Australia has agreed to purchase 72 of the fighter-bomber aircraft as part of a global project led by the United States.

Australia will spend $12 billion on the planes and another $12 billion on lifetime maintenance and running costs.

Joint Strike Fighter made its first appearance in Australia at the Avalon Air Show on Friday.

Mr Broad posted on Facebook on Monday that he hoped the next-generation stealth aircraft, also known as the F-35 Lightning II, would not have to be used.

“The government I am a part of has ordered 72 of these important aircraft. The first role of any Government is the defence of its people,” he said. 

“My dream is that we never have to use these weapons, that mankind can resolve differences without killing each other, but I am not naive to the lessons of history.

“A strong defence force is an important necessity for peace.”

Mr Broad’s hope for the Joint Strike Fighter to have a peaceful life was not shared by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who highlighted the aircraft’s killing power.

“We need to ensure that our Defence Forces have the best capabilities, they have the greatest lethality, the greatest survivability so that when we send our young men and women out to war, they have the tools that do the job, to destroy their enemies, to destroy the terrorists that seek to do us harm, and then to come safely home,” Mr Turnbull said.

The Joint Strike Fighter’s appearance did not go entirely to plan as flyovers had to be cancelled because of rain and a lightning forecast, which could have interfered with the aircraft’s computer.

The $1 trillion global project has at least 270 unresolved problems and has had issues with its 25-millimetre cannon, pilot’s helmet, fuel tanks, oxygen system, ejection seat and complex software.

Australia chose the Joint Strike Fighter as its next combat jet because of its state-of-the-art stealth capabilities and ability to share data directly with other planes and forces on the ground. 

Mr Broad told parliament in 2015 that the Joint Strike Fighter could stimulate Australia’s high-end manufacturing industry.

“The world has moved into high-end manufacturing. We may not be making cars as we have been in the past, but we are certainly making components,” Mr Broad said at the time. 

“Look at the F35 fighter jets that are getting made. The tail assemblies of those are getting built in Melbourne. The opportunities for high-end manufacturing are going to be there.

“I still think if you can take country kids and help them get to education, they will go back to those regional areas and do start-ups and do some of those businesses.”