Australia fortifies F-35 fleet capabilities, partners with Indo-Pacific forces

Tom Abke

Australia is enhancing the capabilities and durability of its fleet of F-35 fighter jets with expanded maintenance infrastructure, while also opening its facilities to F-35s from partner forces for maintenance and training in the nation’s vast airspace.

The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation stealth fighter designed for multiple roles, including air superiority, ground attack and reconnaissance. It also is used by Indo-Pacific air forces including Japan, Singapore and the United States, and was designed and developed by Lockheed Martin, with principal partners Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems.

The Australian government and industry partners are upgrading Newcastle Airport in the Hunter Valley region north of Sydney as a maintenance hub for the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) F-35s and those of other armed forces. The expansion includes boosting Newcastle’s capacity to 13 maintenance bays to service the expanding fleet of F-35s in the Indo-Pacific, according to Australia’s Defence Department, known as Defence.

BAE Australia is leading the upgrade, with Canberra investing about $140 million. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said Australia is “a vital contributor of maintenance and sustainment services for the global F-35 fleet, which is expected to reach more than 3,000 aircraft,” describing the expanding facility at Newcastle as the “Indo-Pacific hub for F-35 repair and maintenance.”

Under the cooperative F-35 Global Support Solution program, Australian repair facilities will provide regional support including airframe, engine and warehousing services, according to Defence.

Two Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF) F-35s arrived in Australia in August 2023 as a trial for deployments of JASDF fighters, noted a March 2024 article published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), a Canberra-based think tank. Beyond receiving repairs and maintenance, the JASDF F-35s will train with the RAAF in Australia’s expansive airspace. The August deployment marked the initial application of the nations’ reciprocal access agreement signed in 2022.

“Future participation in exercises in Australia by Japanese F-35s and their crews will promote the ability of the two countries’ forces to operate together,” the ASPI article noted. “That will extend to operating with other like-minded Indo-Pacific countries when Japanese F-35 units participate in multinational exercises in Australia.”

The JASDF fighters flew 6,400 kilometers from Misawa Air Base to RAAF Base Tindal in Australia’s Northern Territory via the U.S.’s Andersen Air Force Base in Guam and were refueled in flight by JASDF tankers.

The RAAF also is enhancing the resilience of its fleet of 63 F-35s, which is expected to rise soon to 72. Aviators are assembling “deployed spares packs” — containers of parts and consumables for various F-35A systems, such as avionics, hydraulics and propulsion, Defence reported in February 2024.

The spares packs are vital to supply chain resilience and operational preparedness during deployments until resupply capabilities are established, the news release stated, and “allow the Air Force to sustain F-35A operations in any location and scenario.”

Tom Abke is a FORUM correspondent reporting from Singapore.