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Australia's shrinking air force
Cameron Stewart
From: The Australian February 27, 2010 12:00AM
THE nation's air combat force has withered to its smallest size in a generation, with less than half of the country's fighter jets available for operations.
At times this year as many as three out of four of the RAAF's 86 fighter jets have been grounded due to maintenance, upgrades or safety concerns.
Of those warplanes that are available, only a handful can be sent into combat because they do not yet have sufficient electronic protection to survive against modern air defences.
The Weekend Australian understands that only 21 of the RAAF's 71 F/A-18 Hornets are currently available...