FedaykinEr, who’se the N.Z. Prime Minister?
Good point just read today that they have a new Gov, the Nationalist party I think.
Alas no move to introduce a fighter capability still.
FedaykinAfter that its down to the qualities of the pilots and we do know that USN training is of high quality.
Early generation Su27’s are flown by pilots who don’t have the same training or experience.
There is a report around somewhere about the Luftwaffes experience of inducting personel and Mig29 from the DDR.
To cut a long story short what they found was whilst the Mig29 was a deadly foe within visual range the pilots were trained to best use its capabilities and actually the the F4f Phantom was more then a match if flown to it advantages. Newly inducted DDR pilots into the Luftwaffe were invited to NATO planning exercises and the NATO trained pilots found it heartbreaking. In the end the DDR pilots were retrained and mainly washed out. Only a few remained with the majority of personel made up of ex Phantom and Tornado drivers.
Have a look at this article:
FedaykinTrue, the CGI system for the Su-27 and MIG-31. Thoses planes are pretty much useless without it aren’t they?
Having said that, I would still gulp after being told to engage a Flanker, from any generation, if I was sitting in a SuperHornet – or in anything else for that matter.
A dial can’t crash.
Hmmm, ah you so sure. I think if you had an honest chat with a few USN fighter pilots you might think otherwise. With the package that the Super Hornet offers when it comes to avionics and weapons backed up with all the off platform assets like AEW/link16 I think they would be fairly confident in that scenario.
Also the avionics inside the Super Hornet are well tested and not particularly high risk giving good reliability so an avionics crash would be my last worry.
For me if I was a USN pilot the greatest worry would be facing a near pier rival with a high number of fighters and support assets also the proliferation of high end jamming equipment which negates the advantage of a weapon system like AMRAAM forcing me into the merge. In the merge AIM9x and a HMSC would give a lot of confidence but the numbers game is the real issue.
Its easy to bash the Super Hornet but it is cheaper and easier to operate and upgrade with a good weapons package.
FedaykinHow can the Raptor be obsolete?
Of course the software/hardware on the F-35 will be more advanced – it was developed a 10 years later.
That doesn’t mean it can perform it’s roles anybetter.
Look at the Su-27 – anaolgue fly-by-wire and a ‘steam age’ cockpit. It can still outperform a ‘digital’ SuperHornet for example.
Ahhh but the steam driven cockpit of the early Su27 is not a happy place to be, any pilot operating an early Su27 is not very situationally aware. This is OK when you consider the Russians heavily relied on GCI but I would argue that looking aside from pure flight performance the Super Hornet cockpit is the place I would much rather be and fight from.
Operating in a link16 environment with other platforms in combination with a well designed cockpit mmi, helmet mounted sight, AMRAAM and AIM9x the Super Hornet is certainly not a foe I would take lightly.
FedaykinThe problem is the general public and press for that matter don’t understand that many defence related activities do not require the power given by a modern domestic PC.
Your home computer is an all singing all dancing machine that has to be able to multitask a great many activities from DTP to high end gaming.
In defense technology what is required is robust and affordable. Actually there are great many things in defense technology that happily run using 8 bit embedded microprocessor technology. People just don’t relise how quick a 2mb processor is when dedicated to a fixed set of defined tasks.
The Intel 486 is regarded as a good microprocessor for defense use and the IBM/Motorola PowerPC chip is technically meant to be the default choice for American weapon systems like AMRAAM.
The choice of a modular system was very sensible for the F22, we need to know how many spare modules were stock piled by the USAF but there should be plenty for safe operations over the next few years. The USAF is certainly not going to allow itself into a situation where it runs out of modules – any moaning on there part is probably more about internal DOD budget battles and a bit of scare mongering.
FedaykinThat we are getting ownership is the saving grace in this whole exercise, the airframes will be entirely rebuilt and some new CFM56 fitted so they should have plenty of life in them and be a bit more economic to support with access to the AMARG parts bin and the global CFM56 support market.
The probe would be nice but even without the endurance will be handy and we can always activate the recepticle.
On that note apparently RAF E3D pilots prefer tanking using the boom, basically they park behind the tanker and wait for the tanker to plug into them.
I would rather the RAF spend money fitting Helix functionality over fitting a probe.
FedaykinAs with mony people my first experience of a Chipmunk was with the ATC, I flew in WP840 (9) at 2AEF out of Hurn, Bournmouth on 22 June 1991 for 15 minutes. Little old me waddled across the tarmac in my uniform with coveralls, the bonedome on my head and the parachute banging against my bum with each step.
Since I first came to this forum I have found out where ‘840 is now based and the internet has let me find loads of photos of my first some of which I’ve included below. I was also staggered when I saw the 9 on the front of a Chipmunk pictured on the front cover of Pilot magazine and when I looked at the article inside found it was WP840! 😮
Yeah my first ever flight was in a 2AEF Chipmunk!
I felt like a Spitfire pilot as I waddled out in the flight gear.
My second ever flight from Hurn we had an in flight emergency and had to turn back for the runway with the Fire Tenders racing out to meet us. Apparently the oil gauge was reading wrong! On the other hand they felt sorry for me and gave me a second flight that day with the youngest (and Top Gun Stylie Coolest) pilot who gave me an extra long flight with lots of aerobatics! YAY!
FedaykinThe amazing thing is the USN has effectively turned their remaining Perry class in to colonial policing vessels.
Without their missile armament they are not really suitable for fleet opps any more.
The thing about the LCS program is they could have REALLY gone with an off the shelf foreign design that offers much the same performance at a much reduced cost.
FedaykinJezz: Thanks mate I love it- A few months ago I saw the t-shirts in an ABC shop while visiting my daughters up in Sydney, had a laugh about it but didn’t know what it was about- now I do :diablo::dev2::diablo::dev2::diablo: Totally for it!
Fed: Hahahahaha funny mate, but I’d rather shoot myself than live under a government dictated by Helen Clarke!!! I have no problem living in a country with a female leader, but look at what Clarke has done to life over there-Canned the F-16 deal Killed off the third and fourth Anzacs, bought inadequate weapons for the Army- NZ is a joke in military terms!
Pred: mate they are already looking for a replacement, just been reading about it- what with the mods that Endeavour is undergoing now, they are only temporary. They have started looking for a replacement more apt to the job required. My idea came on the back of the info that they are about to dock her and fill in her outer hulls with concrete to make her compliant with IML’s reguarding Double Hulled vessels for petrollium based vessels. Seems silly really but she is a good vessel and I thought while docked they could fix the flight deck- was just and idea that’s all!
That’s “Empress Helen” to you Ja! Mother Ruler of the soon to be great New Zealand Empire!:diablo:
FedaykinThere is still concern in industry that public opposition to a big military expenditure could derail the program. However, a prior attempt to block the F/A-18 purchase failed, and several industry officials indicate the same course of events could unfold this time. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a0c2a798a-8832-4b4d-8513-16ce72eba55b
Yeah Swiss politics will probably delay things (don’t they have a referendum for these matters).
FedaykinWith only six T-45 being constructed………….Its very likely that only two would be available to protect one CVF! Is that adequate for such a high value asset….:confused:
No it isn’t but the RN will do what it has always done and make do with what it has!
The ASW frigates will act in the AAW role in defence of the carriers as well if needed. With data links they can share the bigger picture with the ASAC7 and the Type 45 anyway. Late generation data linking like CEC in my opinion is one of the most significant developments in Royal Navy AAW operations of the last few years.
FedaykinWhat can the Super Hornet do that the Rafale cannot do? And pricewise if the Australians were not taken to the cleaners with their 24 plus support deal @ US$200+ million per airframe, I think the Rafale would be cheaper.
Ah I wasn’t talking about the respective capability of these aircraft both can do the same tasks very well…I was refering to the size and class of the Super Hornet. The Super Hornet is really a heavy class fighter with too much overlap with the SU30MKI when the competition is for a medium fighter.
FedaykinFantastic pictures there Kovy.
Can I ask what has happened to the potential Rafale sales to North Africa?, there was a lot of interest at one point, is there anything recent?.
Cheers
The Royal Morrocan air force was a heavy sales push for Rafale but they went with the F16. If I remember correctly the French government tried to package them up with alot of other equipment they didn’t want like ships…contract loss was nothing to do with Dassault or the qualities of Rafale but rather heavy handed sales tactics.
The Libyan airforce was another heavy push but Libya appears to be negotiating a large Russian arms package now.
FedaykinSnecma, as i learn from DRDO is waiting to help to produce or produce the kaveri compressor, they need a more powerfull by pass ratio and more intern temps, but there are no news about this!
as about thales “abilities” to integrate any US AA missile, i think this is the foreign compagny that work closer with rautheon than any other in the world on sensitive stuffs..
http://www.thalesraytheon.com/business-and-products/products/a-z-list.html
DRDO certainly need help as the Kaveri so far has performed well bellow expectations.
As for ThalesRaytheon, the partnership is in the Radar and C4i sector and doesn’t involve Raytheon Missile systems. The American DOD and Congress are very sensative over AMRAAM.
FedaykinWhere do we think that Rafale has most chance of an export order?
I think that Brazil looks most promising, and I believe that India offers a good prospect. We’ll find out soon enough about Switzerland, but otherwise….?
Certainly Brazil is a very good chance as the FAB already operates the Mirage 2000, Dassault is offering a very attractive package and The Super Hornet is probably too much aircraft for what they want, the main threat is Gripen which offers a very affordable package.
India is really a must win for a Dassault, the other Western types on offer (Typhoon, Gripen and F16) don’t fit easily into Indias ORBAT as they don’t share any weapons or logistical equipment for the current fleet. Rafale would share with the Mirage 2000 logistic chain in place, Dassault is offering an amazing offset package including support (and possibly integration) of the Kaveri. The main threat in India is the MIG35 which has the same logistic advantages but put at disadvantage by the very heavy Russian nature of the current fleet.
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