Wake up Australia. Australia will get through this
boats crisis and almost certainly a determined Tony Abbott will stop the boats
But our defence forward planning is so bad that by the end
of the decade Indonesia will have such defence superiority over Australia that
in 2020 the Indonesian president, not the Australian prime minister, will
decide how many refugees will be allowed to come to Australia.
To understand what is ahead you first need to read the
Jakarta Post where we discover that the Indonesian president has used the
Australian refugee crisis to revamp and sharpen Indonesia’s military
preparedness.
And it’s clear the Indonesians believe their greatest threat
is from Australia. Air Force chief spokesman Air Commodore Hadi Tjajanto told The
Jakarta Post: “We are concentrating on four radars in Timika, Merauke,
Saumlaki and Buraen, which face Australia.
“So if we notice any border violation, Makassar will be
ready. Australia is reachable from there.” (my emphasis).
The article carries the heading: “Air Force casts its eyes
on borders with Australia” see link at the bottom of the page.
What makes that Indonesian air force statement so important
is that the Indonesians realise that ultimately it’s about air power. And by
the end of the decade the Indonesians will completely control Australia’s
northern air space.
To achieve dominance over Australia Indonesia plans to buy
an incredible 180 of the Russian/Indian Sukhoi fighters, almost certainly
including the T-50 PAK-FA and Su-35S. We are planning to buy America’s
Joint Strike Fighter which has been an unmitigated disaster and is absolutely
no match for the Russian/Indian aircraft.
And it’s so noisy that when the “stealth” bomber lands or
takes off from Darwin the residents near the airport will need ear protection.
We may need to base the JSF further south because of the Darwin noise problem
but unfortunately the JSF has limited flying range.
As we saw with the Australian defence abuses the department
of defence has a culture of cover ups and the JSF disaster is its biggest ever
cover-up.
Australia premier defence analysts Air Power
Australia group, has been calling the Joint Strike
Fighter disaster correctly for a decade and warning us about the looming
Indonesian superiority. Airpower Australia wants Australia to convince the US
to merge the JSF program with a restoration of the F22. We would then have an
aircraft that could match the Russian/Indian fighter and with American help we
would retain control over our air space.
America’s defence chiefs are also covering up the disaster,
although high-level leaks mean that Americans have a better appreciation of the
JSF disaster than Australians, but Fairfax media has begun to question the
capabilities of the JSF compared to its rivals.
The problem is that the developers Lockheed Martin keep
saying they will fix the faults and improve the performance and no one wants to
face the fact that the attempt to make the joint strike fighter a plane for all
services has not worked.
If we end up with a fleet of Joint Strike Fighters or
continue to rely on the out-dated and next to useless Hornets (an even worse
option) then by the end of the decade Australia may need to turn to China for
defence protection against Indonesia. China has a big stake in our minerals and
has an aircraft that looks like it can match the Russian/Indian plane.
All our recent defence ministers, including the current one,
have let us down and not been prepared to go beyond what the military chiefs
tell them. John Faulkner did wake up at least to the danger but promptly
resigned.
Footnote: For those wanting Australia Day weekend reading
first read the Jakarta Post:
TNI gears up, sets sights on
foreign threats, January 22, The Jakarta Post.
Air Force casts its eye on borders
with Australia, January 22, The Jakarta Post.
Then read some of my previous commentaries on the JSF
disaster, which unfortunately have proved accurate:
US 'Deep Throat' destroys a JSF
cover-up, September 20, 2013
Stephen Smith's 11th-hour flight option, March 5, 2013
Awakening to a decade of defence failure, February 19, 2013
Shooting down lies from the Sky, February 15, 2013
The sound of a JSF death rattle, October 4, 2011
Stephen Smith's 11th-hour flight option, March 5, 2013
Awakening to a decade of defence failure, February 19, 2013
Shooting down lies from the Sky, February 15, 2013
The sound of a JSF death rattle, October 4, 2011
By
Robert Gottliebsen
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