The RAAF should have purchased F-15Es as their gap fillers to replace the F-111. The F-15E comes much closer to the F-111 in terms of payload, range, and endurance, than the F/A-18F does.
And the F-15 can go quite a bit faster than the F-18. Anywhere from Mach 1.2 to 2.5+ depending and altitude and loadout.
Maybe one of these days some bureaucrats will get their heads out of the sand and create the next gen F-14 Tomcat for the Navy.
Yes, but the point is Australia has never needed to use the capability of the F-111. When we purchased it, it was purchased on the basis we needed a theoretical ability to drop an atomic bomb on Jakarta. We’ve never needed to, and that’s no longer a strategic consideration.
Describing the F-35 and the Super Hornets as a ‘replacement’ for the F-111 really gives a misleading impression. It just happens that the latest upgrade is coinciding with decommissioning of the F-111. Now it’s been decided what we need is primarily fighters (albeit with some ground attack capability) rather than needing any bombers.