parsifal
Colonel
I have no idea about the technical details, but I can tell a little story about the last two aircraft that the RAAF as its principal fighters.
We purchased 75 F-18s in the 1980s and they have provided us with a potent air defence and strike capability.
In the 1960s we purchased 100 Mirage IIIs which provided us with a potent fighter, and some strike capability.
Both aircraft were a technical success. But I am old enough to tell you the Mirages were remembered with less than any feeling of affection.
Our usage of the F-18s were more or less free from foreign intervention regarding our Foreign policy decisions, ie, we could use them as we saw fit. Our usage of our Mirages was constantly interefered with by the French Government..... in the 1960s they threatened the Australian Government with a boycott on spare parts if we deployed any Mirages to Vietnam. Fast forward 10 years. During the French nuclear testing programs of the 1970s, which included French spies bombing and sinking the Rainbow warrior in New Zealand, killing two people, Australia was "restrained" by the frenach government, again with threats of witholding spares for our Mirage fleet.
Australia has never purchased any fighters from the French ever again, nor are we ever going to use any French, or part French aircraft. I can tell you from my generation of fleet and air force commanders (some of which I knew personally), that nothing from Europe of any consequence would ever be purchased. They would make the procurement shortlists and be eliminated for one reason or another. The only exception to this was the purchase of the BAE Hawk Trainers.
We are far better off sticking with US equipment for reasons other than the aircrafts actual performance. not that there is anything wrong with the performance of US military hardware. Our experience with US equipment has always been quite okay.
We purchased 75 F-18s in the 1980s and they have provided us with a potent air defence and strike capability.
In the 1960s we purchased 100 Mirage IIIs which provided us with a potent fighter, and some strike capability.
Both aircraft were a technical success. But I am old enough to tell you the Mirages were remembered with less than any feeling of affection.
Our usage of the F-18s were more or less free from foreign intervention regarding our Foreign policy decisions, ie, we could use them as we saw fit. Our usage of our Mirages was constantly interefered with by the French Government..... in the 1960s they threatened the Australian Government with a boycott on spare parts if we deployed any Mirages to Vietnam. Fast forward 10 years. During the French nuclear testing programs of the 1970s, which included French spies bombing and sinking the Rainbow warrior in New Zealand, killing two people, Australia was "restrained" by the frenach government, again with threats of witholding spares for our Mirage fleet.
Australia has never purchased any fighters from the French ever again, nor are we ever going to use any French, or part French aircraft. I can tell you from my generation of fleet and air force commanders (some of which I knew personally), that nothing from Europe of any consequence would ever be purchased. They would make the procurement shortlists and be eliminated for one reason or another. The only exception to this was the purchase of the BAE Hawk Trainers.
We are far better off sticking with US equipment for reasons other than the aircrafts actual performance. not that there is anything wrong with the performance of US military hardware. Our experience with US equipment has always been quite okay.
... because they got great use out of the TomCats against Saddam ... as I understand it, they deployed the Cats as forward AWAC controllers - using those same very advanced radar and avionics to direct simpler aircraft like Northrop F-5's. 
