RAAF F/A-18F SUPER HORNETS - C-17 & OMEGA KDC-10 TANKER ARRIVE AUCKLAND

[ausmyothu]

We have 24 of them...Woohoo,,,,!

[MrFattyfatfatboy]

look seen one seen them all , how about footage of nz dash 8s ,as we dont get to see them here and some aircraft that are actualy cool and go places as apposed to buzzing around the same airport making noise.

[Russ07]

why would they fly into Auckland international? why not an air force base?

[aussiepride2005]

@astein1912 By the time the F-35's are here, our FA-18A/B's will be rooted mate. The aircraft are already showing problems with there centre barrel rolls due to the high g loads they have been through in the past 25 years. Also, we wouldn't just 'give' NZ our planes. NZ is not in the postion to operate fighters, and probably won't ever be again. Once you have stopped operating fast jets, it is extremely difficult and expensive to start over.

[Steino1912]

@aussiepride2005 ahhh ok fair enough. i actually never knew about the centre barrel roll problem, hope they will last until 2015 or so when the F-35's arrive!

[aussiepride2005]

@Steino1912 They will last through to the early 2020's, until the F-35's become fully operational. But whether the F-35 will be here by that time is another issue. This week an Australian team is heading over to America to discuss some issues surrounding the F-35 and the potential delays that might arise with Lockheed. If the F-35 gets delayed again, we have no choice but to buy more Super Hornets because the Classics will be fucked by the 2020's and will need replacing...

[imnotamexican1]

@aussiepride2005 the f/a 18's will be transferred, and altered, and become the EA/18 growler, for Electronic Fighter. these are planned to begin, upon first arrival of the F35 A's, and will stay in service until 2024. These planes have a lifespan of 25 years, and can be modified, but not as noticable, to 35 years through it. though the air force doesn't plan to keep them that long. also, there will be no plans to buy additional F/A 18 E/F's as the F/A 18 Hornets are still in very good condition.

[thetyler1212]

I reckon, when Australia's first JSF's begin to arrive, and the Hornets are being dumped, give them to NZ. It gives them fight jets, and inturn basically will double Australia and New Zealand's military capabilities as our forces are already combined as it is.

[fjbutch]

I find it fascinating that when they come into land...they look like they have bugger all wing area, and yet they seem to have enough lift to make a rather smooth landing at such a slow speed...great aircraft.... good vid too...

[Vermen1]

@ceskazbrojovka17HMR i never said they were replacing our entire air combat force, i just said that they were upgrading the f-18 to super hornets and then eventuall to f 35 lightnings.

[Vermen1]

cool vid man, AUS needed to upgrade its jet fighters,

[ceskazbrojovka17HMR]

@Vermen1 They're not replacing our entire air combat force.

[MaryMacintosh1]

five year old lip syncs and dances to the old school,type it in the search box

[Pirofutura]

why are we buyin F 35s when we could just buy 100 or so F/A 18Fs? easier integration with the RAAF, and a cheaper and somewhat more capable option.

Buy a third canberra class LHD and 30 or so STOVL F35Bs and another two Hobart class destroyers and there is our long range striking power. Not to mention u could fit the F35Bs with buddy refueling and then u got a movable fuel station for the super hornets?

[deccas1391]

@Pirofutura I agree. Can the F-35 even do A/G?

[Pirofutura]

@deccas1391 the F35 is primarily designed as a strike fighter; so yes its fully air to ground capable. It does however lack significant close in dogfighting capabilities. While every 4.5 generation fighter coming out of Russia and many other countries possess thrust vectoring, the F35 lacks this. It is a compromised design in its nature.

[jimmymohoney]

@Pirofutura yeah but politicians r idiots and besides the Canberra classes wouldn't b ably to operate them they may have ski jump but none of the other facilities e.g. arming& refuelling stations it would b easier 2 buy a wasp or america class off the U.S of possibly even a Queen Elizabeth class off the brits it would b cheaper cus they are in need of jobs and cant afford their 2nd carrier anyway.

[Prodigy19921]

to this strykes guy... to make it clear, im not against australia, i'm an australian and nz citizen, but why do you assume china will ever start a war? i mean... which major war has china EVER started? so i cant comprehend why china would be a threat if you dont intend to threaten them? of course, if any nation threatens china, they're probably retarded

[0Strykes0]

I was just using them as a figure.. A bad one at that.

I know they have no capability to do so.

Oh and, China has threatened war, it claims that Tiwan is part of it, Tiwan and the US say otherwise (Catch the drift?). Although thats not really involving Aus.

[Pirofutura]

china wouldnt risk war for taiwan. War is bad for business and even though china claims to be communist, business is everything to them. Besides taiwan and china are joined so close econimically, there is very little reason for war other than national prestige or the like

[ejvideos07]

Even if NZ were given a/c for free, the day to day operating costs would blow the defence budget. The NZDF aren't getting any more money in a hurry, so anyone who still hangs on to the dream of NZ having a strike force is smoking the wrong stuff and should educate themselves on how NZ's foreign policy governs its Defence policy. In that you'll find no requirement for a strike force.

BTW - nice video - good catch.

[0Strykes0]

In my opinion, I know it don't really count but hey you can hear it anyway, RNZAF needs some form of fighter.

24 Block 60 F16's would come in at about $3.5 billion AUD with 10 years support, (Approx, we spent $6 Billion AUD on 24 F/A18F [with 10 years support] which cost twice as much as F16E/F's)

[Per aircraft]

F/A 18E/F = $65 Million USD

F16E/F (Block 60's) = $30 Million USD

The F16E/F's are very capable aircraft, better than the US' Block 52 + C/D's.

Who agrees? "D

[29Mikoyan]

If push came to shove and Australia or New Zealand were attacked by anyone it would all be over in a matter of minutes anyway. If you are going to have an air force it needs to total more than a handfull. And who in their right mind would bother anyway.

[Russ07]

Australia has 35 f111 bombers, 75 FA18 hornets, 24 FA18 super hornets and 100+ F35 stealth fighters on order

[29Mikoyan]

@Russ07, As I said, a handfull.

[jason090874]

Aust has 20 F111s  active the other 15 airframes are /where for parts the F111s are being retired as the Super hornets come online! Aust only has 70 older Hornets as 5 have crashed and the 100 F35s will replace all the new and old hornets so the RAAF will only have about 100 fontline fighters / stike aircraft not the 234 you make out

[Sasquatch279]

@jason090874 sometimes they count the Hawk 127 trainers, they can be given some light combat capability but that would only bring up the combat jet amount to around 130 ish'

[aussiepride2005]

@jason090874 And 4 Hornet's have crashed, not 5.

[PR0GRAMMING]

"If push came to shove and Australia or New Zealand were attacked by anyone it would all be over in a matter of minutes anyway"

Define anyone? A super power, perhaps,but Indonesia? Malaysia? It's unlikely we would be fighting alone anyway, as we have alliances with US and England. Having our own equipment and 80,000 troops means we're not a child who has to call for daddies help but can at least hurl a couple of blows; with our 100 5th gen aircraft and future 12 submarines carrying midget subs

[29Mikoyan]

@programming.

anyone [ˈɛnɪˌwʌn -wən]

pron

1. any person; anybody

2. (used with a negative or a question) a person of any importance is he anyone in this town?

3. (often preceded by just) any person at random; no matter who

It is quite unlikely that you will be fighting full stop. The last war was in 1945, all of the others were police actions where the so-called superpowers postured. Nice hardware is a complete waste of money in this day and age.

[0Strykes0]

Just remember the only thing stoping most major wars is nuclear deterrents.

Once they are gone (Which many countries are pushing for) the threat of the world being destroyed (By nukes) is gone.

By the way, why is our hand full no good?

The Chinese have 1 carrier (And 1~2 On order?) The Russians have 2 (Only 1 in service).

Each of those carriers hold some 75 fighters.

Carriers would be the only way Australia could have a major air threat.

[0Strykes0]

If war does break out between the US, Aus, Japan, NZ, South Korea, Tiwan (ect) against China (And probably North Korea), our only threat from planes would be carriers. Even then it's a very slim chance as Japan, SK and Tiwan would be the first targets for them. If war did break out, by the time they posed a real air threat to Aus/NZ/Malaysia the US would have based aircraft in Aus/Malaysia.

[0Strykes0]

RAAF is a good strength, we can defend ourselfs and provide offensive capabilites in our region where needed.

Just because there is currently no major war does not mean the threat is not there.

As people have said here before, keeping a capable AF is not parranoia.

I'm sure it also helps both the countries pride (Of independence {Don't say were not independant due to the Commonweath.}) and the members of the ADF, i'm sure NZ's morale (in the NZDF anyway) droped when they lost their fighters.

[29Mikoyan]

@0Strykes. Seems that you answered your own question. The only way that Aus would/could be attacked is from the sea. Then it is pointless having billions tied up in military hardware. Russia does not need carrier because there strength is in self defence. The only country that could launch a major attack on anywhere is the US. Mobilization is the name of the game. It is also quite pointless to have F111's to bomb yourself. War is a thing of the past.

[pacmania09]

What was the reason for this? NZ doesnt have terrorist's. Was it the convoy of troops returning from Afghanistan, via Aussie?

[unkybrad]

No body needs a gun until you need a gun. Then that ugly looking thing of unnecessary thing of violence and death starts to look very attractive. New Zealand is going to be around for a long time it is'nt a matter of if we get attacked it's when.. we live on earth on ww3 is looming

[29Mikoyan]

Brand new F18's flying from California via Hawaii and NZ to Australia.

[niggawilde]

OOSH they must have heaps of chups onboard.

[komodose]

yea bro.... hard

[AngryMonk60]

i thought we were being invaded when they flew over our house :P lol jk

[Russ07]

No need to invade when kiwis want to be Australia's 7th state :-)

[theosthebest]

@Russ07 dream on most kiwis think aussies weird lol

[nighthawk006phoenix]

This videos taken off!

Can't wait for tomorrow's departure (on You Tube because NZ mainstream media seem to be ignoring our Aussie mates).

[unkybrad]

I dont understand why we dont invest in some jets for our defence, they're not an offensive weapon unless you have a carrier which obviously we wont. So much better when you have this much coastline to guard

[GeneralChristoff]

lol, because it would take much more than just "some jets" to defend against an enemy who has the power projection to come and get you.

[unkybrad]

Yes but the same thought applies to ships aswell. It dos'nt change the fact that you would get moe defensive bang for your buck through spending that on aircraft.

Yes maybe it would'nt stop a large invasion but it's something and in a world of many allies it's great for us to contribute properly to our own defence rather than letting someone else pick up the bill if it ever was to happen, don't you think?

[jason090874]

The Kiwis can always use there 757s in a fight LoL .I could never understand why your ex-Lesbian PM Axed the order for F16s

[bomberboy242]

nice vid mate/Where are the hornets from.

[satos1]

Great video and filming.

Don't worry kiwi friends,we aussies will watch your back as usual.lol.

[666psycosocial666]

@satos1

lol! kiwis still rock :D u never no one day we might get a propper defence force!

[UtdMan4eva]

There's more to come....this was first round only.

[Russ07]

The base for these are near Brisbane, these five and a fleet of f111's will be doing laps together and buzzing around Brisbane and the Gold coast, should be a cool sight

[CarAudioGuy21]

was in the top floor of the domestic terminal

managed to get some nice footage also of the Super Hornets coming in was so so sweet .. beautiful aircraft !!

[29Mikoyan]

Hell of a long way to fly from Hawaii. probably had to refuel 3 or maybe 4 times. Cant get out and stretch your legs either.

[DarrenMasters]

Love the video mate! Was nice to see them here yesterday even if they did delay our pushback a few mins :)

[H3NZHN]

cheers - was yours the JSTAR A320 parked closest to the Hornets Parking spot?.

[DarrenMasters]

@H3NZHN It was mate and we were pushing back just after your film ends. Hey, my passengers did not mind the few min delay. They were keen to see what was going on out the window :)

[nighthawk006phoenix]

Story at:

stuff(dot)co(dot)nz/national/3­501700/Australias-new-jet-figh­ters-parked-in-Auckland

[nighthawk006phoenix]

@nighthawk006phoenix meh, doesn't link. Just search Stuff(dot)co(dot)nz for "Australia's new jet fighters parked in Auckland"

[pliberated1]

Live in Papatoetoe, saw them come in low overhead.approx 17.30-17.45. Heard them b4 seeing them, louder than any 747. Awesome sight, great capture h3nzhn. The c-17 was massive. Just a note, 4 hornets will be displaying at wings over wanaka at easter.

[intertr0ns]

Very cool

[R580NZ]

Great video footage, what time roughly was this??? Wondered why the viewing area was so packed when went past in the truck

[H3NZHN]

between  approx 5.10pm - 5.45pm

[CarAudioGuy21]

do you know what time they leave on Friday morning ?

[dauntless111]

it certainly is an unusual sight for New Zealand. oh how I wish we had some our own.

Shame than NZ see's no value in having a least a small amount of Jet fighters....sigh.

[OakmanNZ]

Do you wonder why this was a short notice arrival? Changed travel plans from Hawaii? I predict the NZ government is seriously considering these fighters and fixing the f*ckup Helen did which ruined our Air Force.

[ahparsy]

@OakmanNZ do we have a spare 24 billion for 24 aircraft?

[OakmanNZ]

No but who is talking about 24?

[71falconGTHO]

no1 gives a shit bout ur gay country theres no pointin havin fighter jets lol

[zuss10r]

@71falconGTHO Next time we'll just let yours ditch in the Tasman then.

[PR0GRAMMING]

I don't know what NZ pollies are thinking. It's almost as if they think NZ's not worth defending.

[Sasquatch279]

@dauntless111 i wonder if the NZ government would consider buying some of the better condition F/A-18A/B's from the RAAF after they are retired, they would still be good.

[imnotamexican1]

@Sasquatch279 By the Time the RAAF will retire the F/A 18 hornets, they will be out dated, and too old, like the F-111's

[solaklnz]

Great vid, Interesting that they landed at Auckland.

[nighthawk006phoenix]

nice work!

[mcmaster199]

thanks for excellent vid here. Did you catch callsigns?

[H3NZHN]

Mcmaster199 - No unfortunately .

[thekiwicanuck]

Awesome capture, good work mate!

[Ashvegian]

It's interesting to see those guys here. good job mate

[pilotgallagher01]

fukn mint, wonder why they didnt just go to nzwp

[Nzeddy]

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!