Royal Australian Air Force — 2 museum-grade prints from this operator. The Lockheed Martin F-35A is the conventional takeoff and landing variant of the F-35 Lightning II — single Pratt & Whitney F135 engine, internal weapons bays for low-observable carriage, and the AN/APG-81 AESA radar at the heart of a sensor-fusion cockpit. Australia committed to 72 F-35As to replace its F/A-18A/B Hornet fleet; No. The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet entered RAAF service from 1985 as Australia's first fourth-generation fighter, replacing the Dassault Mirage III with a twin-engine, multi-role platform capable of fleet air defence, precision strike, and reconnaissance. No.