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From: bxr307@csc.anu.edu.au
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: Re: A-12, Australian Carrier? A-4's..
Message-ID: <1990Dec21.025358.9872@cbnews.att.com>
Date: 21 Dec 90 02:53:58 GMT
References: <1990Dec20.015931.28940@cbnews.att.com>
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From: bxr307@csc.anu.edu.au
In article <1990Dec20.015931.28940@cbnews.att.com>, disc3c1@jetson.uh.edu writes:
> 
> 
> From: disc3c1@jetson.uh.edu
> Help... also, Can anybody Tell me, will Australia get
> an Aircraft carrier EVER??? I wanna be a Carrier Pilot, and I have the option
> of staying in the US or goin gback to Australia, but if Australia has no 
> carriers, it may be a bit hard to fly of a Carrier that isnt there.. Lastly,
> is Australia getting its A-4 Skyhawks back from New Zealand???

	I think your best bet Scott if that is your wish would be either to 
go to England and join the RAN and learn to fly Harrier FRS-1 or -2's or
alternatively join the US Navy and fly off their monster flattops.  Another
alternative if you really desire to get in on the bottom floor is to either
go to the Soviet Union and fly off their new carriers or go to Japan. 
Apparently Japan is about to let contracts for several new carriers in the same
sort of class as the Illustrious class of through deck cruisers.
	There is no chance (well about as much as a snowball's in hell :-) of
Australia ever getting another carrier.  They are simply too expensive and
out threat environment does not call for such a vessel.  The Department of
Defence in its wisdom (and all major political parties now basically agree) that
there is no need for such a ship and that the Navy if it needs to operate
in a hostile air environment it will be able to get sufficient air cover from
the RAAF.  Personally I think its short sighted but the cost benefits are
rather obvious.
	Australia is not getting its A4 Skyhawks back from New Zealand.  What
is happening is that the RNZAF is having is A4 Skyhawks temporarily stationed
for an extended period in Oz while the base from which they operate is being
upgraded.  It was decided as an experiment in extended defence co-operation
betweed the two countries to have the aircraft stationed in Oz rather than
shifting to a sub-standard RNZAF base.  They chose, not unsurprisingly, Nowra
RANAS (Royal Australian Navy Air Station for the US audience out there) as
their base.  This means a return to where they originally operated from for the
A4's that the RAN had sold to the kiwis when they had decided to finally
decommision Melbourne.  Apparently quite a few ex-RAN pilots shook their heads
at the irony of this.


Brian Ross