exactly..however the JSF is a different kind of aircraft interms of missions..it is a strike aircraft first and an air-superiority second..Most of the things (tech) on it are gonna be tuned for a2g operations..however having said that it doesnt lack any bells and whistles of a modern a2a fighter like the rafale or typhoon…has stealth,modern design,IRST,HOBS,HMS,AESA radar,integrated avionics,and a top class EW suite…

The F-16 is the same. A strike aircraft first and a fighter second.

I think the JSF is better positioned. Air forces realize that the need for pure air superiority aircraft has decreased and are placing increased demand for strike aircraft. Case in point, the F/A-18E replacing the F-14 in the USN.

If you need a strike fighter with secondary air to air capability, why not by one designed with that from the start? You get an aircraft which will perform the primary mission better.

The Typhoon and Rafale are the opposite. Air superiority aircraft, which are trying to become strike aircraft. They still aren’t there yet. They are still waiting from tranche 3 or whatever their respective a2g upgrades are called.

AtAC, it’s not the ineptitude of the Europeans, it’s the false promises made to lure certain gullible European countries (the one i live in, for example) into the JSF project

This is where you secure the services of a good set of lawyers and demonstrate your willingness to sue often. 🙂

LOL

on a more serious note all the other air-forces around the world can potentially make the same mistakes during combat…or maybe so a little more likely then those who have seen combat

Agreed. I think if the European fighter makers had a chance to go back and redesign the Typhoon or Rafale, they would have incorporated a greater degree of stealth in their designs.

So the USAF is less likely to make the same mistakes that it did with the f-4.

Yes, they’ll make completly new ones. 🙂

So why not give em what they deserve, then?

Maybe they don’t deserve the whole thing?

BAE has contributed it’s VTOL expertise. Don’t they already have what they’ve contributed? It’s BAE technology right? They didn’t do the rest of the development work so why do they get rights to it?

😀 HAHAHAHA, you are kidding us right? Reports in the Dutch media started with unit cost of 31 million Euros, then it was 39,5, then 45 million, and now it is expected to be 60 million Euros! for the CTOL version. By the time, the contract is signed, it will be 75-85 million, just as Dassault and Eurofighter offered. At least they were realistic I guess.

Are they assuming that the exchange rate is going to remain constant?

The Euro is strong against the US dollar at the moment, meaning that purchasing a JSF might wind up costing less in Euros.