Lockheed Martin welcomes in RAAF’s 5th Generation F-35A Squadron
CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA Sep. 21, 2016 – In a gesture to acknowledge the critical transition from a 4th to a 5th generation era of capability for the Royal Australian Air Force, Australia’s former Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal (Retired) Geoff Brown congratulated Number 3 Squadron on the 100th anniversary of its service in protecting the nation during the HunterNet Conference dinner held in Newcastle on Monday night, 19 September 2016.
Number 3 Squadron – the first unit to introduce the F-35A into the RAAF fleet – will be at the vanguard of a significant transformation into an era of 5th generation capabilities that will equip the RAAF and the Australian Defence Force for the challenges of the information age.
This transformation will be achieved through Plan Jericho, and in a happy coincidence, Geoff Brown, who was recently appointed to the Lockheed Martin Australia Board, was both the key architect of Plan Jericho during his appointment as Chief of Air Force and a former CO of 3 Squadron from 1997 to 2000.
“I am proud to have played my part during my Air Force service to realise the RAAF of the future, and I am even prouder still to congratulate my former unit on achieving 100 years of exceptional service as they take the lead in realising the vision of a 5th Generation Air Force,” said Geoff Brown.
“It will take the leadership and courage of all future members of 3 Squadron to build on this noble heritage to deliver the necessary fighting capability of the Air Force that is needed to protect our nation for the next 100 years.”
Lockheed Martin will deliver 72 F-35A Lightning aircraft, with the first scheduled to arrive in Australia in 2018. This first aircraft will operate in Number 3 Squadron.
