HUM!?
Just this once, we may have a point that unites both
Typhoon and Rafale fans, even F-18 ones!

From Twinblade’s link in post #394 :

The Japanese Minister has underlined that the choice will be based on technical criteria, in the interest of the nation. ”If they don’t sell us the F22 and the F35 is not ready,” it may take several years to complete, ”there are other aircrafts available that are good enough,” said Ichikawa.

How glad could the makers of these magnificient flying machines be
to have their fighters labelled as : “good enough” ?

Geez! 🙁

LOL ETC

The Defense Department currently plans to 2,443 of the aircraft through 2035, at a total cost of some $385 billion. It is designed to replace at least 13 types of aircraft for 11 nations initially.

There has not been any discussion thus far about reducing that total buy, but analysts warn that rising unit costs could eventually prompt Congress to curtail the overall production number, which in turn would drive up prices per aircraft even further.

“It’s been called a death spiral,” said Norm Augustine, a former chief executive at Lockheed Martin. “When you start a program with the intention of buying 1,000 airplanes and you wind up buying 100 — and your plans call for building six a month, and you wind up building six a year — the costs just go out of sight,” he said.

That is to be found at the end of this article posted by Tango III
in the military news thread of this good forum :

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/19/us-lockheed-fighter-idUSTRE78I42P20110919

I just found it quite ironic after being told exactly the same
by most people around here and elsewhere about the Raffy
for so many years ……….. :rolleyes: :dev2:
😎

^^^To corroborate Swerve’s remark,

A picture being worth a thousand words.:D

@ Scorpion, concerning flight hours per type/standards :

The Rafale M F1 were retired with 12, 163 hrs logged in.

The 30 thousand flight hours figure should be for all Rafale Air
B & C in their operational units and thus exclude the B301 & B302
and C101 that are used by the DGA and CEV * and occasionally
made available to Dassault for the demo campaigns in export
markets as is/was the M1.
Having not found proof to the contrary, I would tend to believe
that the birds used by the CEAM ** are indeed included in that number.

( Do check this link with the special livery shown in Saint-Dizier
for very nice pics of the Red Arrows, BTW ( R.I.P. F.Lt Egging )

http://www.mct57.org/expos-et-deplacements/meeting-aerien-de-saint-dizier-(52)-18-juin-2011/ )

As for the ongoing discussion on tech transfers for MMRCA deal,
le me add a couple points.

About the OSF-IT’s present lack of IR channel, how could we see it
as either an advantage or a disadvantage?
The IAF could choose to have a solution sourced from elsewhere;
just as they will do with regards to the HMCS from Israël? ***

Let me tie this in with the M2000H/TH upgrade recently approved
by the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security and confirmed by
Thalès and Dassault.
The package will bring the M2Ks to a standard close to that of the
UAE 2000-9. If the IAF selects the Raffy for MMRCA, the HMCS could
fit both planes and logic seems to go towards a common choice of
the AASM and MICA as AtoG & AtoA weapons in both cases, which
would favor the French fighter.

However, if I take the stance of the Typhoon amateur, I could easily
argue that the choice of armament for the Mirage is quite independent
from the process and that the choice of Rafael’s HMCS simply means
that Israeli products in terms of LDP ( Litening vs Damoclès ), AtoG
and AtoA weapons is envisioned.

And yet again, the Rafale Point of View can be strenghtened by the fact
that France will invest 500 million dollars in HAL as a compensation
in the said 2000H/TH deal?

So once more, I sincerely believe that being all bright imaginative fellows,
we spin more freely than tops on too little real knowledge.

If I am not mistaken, the MMRCA offers were opened in late July by
the IAF so let’s keep our collective cool and … well, wait?
We did for so long already, LOL. 😉

Good day all, Tay.

* General Armament Delegation/Flight Testing Center
** Military Aerial Testing Center
*** RDY-3 radar, Totem 3000 inertial navigation unit,
ICMS Mk-4 electronic warfare system, new Night Vision
Goggles- compatible visualizations, JTIDS link 16 AND
HMCS.

Well, very sorry then Scorpion but I was not implying
that a mistake had been made by you specifically.

That French article is almost identical to the one that
I referred to and the one up in this page, by the way.
The fact remains that none of those give a source but
only suggest that their authors read a leaked source
to which we are not privy yet.

But here goes your translation, mate :

“Comments :

To this day, the Rafale is first out of the starting blocks
not only thanks to its excellent results in the testing process
but also as regards the insdustrial offer. The plane fits the
budget package and offers great upgrade perspectives. The
EF 2000 is getting better technically but suffers on the costs’
side. It is the most expansive in initial price and will clearly
exceed the Swiss budget ( based on “catalog prices” ), its
maintenance costs also being the highest ones.”

As for black Archer’s request, this would be the sentence :

“The gripen’s arms system includes “intelligent” precision
weapons and the associated forward looking infrared
detection/infrared designation system ( FLIR/LDP ).”

The present Gripen FLIR/LDP is the Litening III BTW.

Now, please gang remember that those are estimates from
a source that is given as out of a 2008 document and that
we have not seen and was not confirmed officially, hence
my comments on the flimsy character of the discussion.

😎

Sigh… No comment.

:D:cool::diablo:

Two suggestions, Spud buddy,

A- This pic of a nice UK soldier with a Desert Hawk III

of which the Pakistani-found one could be a variant;

B- Due to poor conditions of living the Pakistani soldier is
actually 1M23 tall? thus explaining the size ratio? 😉 😮 :rolleyes:

Or even a RC model of big size modified as the one seen here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7OTkOxKNcc&feature=related

Your turn, lol,

Agreed Spudman as seen here :

http://www.mobilemag.com/2011/08/30/mysterious-bird-like-drone-crashes-in-pakistan/

but this being said, please find a better offer?

Here’s a much more informative source :

http://www.kalam.tv/ur/video/87696/index.html

&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7OTkOxKNcc

&

http://tribune.com.pk/story/239387/us-reconnaissance-drone-crashes-in-chaman/

So you can nay say? Fine, look at this then :

Lookheed-Martin product 😮

Good night all, Tay.