To be frank, the F-14As were not that great, either.. The radar was excellent but the TF30 engines sucked big time.. The re-engined F-14Bs were much much better..

If the TF30 engines sucked so much, why is the Iranian AF still operating them today, almost 40 years since they were first delivered? BTW, the ATAR motor on the Mirage was never cutting edge either.

the current M2K has a lower operating cost than the F-16 and Gripen.

I’m surprised to hear that the Mirage 2000 is cheaper to fly – where did you get that information?

The overall success of the T-50 depends on the price tag and availability.. We might bicker about S-ducts and shape of the IRST sensor but the fact is that T-50 is menat to carry the flag of future Russian aerospace industry. They will have to be able to use it, adapt it, modify it for different roles and ultimately, sell it and export it. If they only can afford odd 80 of them for themselves, then it’s a failure, regardless of RCS, payload, range and stuff. If they can afford to get 250 of them for VKS, export another 200 to India and another 300 to retain traditional clients like Algeria/Vietnam/Malaysia/Kazakhstan/…., then it’s a success.. If they can go even further and steal some traditionally western markets like Brazil or Thailand, via direct sales or ToT, that would be a real breakthrough..

I agree with this statement in its entirety. Historically, the most successful weapons are those which have actually been used to fight in wars, and even better still (although not necessarily) have been used to win wars. Regardless what you may think of the Lockheed F-35 as a weapon system, it’s already destined to be one of the most important combat aircraft for the next few decades by dint of the numbers beeing produced and the number of countries which will accept it into service.

80 troops dead? I guess it goes to show just how effective US bombing is – when they actually manage to target the correct “enemy” forces.

F-35 would never be sold to India.

Will the Rafale be sold to India, or PAKFA?

Just checked:

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/india-to-pay-7-87-billion-euros-for-36-rafale-fighters-1459175

within 10 years, many of these could be handy to operate from a back seat

Within 10 years, the UAVs will be operating themselves, within 20 years 6th generation fighters as well.

By that logic it’s less of a lemon than the F22. Nice try though.

F-22 is not for sale abroad. Rafale is.

?

It’s said that up to 1000 SAMs (S-75 usually) had been fired at the SR-71 throughout its combat career – so the ground based radar could detect it at a sufficient range. I believe the SR-71’s exhaust plume actually had a large RCS signature?