During maneuvering the low mounted wing obscures a large part of the sensor field of view.
If you stick the sensors under the wing, yes, if you stick them under the nose, no. Look at the Super Tucano for that.
Having the sensor on the centreline requires extra hardening since it will be in the dirt and spray of the nose wheel. And putting the sensors on the wing is not a good idea because of wing flexing and vibrations.
Technical problem done and dusted a long, long time ago on quite a number of diferent platforms.
The sensor also occupies the best weapon station on a single prop. If you look at that USMC Bronco NOGS with the belly turret you’ll see the beauty of it, as it enables off-flight vector suppression gun fire.
Again depends on were you stick the sensors, on the Super Tucano, the belly weapon station (albeit not with the external fuel tank) is usable with the FLIR instaled .
There’s no way they actually put the DSI on an existing F-16 though. It had to have been a new built prototype, no?
That has already been answered to you before.
The airframe was a block 30, the last of those were built seven years before the DSI was installed…
Here you go.
Upper $40s is just that UPPER.. ie 47,48,49 etc, not “mid” 40s which is what 45 is.
$47 in 2002 would cost $56.62 in 2010
$48 in 2002 would cost $57.82 in 2010
$49 in 2002 would cost $59.03 in 2010
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/So from 57/58/59 (depending on what “Upper $40s is) to 65 (the current CY 2010 estimate) is not that much of a rise.
If it is still being bought in numbers very close to the initial goal, then that by definition is still “affordable”. Besides, the recent slowdown in LRIP and projected reductions in Partner buys has more to do with the Global economic crisis and less to do with the price of the F-35 itself.
On a final note, what CY were all those <= $40 mill quotes in. Without context, those quotes are pure trolling and do not add anything to debate.
The latest official numbers for the “Average Unit Flyaway Cost”…
The “Unit Recurring Cost Fly Away” is three pages ahead of this one, and to cut a great deal of talk short, if the 1763 airframes for the USAF are bought, if the inflation is down, etc, etc, its 100 million US$ (in then year dollars).
These were released one month ago, and has you are well aware they have been climbing more than 10% a year. From February 2011, to February 2012 they´ve climbed almost 20%…
Anyone believes that the “climbing” has stoped?
And anyone believes that it will be bought on the original numbers?
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