U.S. approves $250 million Australia Super Hornet, Growler training package

The State Department approved a possible $250 million Foreign Military Sale to Australia for F/A-18F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler training and related equipment, a package built around sustainment rather than new aircraft. The approval covers classified and unclassified aircrew and maintenance training, protective personnel equipment, U.S. government and contractor logistics support, and classified and unclassified manuals, books, publications, and training documentation. In effect, Washington is paying to keep an existing allied fleet ready and interoperable, a burden-sharing move that strengthens coalition airpower without adding more combat jets to Australia’s inventory.

The case has been layered over time. The original Foreign Military Sales package was valued at $18 million, then amended in 2015 with an additional $39 million to reach $67 million, before another 2018 amendment added $72 million and lifted the total to $142 million. The 2018 change pushed the case past the congressional notification threshold, though the technical error was not caught until Australia later requested another amendment. That history shows how defense cooperation with close partners often advances in increments, with training, logistics and documentation added as fleets age and missions change.

For Australia, the latest approval helps preserve the readiness of a fleet that depends on continuous training, maintenance and technical alignment with U.S. systems. For Washington, it reinforces alliance interoperability at a moment when U.S. deterrence planning in the Indo-Pacific depends as much on sustainment, electronic-warfare proficiency and crew readiness as on the number of aircraft on the ramp. The notification does not deliver new Super Hornets or Growlers; it helps keep the ones Australia already flies available for joint operations.