Episode 247: No Speedos were harmed in the production of this segment

The Australian Government released its latest Defense White Paper this week, outlining updates on planned future equipment acquisitions for the Army, Navy and Air Force. On the aviation side of things, the purchase of 12 EA-18G “Growler” aircraft was announced, and Grant ponders whether this might mean the existing 12 “pre-wired” F18F+ Super Hornets already in the fleet will still be converted – as previously planned – into Growlers, while buying 12 new Super Hornets to replace them. Steve points out that this is far too logical for any government to consider. Additionally, there is speculation that the F-35 order book may be reduced from 100 airframes to 72.Australia’s Attorney General, Mark Dreyfus, was in hot water this week after allegedly refusing to obey the instructions of a Qantas flight crew to turn off his mobile phone. The Federal Police was notified of the incident but were not required to attend the aircraft.Former Qantas executive Rod Sharp took the reins at Tiger Airways this week, continuing the trend of ex-Qantas big wigs being poached away by John Borghetti, the CEO of Virgin Australia – who now own a controlling interest in Tiger, as reported last week.No Speedos were harmed in the production of this segmentLinks :New build Growlers, renewed commitment to F-35 mark new Defence White PaperCoalition gives differing scorecards for Collins Class subsPolice called after Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus fails to turn off his phone on Qantas flightEx-Qantas exec takes reins at troubled Tiger Airways