"John Cook" wrote in message
...

Hmmmm, I thought Australia was a close 'friend' of the US.

Yeah, but it could be that the govt, having made the decision to axe the
F-111, has now suddenly realised it can't actually afford to replace it.
Which it can't. Even the F-35 Block 3 is no replacement for the F-111.
Nothing currently flying can replace the Pig one-for-one, except maybe the
F/A-22.