The Joint Strike Fighter on show at Australian International Airshow

The future of military aviation, the potent Joint Strike Fighter, will be featured at to the Australian International Airshow in March where a full scale and technically detailed replica of this massive and imposing warplane will be on static display for close inspection by military decision makers, aeronautical engineers and the general public to inspect the aircraft. It will be equipped with the latest computerised control and combat systems.

The JSF has made headlines around the world since it first appeared on the drawing boards of Lockheed Martin in 1996.

Already the United States military has indicated it intends buying 2800 of the hi-tech attack aircraft and many aviation and defence theorists claim that the JSF will be the last manned jet fighter manufactured for the U.S. military and its allies.

This multirole combat leviathan will support a variety of weapons configurations and bristle with an assorted armoury of rockets, missiles and bombs. Many of the technical details are still "under wraps" but it is known the JSF will fly at more than twice the speed of sound and have an operational ceiling of more than 40-thousand feet. The aircraft will also have a number of "stealthy" attributes making it extremely difficult to detect by radar.

Airshows Downunder Chief Executive Ian Honnery says the Joint Strike Fighter program will be a major focus at the Avalon-based Australian International Airshow and will add further weight to the Airshow's promise of delivering "the shape of things to come".

"The JSF is as modern as tomorrow and there's no doubt its combat capabilities will be the centre of attention at the Airshow", he said.

"Visitors will enjoy a unique insight into the leading-edge technology and the potent force of one of the world's most advanced combat aircraft".

The Australian International Airshow will be staged at Avalon Airport in March 2005.

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