I see you have a sense of humour. The management of this project has been a joke according to most independent scrutineers.

The management of the F-35 project might leave a lot to be desired but you can’t say it’s any worse other fighter projects can you? what yardstick, standard for comparison are you using? Rafale first flew in 1986, but! didn’t enter service until 2004 or so – how’s that for “project management”…:rolleyes:

I would have thought that the events on the Hudson river 2 years ago with US Airways’ A320 would have erased any doubts on the ditching qualities of podded engined airliners – and then there is MPA320 / MPA319:

http://www.casr.ca/bg-cp140-replacement-a320.htm

…and the guys @ Irkut are falling about laughing “welcome to 1998, fellas!!”.

But seriously, I assume the fighter-pilot order is:

Yak-130>>>Su-27>>>Su-27SM>>>Su-30MK2>>>Su-35S>>>PAK-FA…quite a ladder to climb!

So how many versions of the basic Su-27 are in service – Su-27, Su-27SM Su-30, Su-30MK2, perhaps include Su-34. How many different avionic fits are there on the Su-24, Su-25, MiG-29?
The man responsible for keeping the RuAF in tip-top condition must lead a charmed life I’m sure…:confused:

Asia’s A-400 beater flies, 2nd prototype. Beats Embraers KC-390 too

It won’t be beating anyone’s plane,either European or South American, if Japan still maintains the same export policy on military or dual use hardware, that it has always maintained since the post war era.

BTW, strange looking thing isn’t it – has a certain charm though.:cool:

Import J-10B airframes, install a European 40,000lb next-gen turbofan,

Which “European 40,000lb next-gen turbofan”, would that be??

Edit: if you’re including all of “Europe” in the “strictest sense”, how about AL-41?;)

And we’d get to see a Super Frelon land on the whitehouse lawn!!:cool: