F-35 is in production. It’s been ordered into production in parallel with testing.

There is no obligation on either the UK or Italy to buy F-35. Neither has a contract or commitment to buy (except 3 for the UK). There are no penalty clauses for not buying the number first mooted. Work share is not linked to number bought. The F-35 programme does not work like that. You pay a share of development costs, & that buys you the right to bid for work, & preferential access to information & slots on the production line. That’s it.

I am sorry I was referring to the reason why the Italians and Brits kept the Typhoon. Failure to mention Typhoon in my post caused the confuson.

Pakistani media publish fake WikiLeaks cables attacking India

Comments alleged to be from WikiLeaks US embassy cables say Indian generals are genocidal and New Delhi backs militants

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/09/pakistani-newspaper-fake-leaks-india

LOL

Yes I am willing to wait. I am open ended on the F 35 and being a reader of this forum for a decade I can clearly see similarities between the F 22 criticism then and the F 35 criticism now.

What I worry about the F 35 are delays, cost over runs and eventually the project not living up to the standards set by the F 16 in terms of sales. And not about the actual capabilities.

When the USAF finally get the bird and the first DACT is done we will get a clearer understanding of its capabilities and then a few of you will not be talking about it anymore just like in the case of the raptor.

I remember some posters in this thread saying the Raptor is a boxy piece of crap before it entered service, most of them don’t talk that way no more. Wait till the F 35 is in service before you judge it. I am sure it will be changing a lot of perceptions.

Firstly, IAF does not have the Litening III, only the Litening. So my argument stands. Its a generation behind Sniper.

Top Owl is essnentially a helicopter helmet, let me know when you can cue AIM-9Xs on it….

:rolleyes: IAF currently have Litenings and Litening IIs and with more aircraft being inducted they are bound to order more and these would of course be the latest Litening IIIs.

Hardly matters as IAF don’t have AIM-9X, but they can cue R73Es and whatever missiles IAF put into the Mirage.

For PAF they have JHMCS but not AIM-9X, essentially negating the advantage of the JHMCS. R73E is superior to all other Sidewinder variants.

The leaked cables show that Dassault has been making claims that the Rafale does not have any US components. The Embassy staff is not expressing an opinion but a FACT as proven by Defense Technology Security Administration analysis. I am not getting into cables as a whole as we have another thread in GD for that. But let us say this lady has no reason to lie to her very own government in a secret message while Dassault has financial gains and contracts to be won by misleading the Brazilians.

Over the last few months, the French sales effort has been

based on a misleading, if not fraudulent, claim that their

plane involves only French content (rendering it free of

meddlesome U.S. export controls). This is not the case. A

DTSA analysis found a high level of U.S. content, including

targeting systems, radar components and safety systems that

will require U.S. licenses.

Dassault has stated many times in India and abroad that their fighter doesn’t have any American components (as shown by the U.S leaked cables). Their claims are public and they have a financial motive.

The US Embassy don’t have any such motive talking to the USG. They are obviously stating the truth, as it is classified it cannot be propoganda.

With the U.S muscle power all U.S products are safe from external sanctions, the Germans and Brits don’t have the collective balls to go up against American interests. But the Americans do and have done in the past wrt to India on Seaking Helicopters.