Reflects Continued Reductions in Share of GDP:
The 1988/89 Australian Defence Force budget of $7,658m, a . 5% increase over the previous year in real terms, reflects an increasing trend towards long-term defence cuts. At 2. 4% of GDP (the lowest allocation since 1951/ 52) the 1988/89 figure compares poorly with the 3. 0% of GDP allocation as recently as 1982/83. Except for last year, most defence budgets over the past fifteen years have traditionally been in the high two percent of GOP category.
The 5% increase makes a mockery of the original Dibb Report aspirations of 1986 and puts in doubt the ability of the DoD to even finance the numerous long-term projects mooted int the 1987 7 White Paper. By comparison, Dibb planned his analysis on a a 3% growth in real income while the White Paper settled for only 1%, twice that allocated for the current year.
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