BRISBANE, Australia - Three new fighter jets worth more than 175 million AU dollars ($188.3 million) has arrived in Australia, the Department of Defense said on Friday.

Defense Materiel Minister Jason Clare welcomed the three new F/ A-18F Super Hornets to the royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Amberley, west of Brisbane, in Queensland.

"The Super Hornet is one of the best fighter planes in the world and are being delivered on budget and ahead of schedule," Clare said in a statement on Friday.

"They are potent fighting machines that give our Air Force an impressive strike capability."

This is the fourth batch of Super Hornets the RAAF has received, bringing the current Australian fleet to eighteen, according to the Australian Department of Defense.

The Department said a further six aircraft would be delivered by the end of the year. ?

"The Super Hornet is built by Boeing at its production line in St. Louis, Missouri. It has been flown by the US Navy since 2001, " Clare said.

"The Super Hornet gives the Royal Australian Air Force the capability to conduct air-to-air combat, to strike targets on land and at sea, to suppress enemy air defense and to conduct reconnaissance," he said.

The first 15 Super Hornets became operational on December 8, 2010, following the retirement of the iconic F-111, the Australian Department of Defense said.