Australia’s Air Defence Future
Comparison of F-111 and F-35
Table based comparison of the F-111 Aardvark, and it’s proposed replacement, the F-35 JSF.
The GREEN cells indicate a clear advantage on that parameter.
| Paramater | F-111 | F-35 |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Cost | Already in budget | Unknown |
| Maintenance | Existing facilities, skills and budget | Cost unknown |
| Spares | Low cost, plentiful supply | Cost unknown |
| Technology | Owned | Total technology transfer in doubt |
| Remaining life on airframe | 30-40 years | Unknown |
| Close Air support capability | Good Proven damage survivability Twin engine | Good? Battlefield damage survivability doubtful Single engine |
| Speed | Supersonic | Subsonic |
| Range | Long | Short |
| TFR (Terrain Following Radar) | Yes Supersonic at 200 ft and lower. | No |
| Payload | Large | Small |
| Low Level Deep Penetration Strikes | TFR Supersonic 2 man crew Large payload. Able to outrun interceptors. | No TFR Subsonic 1 man crew Small payload Unable to outrun current interceptors. |
| Electronic Warfare | Excellent The EF-111 Raven already exists | Unknown No EW version planned |
| Avionics: Air to Ground | Good | Presumably good. |
| Avionics: Air to Air | Poor, but can be upgraded | Presumably good. |
| Potential for upgrade to BVR intercept role | Good Long range Large payload | Poor Short range Limited payload |
| Dogfight | Poor | Poor |
| Networking | ? | Good |
| Stealth | Poor without terrain masking Good with terrain masking | Mid-range stealth claimed |