September 17, 2008 at 5:50 pm
I admit to being a huge admirer of the Dassault Mirage series birds of the ’60s onwards.
They seemed to encapsulate the idea of a multi-pupose family of lightweight, reliable and relatively inexpensive aircraft which could find markets around the world and still be at the cutting edge with Mach2 performance.
Most modern types I spy appear, de rigueur, to need two engines for some reason, to be stuffed to the gills with electronics which virtually fly the mission without the need for a pilot and generally require PhDs in theoretical engineering on the part of the maintenance staff.
Is this really aming for the Peruvian/Bangladeshi market?
Is no scenario envisagable where sheer numbers might actually be a benefit to an Air Force, rather than the ability to buy 5 Typhoons and show them off in an Independence Day flypast? Are such countries relegated to buying Hawks, then?