Mechanical problems in the aging A10a fleet have delayed a crucial mission in the Crimea. The cancellation of a strike on Soviet supply lines has played into enemy hands and could allow them to make an advance on Sevastopol.

The A10a assigned to flight leader GI Jew has been out of commission for several weeks now, resulting in the re-assignment of pilots and re-scheduling of missions. Apparently his aircraft suffered from a major control malfunction during his last flight which has yet to be rectified. The replacement parts have arrived but the overworked ground crews apparently do not have the specialised tools required to make the repairs. A spokesman for the groundcrew staff claims that "he might go out to Bunnings next week to pick something up".

A spokesman for the defense workers union is quoted as saying that the problem is a result  of bureaucratic reluctance to upgrade the aging fleet to the newer A10c. "I mean we're flying with aircraft that are 25 years old and there's only so much that we can do with duct tape". We aren't even supplied with a full catalog of ordinance and there's something going wrong with our RWR receivers.        

CANBERRA, TODAY

North Korea today recalled their Ambassador to Australia citing "irresolvable differences in political negotiations", and expressing outrage at the strike yesterday by VAAF multirole fighter jets that left the P'yongyang nuclear power station in ruins.

The Australian Minister for Defence stated this morning "The strike was a necessary show of force to the North Korean people.  Propaganda had been on the increase, committing the suffering North Korean population to a long and arduous war.  We had hoped through this strike to cause doubt in the mind of the North Korean powermongers as to their ability to defend their infrastructure, thus hopefully leading to a negotiated end to this conflict".