Australia Shortlists Three Standoff Strike Missiles

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The Royal Australian Air Force has shortlisted three standoff strike missiles to arm its upgraded F/A-18 Hornets.

Defence Minister Robert Hill announced Aug. 27 that the cabinet had approved funding for acquisition of a new Follow-On Stand-Off Weapon (FOSOW) under a project code-named Air 5418. The project was launched during the late 1990s but placed on hold in February 2000 for financial reasons. Worth up to 450 million Australian dollars ($316.7 million), it aims to acquire a smart, standoff weapon that will enable the Air Force’s Hornet multirole fighters and AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft to assume much of the strike role currently filled by the service’s F-111Cs. Each of the contenders has a standoff range in excess of 250 kilometers.

The new missile will enter service between 2007 and 2009, alongside the AIM-120C Advanced Medium-Range Air-Air Missile and AIM-132 Advanced Short-Range Air-Air Missile, both of which have entered service aboard the Air Force’s Hornet in the past 12 months

http://www.defensenews.com/channel.php?C=asiapac
 
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