Written off early by critics, two of Defence's most controversial projects have made a turnaround with the Joint Strike Fighter declared ready for use in operations and an upgrade to be announced for the Collins class submarines.
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Defence Minister Linda Reynolds will announce on Tuesday that the Collins will receive sonar upgrades for more accurate detection of mines, reefs and other undersea threats through a multimillion-dollar contract with Thales Australia.
"Our six Collins Class submarines are a highly capable and regionally superior capability that are only halfway through their operational life," Senator Reynolds said.
The sonar upgrades are locally designed and developed and tailored to the warm, shallow water most prevalent in Australia's maritime area. The $23.7 million contract expands the ongoing full replacement of the prime sonar arrays on Australia's Collins fleet, which was originally due for retirement this year but is now planned to operate into the 2030s.
Additionally, the F-35A Lightning II fleet have been declared fit for use in operations this week, meeting the government's revised deadline of December 2020.
77 Squadron will begin operations with the new aircraft in the first quarter of 2021. An additional two squadrons are expected to be using the new aircraft by the end of 2023.
The first batch of aircraft to Australia arrived more than two years later than scheduled due to problems with the project in the US with frequent cost breaches and milestone delays.
Both projects pushed the boundaries of technology at their origin and received sustained criticism, but now form the high end of Australia's strike and surveillance capabilities across the Asia-Pacific region.
"The Australian Defence Force now has an F-35A squadron ready to conduct technologically advanced strike and air combat roles, and another squadron dedicated to providing world-class training here in Australia," Senator Reynolds said.
"While 2020 presented significant challenges to all of us, and travel restrictions made it difficult to ferry our aircraft to Australia, the huge efforts of Defence, industry and our partners in the United States made today's achievement possible."
The formal declaration doesn't spell the end of doubt around the project. The US Air Force was the first to declare the model ready for operations more than four years ago, but continues to have concerns about production quality.
The most recent assessment, written by the Pentagon's director for operational test and evaluation Robert Behler, found around 800 faults including cracks and a gun that can't shoot.
"Although the programme office is working to fix deficiencies, new discoveries are still being made, resulting in only a minor decrease in the overall number," Mr Behler wrote.
Despite the Pentagon's concerns, the US Congress is expected to authorise moving to the maximum-rate of production in March next year, which will ease further delays.
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Israel, Italy, Japan, Norway and the UK have also declared the aircraft fit for use in operations.
F-35 manufacturer Lockheed Martin credits the aircraft with driving a transformation inside the defence force. "This [milestone] ushers in a new era of Australian air power that gives the RAAF transformational and game-changing capabilities," Lockheed Martin Australia chief executive Joe North said.
A Rand Corporation report on lessons from the Collins class submarine experience, produced for Defence, found the much-reported problems largely involved the subcontracted designer and part owner of ASC, Kockums.
"All things considered, Australia pulled off a very impressive feat that offers many lessons for future programs."