Defence has rejected claims the F-35 strike fighter can't protect itself in a dogfight against its Russian and Chinese rivals and that its stealth capability has been overstated by the manufacturer and the RAAF.
The allegations were made during presentations by Air Power Australia and Rep Sim Pty Ltd before the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade defence subcommittee on Tuesday.
``The criticisms are inconsistent with years of detailed analysis undertaken by Defence, the JSF program office, Lockheed Martin and eight other F-35 partner nations,'' a Defence spokesman said.
The latest JSF criticism comes at a time when fears are growing in the Defence establishment that the Minister, Stephen Smith, is leaning towards a pre-emptive purchase of another 24 Super Hornets to prevent an air combat capability gap.
Defence and industry sources have told The Canberra Times these concerns have been overstated and there is no reason to believe the 100 JSFs detailed in Australia's 2009 Defence White Paper can't be delivered on time, on budget and able to do the job they were commissioned to do.
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