This is from the Air Force Association’s Air Force Magazine. Great article.

Next time, you might want to just stick with a link.

I think the owner of this forum is trying to discourage wholesale copying of copyrighted content into the forum becuase of the potential legal liability.

Seoul selects 2 AWACS bidders
The bidders should give to Korea key technology for the radar system and delegating at least 30 percent of the project’s money to domestic subcontractors, Won explained.
By Joo Sang-min

That’s interesting. I’d expect the radars to represent much of the actual cost of the project. I wonder if that means they’re angling for a share of the radar/avionics part of the contract.

Hmmm. Really would have liked to have seen a Tunnan.

GDL, is that a J21R?

F-16s are the way to go.

Italy has leased refurbished F-16s until the Eurofighters enter service in adequate numbers. If Mexico can wait, they can probably pick up the F-16 coming off of lease for next to nothing.

Simply put, the most massive aviation market in the coming decades outside the US.

I think one of the reasons that European and Russian fighter manufacturers will eventually lose sales is that China will come to depend more and more on it’s own aviation industry for fighter aircraft.

A healthy internal fighter market can do wonders. I’d wager that the Europeans and Russians both wish they had the same.

I think you’re going to gradually see the disappearance of European fighter aircraft sales as you approach 2020, unless they can do something creative with UCAVs.

The reason is that Europeans just aren’t investing in the necessary development. If European defence is serious about staying competitive in the market, they’d be rounding up every European country to sign on to an F-35 beater. That debate isn’t even out there because European defence contractors know that the will isn’t there in the various European capitals.

The Typhoon got built because the big bad Soviets were still a threat. Rafale got built because it’s French. The Soviets are gone and the French can’t afford to go it alone anymore.

Beyond 2020, the F-35 is going dominate manned fighter aviation and it’s going to be really dull. Makes you wish for the 50s when all sorts of amazing jets were coming out everywhere.

If you look at Poland, let’s say that US replace bribe by lies 🙂

So military alliances have nothing to do with it? The reason European defence contractors lose a foreign military contract is becuase the US bribes better and lies better than the European defence contractors? 😮

Well, that explains things doesn’t it? I guess that’s why Dassault won the Rafale contract in France. The French naturally bribe and lie better at home. The Rafale is certainly not significantly better than the Eurofighter.

Right. Whatever.

Yes, Lockheed got caught giving kickbacks to the Japanese PM (Takeo Miki) to buy Starfighters. Not that I blame Lockheed—this is how you learn to do business in the East. The Starfighter scandals has been the subject of entire books. Did the UK give kickbacks to the Saudis to buy Tornadoes. Maybe—the arms business is decidely corrupt. You don’t play the arms trade business with boy scout ideals. It’s just the nature of the scorpion.

So what’s the point of bringing this up in the first place. Do US defence contrators bribe better than Europeans now too?

US military equipment works. Military Cooperation is easier when allies share the same equipment. It is as simple as that.