A RAAF F-35 will fly past Sydney Harbor at midday to celebrate Australia Day on Thursday.
The fifth-generation fighter jet will be visible anywhere from Circular Quay in the city up to North Head in Manly.
Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazinesIt will be joined by an MH-60R Seahawk that will fly along the beaches and through the harbour with the national flag underslung.
The Army’s Red Beret parachute team and the RAAF’s formation aerobatic display team – the Roulettes – will bring the day to a close.
Across the country, other aircraft conducting flypasts will include the Poseidon, Wedgetail and Hercules.
To see a full list of displays, locations and times, see the bottom of this article.
The F-35 is the country’s newest fighter, purchased to replace the RAAF’s F/A-18A/B Classic Hornets that were in service since 1985 and retired in late 2021.
Over the coming years, Australia will buy 72 as part of the $17 billion AIR 6000 Phase 2A/B program, with all expected to be fully operational by 2023.
In September, the RAAF took delivery of four more, taking its current fleet to 54.
The aircraft comes in three variants: the F-35A — purchased by Australia — is a conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) version; the F-35B is a short take-off/vertical landing (STOVL) variant, and the final F-35C is the carrier type (CV).
Australia similarly placed a second order in September for 12 MH-60R Seahawk/Romeo helicopters in a deal tipped to be worth over $2.5 billion.
The new aircraft will build on the 24 acquired between 2013–2016 and would take the total size of the fleet to 36.
