You think the US won't buy them? Our military bought and paid for hundreds of F-111s, the last plane we designed to do everything for everyone, with the result that it wasn't useful anyplace. (Yes, we've tried this trick before.) And that was in the 1960s and '70s; if anything, the military procurement process has gotten a whole lot more corrupt.
The F-111 was actually good for Australia, though the purchase was sort of a 'mistake' at the time - it's extremely long range suited our northern defence, where the airstrips are few and far between. One defence person said in an aside to me 'The F-111 has enough range to get from Darwin to Jakarta and back without refueling'...
Australia is replacing its retired F-111 fleet with the F-35 so we may end up sole user in end...again. The F-111 at least had use in a long-range anti-shipping role once it was upgraded for the Harpoon.
Being cynical here, but maybe we have to consider whether alienating the US military-industrial complex (and their coterie of owned congresspersons) by purchasing a non-US warplane would be _worse_ for Australia's long-term security than sucking it up and overspending on the F-35.
I certainly believe we'd be far more secure, with greater chances of a peaceful future, if Australia determined we needed an independent strategy, without USA war bases and without tagging along to whatever big dumb war the emperor might dream up next. Our own analysts say there is no credible threat; we're not at war now; so why aid the military empire in their unnecessary and unhelpful expansion in our region?
Australia's defence needs are the same as the UKs - you must absolutely be able to secure your shipping lanes, first and foremost. Anything else is the icing on the cake. This is something the UK has lost sight of. We need SSNs and destroyers, not white elephant aircraft carriers. And certainly not Eurofighters or F35s.
The Littoral Combat Ship is the exact same trick being played right now! It's pretty much useless as a naval war fighting platform against a serious enemy, but some thin claims that it's a multi-mission platform got it the go-ahead.
