Australia
The Australian government ordered 24 F-111C aircraft in 1963 to replace the Royal Australian Air Force's English Electric Canberras in the bombing and tactical strike role. While the first aircraft was officially handed over in 1968, structural integrity problems found in the U.S. Air Force F-111s delayed the entry into service of the F-111C until 1973. USAF F-4 Phantom IIs were leased as an interim measure. Four F-111Cs were modified to the RF-111C reconnaissance configuration, but retained their air strike capability.
Since their introduction Australia's F-111s have been operated by the No. 1 Squadron RAAF in the strike role, with the No. 6 Squadron RAAF operating the aircraft as an operational conversion unit. A temporary flight designated the Washington Flying Unit ferried to Australia the first 12 F-111Cs from the United States in 1973, and F-111s had been lent to the RAAF's Aircraft Research and Development Unit.
A number of ex-USAF aircraft have been delivered to Australia, as attrition replacements and to enlarge the fleet. Four aircraft modified to the F-111C standard were delivered in 1982, while 18 F-111Gs were purchased in 1992 and delivered in 1994. Additional stored former USAF F-111s are reserved as a spare parts sources.
In Australian military and aviation circles, the F-111 Aardvark is affectionately known as the "Pig", due to its Terrain Following ability, unique at the time of its introduction, that gives it the ability to "hunt amongst the weeds". Another, less generous explanation of the source of the nickname refers to the colloquialism "Pigs Might Fly". A third origin can be posited from the word aardvark, which translates into English as "Earth Pig".
While the F-111 has not seen combat in Australian service, it is known that F-111 aircraft were placed on high alert during the initial phase of the Australian-lead intervention (INTERFET) into East Timor in 1999. During the first Gulf War in 1991, the United States Government asked Australia to deploy RF-111 aircraft to the Persian Gulf. This request was denied as the Australian government judged that these aircraft were too important to Australia's security to risk in a distant war. In mid 2006, an RAAF F-111 was chosen to scuttle the North Korean ship the Pong Su which had been involved in one of Australia's largest drug hauls in recorded history. The ship had been sitting in "Snails Bay", off Birchgrove, while the government decided its fate, and it was decided in March 2006 it would be scuttled by air attack. She was sunk on 23 March 2006 by two GBU-10 Paveway II laser guided bombs.
In 2007, Australia decided to retire all of its RAAF F-111s by 2010, and the government signed a contract to acquire 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets as an "interim" replacement, pending the acquisition of the under development F-35 Lightning II. In March 2008, after a review, the new Labor government confirmed its purchase of the Super Hornets. The drawdown of the RAAF's F-111 fleet has begun with the retirement of the F-111G models operated by the No. 6 Squadron RAAF in late 2007. The No. 1 and No. 6 Squadrons are to be reequipped with the F/A-18Fs beginning in 2010. One of the reasons given for the retirement is the average of 180 hours of maintenance required for every flight hour.
