The US State Department has authorized a potential Foreign Military Sale worth $250 million to Australia to provide training and support for its F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler aircraft fleets. The package consists of non-major defense equipment, including classified and unclassified aircrew and maintenance training, protective gear, technical and logistics assistance, and additional program support services.
The sale does not involve a principal contractor, with training services set to be delivered directly by the US government or selected contract providers as operational requirements evolve.
Officials noted that the case originated as an $18-million agreement and was later expanded through amendments in 2015 and 2018. However, the required congressional notification following the 2018 increase above the reporting threshold was inadvertently missed and only identified after Canberra sought another modification to the case.
The proposed package aims to reinforce Australia’s military capabilities and improve joint operational compatibility with US and allied forces. The Royal Australian Air Force fields 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets for multirole missions and around 12 EA-18G Growlers for electronic attack operations. As the only nation outside the US operating the Growler, Australia has also begun integrating Raytheon’s Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band pods to modernize the aircraft by replacing the legacy AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System.
