Australia could bomb Iraq 'this weekend': report
Australian military forces could be bombing Iraq as early as the weekend, according to a new report.
The Royal Australian Air Force is reportedly on standby to deploy air support combat, according to a News Limited report, against Islamic State terrorists starting Sunday 5th October.
Senior intelligence sources reportedly claimed planning had been based around a possible deployment into Iraq of the 5th of October.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is to update parliament "shortly" on Australia's potential combat role against Islamic State extremists in Iraq.
"I will have more to say on this in the parliament," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
The National Security Committee is set to meet on Friday, which could authorise super hornets being deployed within 48 hours following a Cabinet meeting.
If the deployment goes ahead, Australia would join 20 countries in a US-led coalition aiming to destroy the terrorist armies of IS.
Activists say the US-led coalition struck targets of the Islamic State group near a besieged Kurdish town along Syria's border with Turkey on Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear if the airstrikes succeeded in halting the militants' advance on Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.
The opposition Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the strikes hit Islamic State fighters east and west of Kobane.
The Local Coordination Committees, another activist group, also confirmed the airstrikes on the town's outskirts.
Kobane has been under attack by the Islamic State group since mid-September.
Despite US-led airstrikes, the militants were able to advance toward the town over the past few days.
The Observatory said fighting around Kobane on Monday killed 57 fighters on both sides - the town's Kurdish defenders and the Islamic militants.
Australia’s first F-35A takes to the skies
Australia’s first F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, known as AU-1, has made its inaugural flight, marking another significant milestone for the Australian F-35 program, Minister for Defence Senator David Johnston announced today.
It follows the official rollout of the Australia’s first two F-35 Lightning II aircraft on 24 July 2014 in Fort Worth, Texas.
“Australia’s first aircraft AU-1 and AU-2 will undergo further flight testing in the lead up to acceptance and ferry to Luke Air Force Base in 2015,” Senator Johnston said.
“The fifth generation JSF is the most advanced fighter in production anywhere in the world and will replace our fleet of Classic Hornets, which by 2020 will be over 35 years old.”
The first F-35 aircraft will enter service in Australia in 2018 with the first operational squadron established by 2020.
