RAAF F-18 service timeline

This is vague but good enough. Someone like Magoo or the Australian Aviation crowd would inject more accuracy.

Australian F-18 timeline

-Oct 1981 - Selected (75 aircraft: 57 F/A-18A fighters and 18 F/A-18B).
-Oct 1984 - First deliveries to the RAAF.
-May 1990 - Last delivery to RAAF.

The first two aircraft were produced in the U.S. The remaining aircraft were assembled in Australia. Deliveries

The first two aircraft were produced in the US, with the remainder assembled in Australia.

To date: 4 airframes gone to mishaps (5 percent) over 30 years.

Various upgrades over the years.

Various refurbishments.

The F-16 was considered unsuitable as it only had one engine.

This shows one advantage of selecting an aircraft with a few more "knowns".