No, Australia no longer has F-111s in active service; the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) retired its F-111 fleet in December 2010, with surviving aircraft now preserved in museums or buried, as required by agreement with the U.S. due to asbestos in their construction. The F-111, nicknamed the "Pig," was replaced by the F/A-18F Super Hornets and F-35s, with no single aircraft fully replicating its unique long-range strike role.
The Australian Government announced on 7 November 2003 that the RAAF's F-111s would be retired from 2010, and on 16 March 2007 it was announced that the type would be withdrawn by the end of 2010. The F-111Gs were retired before the F-111Cs, with the last leaving service on 3 September 2007.
The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, fighter-bomber.
The fuselages were constructed out of bonded panels, and that bonding used asbestos, this is why it was deemed prudent to bury them. Trying to recover the materials was not cost effective, and it was full of hazards requiring a very comprehensive facility and PPE to even attempt.
The versatile "swing-wing" F-111 was officially named the "Aardvark" only at its retirement ceremony on 27 July 1996. The USAF F-111 was replaced by the F-15E and B-1B while the Australian F-111 was replaced in 2010 by the F/A-18 and the F-35.
In 1974, the SR-71 set the record for the quickest flight between London and New York at 1 hour, 54 minutes and 56 seconds. In 1976, it became the fastest airbreathing manned aircraft, previously held by its predecessor, the closely related Lockheed YF-12. As of 2025, the Blackbird still holds both world records.
The General Dynamics F-111 and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II were the main Western influences on the MiG-23. The Soviets, however, wanted a much lighter, single-engined fighter to maximize agility.
Though sun damage is a concern, the ozone hole has never reached Australia. And contrary to another popular belief - it is not a hole that exists all year round. The ozone hole forms and disappears on an annual basis in springtime over Antarctica.
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel held great respect for Australian soldiers, viewing them as tough, skilled, and formidable fighters, especially in attack, famously stating he'd use Australians to take hell and New Zealanders to hold it, though some historians question the exact phrasing while confirming his admiration for their fighting prowess in North Africa, documented in his letters.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the F-111 and B-1A introduced the method of jettisoning the entire cockpit as a means of crew escape. The crew remains strapped in the cabin, unencumbered by a parachute harness, while 27,000 lbf (120 kN) of thrust from rockets accelerates the module away from the rest of the aircraft.
Their answer was the Yakovlev Yak-38, a VTOL aircraft that performed relatively well. But the integration of the Yak-38's rear thrust engine and two lift turbofans made the jet deathly difficult to handle. If either of the lift fans failed, the Yak-38 would spin out of control.
Because the F-16 is faster due to a higher thrust-to-weight ratio, the Thunderbirds put on faster shows. However, the Blue Angels team tends to fly in tighter formations.
The real problem from the Navy's point of view was the airplane's size. Even before its maiden flight, many in the fighter community resisted the interceptor, considering it too heavy and too sluggish for dogfighting—which of course it was not designed to do.
F-35A Lightning II.
The US has long dominated military aviation with two cutting-edge fighter jets. > F-22 Raptor – Designed for air superiority, the F-22 offers unmatched stealth and agility.
Yes, Australia has a strong, technologically advanced, and well-trained military (the Australian Defence Force - ADF), ranking globally as a significant power, especially in the Asia-Pacific, despite its relatively small size; it excels in defense networks and is investing heavily in modernizing its air, land, and sea capabilities with key partners like the US and UK, making it a highly capable regional force.
Erwin Rommel said of the SAS, "this one unit has caused me more harm and damage than any other unit of similar size within Allied forces." And it wasn't just harm and damage in terms of war material destroyed, it was actually much more harm and damage to the morale of his troops because if you can be attacked anywhere ...
1957: Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke said to the people of Australia: "It is my official duty, and my personal desire, to express to you and through you to the people of Australia, our heartfelt sorrow for what occurred in the war."
Then, saying "It is finished, goodbye", Hitler took Eva back into their rooms for the last time. During the afternoon Hitler shot himself and Eva took the poison capsule that he had given her.
The elliptical orbit of the Earth places the Southern Hemisphere closer to the sun during its summer months than the Northern Hemisphere during its summer. This means that the summer sun in Australia is 7 to 10 percent stronger than similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.
The 10 countries with the highest average ozone exposures in 2019 were in Asia and the Middle East. They include Qatar, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Pakistan, Kuwait, the Islamic Republic of Iraq, the Republic of Korea, and Saudi Arabia.
The most intense sunlight on Earth can be found in the Atacama Desert.
The RAF retired its Panavia Tornados due to a combination of factors. Budgetary constraints necessitated difficult choices within defence spending, and maintaining the aging Tornado fleet was becoming increasingly expensive.
Key weaponry that the F-111 could carry included: General-purpose bombs - such as the Mk 82, Mk 84, and other types. Laser-guided bombs - like the GBU-10 and GBU-12. Nuclear weapons - it was capable of carrying B61 nuclear bombs. Air-to-ground missiles - including the AGM-12 Bullpup and AGM-86 ALCM.
The Tomcat was retired by the U.S. Navy on 22 September 2006, supplanted by the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.