The “deeper, growl-like noise” of the F-35 jets – the majority currently scheduled to be based at Williamtown RAAF Base from late 2018 – could reignite the noise wars between the Department of Defence and surrounding residents that have run on and off for more than a decade. 

Lieutenant General Christopher Bogdan, in Australia to speak to Senators on Thursday as part of an inquiry into the $17.8 billion Australian commitment to 72 F-35s, told media in Darwin that the jet’s afterburners made landings and take-offs louder than the F-18 Hornets.

Noise from the F-18s has been at the centre of significant friction between Defence and the Port Stephens community in the past.

He will brief the media in Canberra on Wednesday about the global Joint Strike Fighter project before meeting with Senators on Thursday.

Lieutenant General Bogdan played down a damning US Department of Defence report on the F-35s released in early February, which said the F-35 could not fly unsupported against a threat, and the first jets expected in Australia would require a “still to be determined list of modifications” whose potential ‘‘unaffordability... may potentially result in left-behind aircraft with significant limitations for years to come’’.

Lieutenant General Bogdan is reported telling Darwin media there were “an awful lot of misconceptions and inaccuracies about the F-35 program”, but conceding the program had “a tragic past”.

“The last thing you need from me is anything but the truth, both the good and the bad,” he said.

The damning US Defence report into a jet that has so far cost the US Government $400 billion to develop did not fully outline the successes, Lieutenant General Bogdan said.

“With what is on the inside, the radar, the IR sensors, the electro-optical sensors and the ability to take all the information of what they are sensing and give the pilot a very clear picture of what is going on along with an F-35 that is a pretty good performance aircraft, then there is no match with the aircraft in the world,” he said.

The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee will hold a public hearing on March 22 as part of its inquiry into the future air defence needs the jet is intended to fulfill, the cost and benefits to Australia, changes in the acquisition timeline, the F-35s testing performance and potential alternatives to the Joint Strike Fighter.

In a submission to the inquiry University of NSW defence analyst Dr Jai Galliott questioned whether committing to 72 Joint Strike Fighters was in Australia’s best interests, saying it was “far from obvious that this aircraft is necessary for the defence of Australia in an age of distance warfare and remote attacks”.

“Australia already has air superiority over its more immediate regional neighbours, so the question for the committee ought to be whether Australia needs the capability to fight with the US against a major power in such an integrated but traditional fashion, especially when it comes at such great expense,” Dr Galliott wrote.

He argued for a reduced commitment to piloted F-35s, and exploration of Lockheed Martin’s rumoured unmanned version of the jet.

“I urge the committee to consider whether we have the right balance between piloted, optionally piloted, remotely piloted and even automatically piloted (autonomous) systems planned for the future Australian Defence Force structure,” Dr Galliott wrote.

“It may be that a reduced number of optionally manned F-35 jets, with the prospect of updates and revisions aimed at furthering autonomous operation, represents an opportunity for Australia to turn an otherwise unsound investment into a capability enhancer.”

An Australian Department of Defence spokesperson said the Australian F-35 capability was achieving positive progress and was on track to meeting Initial Operating Capability (IOC) requirements by the end of 2020.

The first two aircraft are scheduled to arrive in Australia in late 2018.

“The program is arguably the most highly complex and technically advanced Defence acquisition program ever undertaken,” the spokesperson said.

“The issues raised in the US Department of Defence report are well known and being proactively managed by the United States F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) in close consultation with partner nations and industry.

“The issues raised in the report are not uncommon for a capability as complex as the F-35 and are being addressed.”