Latest news with #F35
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Australia's defence spending creating a ‘paper ADF', think tank warns
Australia must boost its immediate readiness to go to war or risk having a 'paper ADF', a leading defence think tank warns. In a report published on Thursday, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said that while Labor was spending on longer-term projects it was not pumping nearly enough cash into keeping Australia combat-ready in the near term. The report, authored by former Home Affairs deputy secretary Marc Ablong, called for 'defence funding to be increased to reflect the reality of the threats facing Australia'. It said that while the Albanese government 'claims to have made a 'generational investment in Australia's defence', that investment has been put off for another generation', pointing out that the bulk of the billions pledged by Labor would not kick in until after 2029. With the Albanese government itself predicting a major global conflict by 2034 and analysts warning of a US-China conflict before 2030, Mr Ablong argued that the money was not flowing fast enough. 'While consistency can often be a virtue, it reveals a businessâ€'asâ€'usual approach to a world now in crisis and conflict,' the report said. 'The rhetoric recognising the threats isn't translating into action to deal with the threats, meaning the government continues to deprioritise the readiness and sustainability of the current forceâ€'inâ€'being with the largest spending increases on capability sustainment tied to the Fâ€'35 Lightning force ($190m) and Collinsâ€'class submarines ($235m).' It warned that the 'Indoâ€'Pacific region is undeniably an epicentre of a burgeoning rearmament'. 'Australia is a part of that rearmament, although others are moving much faster than us,' the report said. 'The current military correlation of forces between Australia and our region is growing. 'Consequentially, a central concern we express in this report is the gap between strategic intent and tangible capability delivery.' Mr Ablong wrote that the 'timelines for major acquisitions', such as AUKUS, 'extend well into the next decade and beyond' and did little to deal with immediate threats. 'While those future capabilities are strategically important, they offer little immediate enhancement, thus creating a 'paper ADF' that lacks readiness for nearâ€'term conflict scenarios,' the report said. 'That prioritisation of future over current readiness contributes to a hollowing out of the force, in which personnel shortages and limited munitions stockpiles exacerbate sustainability concerns.' Anthony Albanese has hit back at the report, saying ASPI needed to 'have a look at themselves as well and the way that they conduct themselves in debates'. 'We've got considerable additional investment going into defence – $10bn,' the Prime Minister told the ABC. 'We're lifting up our defence expenditure up to 2.4 per cent of GDP, we're investing in assets and our capability. 'We're also investing in our relationships in the region, that's very important as well.' Mr Albanese said the think tank was 'run by people who've been in a position to make a difference in the past as part of former governments', adding that it was 'predictable, frankly'.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Striking workers approve latest contract offer from at RTX's Pratt & Whitney
May 27 (Reuters) - Striking workers at RTX's (RTX.N), opens new tab Pratt & Whitney approved the company's second contract offer on Tuesday by 74%, according to the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. The strike at two of the engine-maker's plants in Connecticut began May 5 after members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers overwhelmingly rejected the first contract offer. Union representatives have previously said the roughly 3,000 striking workers' top priority is getting Pratt to commit to keep work for Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N), opens new tab F-35 fighters in the state. The strike is the first in more than 20 years at the enginemaker's Connecticut sites, where it produces engines for the F-35 and about 70% of the company's geared turbofan engine, which is used in European planemaker Airbus' ( opens new tab strong-selling A320 neo family. The vote results "reaffirms our commitment to the people, programs and communities that have powered our legacy — and will shape our next century of aviation innovation,' a Pratt & Whitney spokesperson said. During the strike, Pratt reassigned some engineers to production lines as part of its contingency plan, which was first reported by Reuters.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Striking workers approve second contract offer from RTX's Pratt & Whitney
May 27 (Reuters) - Striking workers at RTX's (RTX.N), opens new tab Pratt & Whitney approved the company's second contract offer on Tuesday, ending a three-week-long strike, according to a spokesperson for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers. Union representatives have previously said the roughly 3,000 striking workers' top priority is getting Pratt to commit to keep work for Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N), opens new tab F-35 fighters in the state. The strike is the first in more than 20 years at the enginemaker's Connecticut sites, where it produces engines for the F-35 and about 70% of the company's geared turbofan engine, which is used in European planemaker Airbus' ( opens new tab strong-selling A320 neo family.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump Still Seems Convinced That Stealth Jets Are Literally Invisible
As expected, President Donald Trump's commencement speech at West Point on Saturday was packed with characteristically unhinged tangents. From drag queens to trophy wives, the president's ramblings covered a wide range of bizarre topics in between shots at Russia, Biden, and Obama as he spoke to the graduating cadets. However, one avenue of free-associative speculation Trump meandered along while speaking about military investment seemed to confirm that one of his much-derided beliefs remains intact: the president seems to genuinely believe that so-called 'stealth' fighter jets—military aircraft designed to be difficult to detect by radar—are actually invisible. 'We are buying you new airplanes, brand new beautiful planes, redesigned planes, brand new planes, totally stealth planes,' Trump said, speaking to a proposed record increase in defense spending. 'I hope they're stealth. I don't know, that whole stealth thing, I'm sort of wondering. 'We shape a wing this way, they don't see it. But the other way they see it? I'm not so sure, but that's what they tell me!' This is familiar territory for Trump, who has made similar remarks since at least 2017. In October of that year, Trump concerned reporters when discussing the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Puerto Rico. 'Amazing job,' Trump said at the time. 'So amazing we are ordering hundreds of millions of dollars of new airplanes for the Air Force, especially the F-35. You like the F-35? ... You can't see it. You literally can't see it. It's hard to fight a plane you can't see.' 'That's an expensive plane you can't see.' At a Thanksgiving Day visit to a Coast Guard Station in Florida that same year, Trump doubled down on this seeming belief, saying he had asked 'some Air Force guys' whether flying an 'invisible' plane would look like what he had seen in films. 'I said, 'How good is this plane?' They said, 'Well, sir, you can't see it.' I said, yeah, but in a fight—you know, a fight, like I watch in the movies—they fight, they're fighting. How good is this? They say, 'Well, it wins every time because the enemy cannot see it. Even if it's right next to it, it can't see it.' I said, 'That helps. That's a good thing.'' Years of experience as Commander in Chief do not seem to have steered Trump toward the realization that such planes, which are shaped to either deflect or absorb incoming radar signals used to track movement, are meant to be difficult to detect. But can still be seen by the naked eye. In 2020, there was this remark: '[The F-35 is] the greatest fighter jet in the world, as you know, by far. Stealth. Totally stealth. You can't see it. Makes it very difficult. I was asking a pilot, 'What do you think is better: This one? This one? That one?' Talking about Russian planes, Chinese planes. He said, 'Well, the advantage we have is you can't see it.' So when we're fighting, they can't see us. I say, 'That sounds like a really big advantage to me.'' While Trump is no stranger to wild exaggerations and hyperbolic comparisons, the repeated factual inaccuracy over the invisibility capabilities of military aircraft continues to raise eyebrows. British journalist Mehdi Hassan, in picking up on the most recent 'invisible' planes comment, wrote that it was difficult to determine if such remarks are 'ignorance' or 'inanity.' 'His weirdness cannot be overstated,' Hassan concluded.
CTV News
7 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
New U.S. ambassador says Canada could get ‘lowest tariffs of any country'
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra says Canada and the U.S. 'would have to have some kind of a discussion on NORAD' if Canada doesn't buy F35s. The new U.S. ambassador to Canada says while U.S. President Donald Trump is unlikely to ever remove his slate of tariffs entirely, he's confident Canada can reach a deal to secure the lowest levies possible. 'The president has made it clear that there will probably be a tariff on every country that we do business with,' Pete Hoekstra said in an interview on CTV's Power Play with Vassy Kapelos on Wednesday. 'He's campaigned on that and has said that.' Hoekstra, who was sworn in as ambassador last month, said Canada should highlight areas in which the two countries can work together, such as critical minerals, automotives, energy, defence, and fentanyl. '(So) that we can come together with a deal that gives Canada the lowest tariffs of any country that America negotiates an agreement with,' Hoekstra said. When pressed by Kapelos on the future of U.S. tariffs on Canada, Hoekstra reiterated Canada could get 'the lowest.' While Hoekstra acknowledged there have been 'bounces back and forth' on the American tariff plan and Canada's countermeasures, he said he's 'absolutely' confident the two countries can come up with a trade framework by July. 'We want to get to as free, fair and equitable as Canada allows us to go,' Hoekstra said, adding a free trade agreement doesn't mean zero tariffs, but rather an agreed-upon rate for certain products. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa on Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney said his government is 'fighting to get the best deal for Canada,' adding he 'will take all the time necessary' to reach an agreement. Last November, prior to his inauguration, Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all Canadian imports, levies he claimed were tied to border security and the fentanyl crisis. In response, Canada slapped a 25 per cent tariff on $30 billion of U.S. goods, including items like orange juice, wine and spirits. The federal government has said those retaliatory measures will remain in place until the U.S. lifts all of its tariffs on Canada, despite the U.S. pausing its initial across-the-board levy threat in February. Trump has imposed a series of other tariffs against Canadian imports in recent months, with exceptions for products that are compliant with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement (CUSMA). Levies on steel and aluminum took effect on March 12, and the 25 per cent tariffs on all non-CUSMA-compliant Canadian imports and 10 per cent on non-CUSMA-compliant Canadian energy, which are related to the border and the fentanyl crisis, are also in place. Also in effect are Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on all foreign-made automobiles, though there are exemptions for some CUSMA-compliant products. Carney then announced Canada would respond with 25 per cent tariffs on all non-CUSMA-compliant vehicles imported from the U.S., and all non-Canadian content of CUSMA-compliant vehicles from the United States. The Canadian government announced a series of relief measures for some automakers last month, to help weather the ongoing trade dispute. And, early last month, Trump laid out his long-promised reciprocal-tariff regime, though Canada escaped the taxes thanks to CUSMA. That deal is currently set for a review in 2026. When pressed on whether Canada can trust the U.S. to uphold a new agreement when it has contravened the existing one on several occasions, Hoekstra said one should be 'very careful with the word 'trust.'' The ambassador pointed to Canada's failed commitment to reach its agreed-upon NATO target of spending two per cent of its GDP on defence as an example of a broken promise that has not swayed U.S. trust in the bilateral relationship. 'Am I disappointed that (Canada is) well short of their commitment on NATO? The answer is yes,' Hoekstra said. 'They committed to that, just like the U.S., and they haven't, but does that mean that I go home and or I tell my colleagues in Washington we can't trust the Canadians? No, that has not crossed my mind.' When pressed again on the issue, in light of Trump's threats to Canada's sovereignty, Hoekstra insisted Canada can trust the United States, and he's confident the president and prime minister can hash out a deal. 'I believe (Canada) can trust us. I trust Canada,' Hoekstra added. Hoekstra's interview comes amid a trip to Washington for Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc to meet with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a government source familiar with the matter confirmed to CTV News. Canada not purchasing F-35s could 'threaten Norad' During his interview, Hoekstra also signalled Norad — the bilateral defence alliance between Canada and the U.S. — could be in jeopardy if Canada reneges on its plan to purchase several American-made F-35 fighter jets. In March — amid tensions with the U.S. — former defence minister Bill Blair said Canada was looking at potential alternatives to its jet purchase that was signed back in 2023 after years of delays. 'One of the criteria for Norad is interchangeability and interoperability,' Hoekstra said. 'So that would mean that we're flying the same kinds of planes, we're using the parts, and it's all interchangeable, and it's one system.' 'If Canadians are flying one airplane, we're flying another airplane, it's no longer interchangeable,' Hoekstra added. 'And so, that might even threaten Norad without talking about new alliances that promise even more security and safety to our people.' While Hoekstra called Norad 'one of the most successful military alliances in the world,' he also said Canada's potential decision to purchase a fleet of planes that's different from the American's could mean 'some kind of a discussion on Norad.' 'Canada hasn't made a decision on the F-35, they're just saying 'we're going to go back and re-evaluate it,'' Hoekstra said. 'And I think at that point in time it'll be important for the U.S. to point out, 'wait a minute, this is a fundamental basis for Norad.' And no, those discussions are not going on.' The ambassador added there is a series of important dates coming up that might give some indication of the prime minister's intentions vis-à-vis the F-35, namely the new session of Parliament starting Monday, followed by the Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, and a meeting of G7 leaders next month in Canada. When pressed on his comments and whether he believes Norad as an alliance is at risk, Hoekstra insisted he and the U.S. administration 'absolutely' believe in the partnership. Asked by CTV News at a press conference on Wednesday about Hoekstra's F-35 comments, Carney said 'the review of the F-35 contract is ongoing.' 'There's many factors that come into that interoperability so that would relate to the Norad element there. Value for money, Canadian industrial impacts. All of those are factors that are under consideration,' Carney added, while acknowledging he had not yet seen Hoekstra's remarks at the time. You can watch Hoekstra's full interview on CTV Power Play with Vassy Kapelos in the video player at the top of this article. With files from CTV News Stephanie Ha and Brennan MacDonald
