Raytheon Australia has won a training support services contract for the Royal Australian Air Force's Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornets, which will start arriving later this month.

The three-year contract is worth about A$21.5 million ($19.7 million) and the work will be done at RAAF Base Amberley, Queensland, where the service's 24 Super Hornets will be based, says Australian minister for defence personnel, materiel and science Greg Combet.

The first Super Hornet arrives in late-March, with the deliveries scheduled to be completed by the end of 2011.

 RAAF Super Hornet - Oz DoD
© Australian Department of Defence
The RAAF's first Super Hornets are supporting work-up training in the USA

"Raytheon will provide maintenance, logistics and training services to support the Super Hornet flight simulators, visual environment maintenance trainers and electronic classrooms," Combet says.

Australia is acquiring the Super Hornet fleet as an interim strike capability until it begins to receive the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, allowing the RAAF to retire its last General Dynamics F-111s in December.

Source: Flight International