Security Needs Drive Australian F-35 Base Program

Australia has begun building the infrastructure it will need to support its planned force of at least 72 Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightnings, with much of the work driven by U.S. demands for tightened security of the aircraft and their systems.

Construction began this month at RAAF Williamtown, the main fighter base of the Royal Australian Air Force.

Initial facilities should be ready at that facility, on the east coast at Newcastle, in 2018, when the first RAAF F-35 to be based in Australia is due to arrive in the country.

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