British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps rode in the back seat of a Royal Australian Air Force fighter jet after meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Officials said visiting officials met with Albanians in Canberra on Thursday before flying to Adelaide in an FA-18 Super Hornet. report By ABC.
Two of the planes, worth $100 million each, took off from Canberra just after 7pm, with Mr Shapps in the back seat of one.
A Pentagon spokesperson confirmed the flight took place and said it was an opportunity to demonstrate Australia’s defense capabilities to key allies.
“This flight was part of a demonstration of key elements of Australia’s defense capabilities to one of our key defense partners,” a defense spokesperson said.
“As the Royal Air Force does not operate the F/A-18F Super Hornet, it was chosen to demonstrate an element of Australia’s air combat capabilities.”
Reuters said the trip was smooth compared to an incident more than a week ago when a Royal Air Force plane carrying Shapps from Portugal to Britain had its satellite signal jammed. report.
Mr Shapps is in Australia for the annual Australia-UK ministerial talks, his first visit since taking up the defense portfolio in British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle.
On Friday, the Australian government revealed it was looking to strengthen the Oaks Defense Agreement by sending $4.6 billion to the UK to eliminate bottlenecks in Rolls-Royce’s nuclear reactor production line.
