There's been a grave disturbance in the Force as another military platform gets retired (but not for long) and Qantas announces it's replacing its Boeing 737-800s with aircraft from the A320 family. You bet the boys will have commentary and opinions on these matters, so here they are:

• Army have withdrawn their S-70-A9 Blackhawk fleet from service in a subdued ceremony right around the same time that the government announced that the MRH-90 Taipan fleet (the replacement for the Blackhawk) will be replaced 10 years ahead of schedule by up to 40 new build UH-60M Blackhawks.
• While the Australian military seems to be doing all it can to dump European platforms for American, Qantas has announced its intention to replace its Boeing 737-800 fleet over the next ten years with Airbus A320s and A321s...but will they actually do it??