iscover
The DoD has decided to disband No.12 Squadron's CH-47C Chinook force. Not unexpected given their high operating costs and relatively useful value on the second-hand military market. According to Defence Minister Kim Beazley, the Chinooks cost around $7,080 though what exactly is amortised into this figure has not been verified) an hour to operate against the new S-70A Black Hawk which costs only $2,390 an hour with far greater rates of m1ss1on serviceability. Defence claims that the elimination of the Chinooks will have $110m over the next five years and will free a great number of RAAF personnel for other requirements. On the used market the 11 remaining Chinooks with spares could bring up to$1OOm for Defence as all the aircraft can be readily updated to full US Army CH-47D spec for a cost of around $US9m per unit. RAAF Chinook operations commenced in 1974 and officially cease on July 1, 1989.
Newsdesk – Military Aviation
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No Canadian F-18s:
Any thoughts Aerospace Technologies of Australia may have had for selling F-18 Hornets from the Australian production line to Canada as attnlion replacement aircraft seem to have gone out the window following the release of the latest Canadian defence budget.
The budget contains several cancellations including the purchase of between 13 and 28 Hornets. Like Australia, Canada operates the ‘A’ model F-18 and with production of this variant now ended 1n the USA, ASTA’s Australian production line is the sole source.
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