😮 Grippen NG will supercruise longer than F 22??? The thing barely flew! Let me guess: you are from Sweden…

As for EF supercruise, I did not see anything clear about it: Mach, distance, altitude, configuration.

Has pointed severall times, the basic numbers are mach 1.2/1.3 with 8 AAM´s for 250 NM with a 30 minute reserve. Those numbers are in every Eurofighter GMBH presentation to every single one Air Force for (at least) the last two and a half to three years. Most of those presentations are classified, but the 2006 Norwegian was de-classified, it´s public, and you can confirm those numbers in page 53 (or around that, i dont have the document right now).

Even if that is true it doesn’t hardly mean a Rafale made in India would be as cheap as a Viper made in India! Let’s not forget the Viper has been manufactured in the thousands from many different suppliers…….

And?

Look at what happened with the Indian Jaguar production line. The Unit cost plumeted.

You can have 2 or 3 F 16s for the Price of a Rafale. And India is facing with declining fleet numbers, Chances are that more number of MRCA will need to be inducted so this becomes a big factor and whatever advantage the Rafale has is lost when its 2:1.

No you can´t… Not by a loooong shot. Better check your numbers.
The time of the Viper has a simple, cheap, multi role fighter are long gone, specially if you throw an AESA set into the deal.

This will give you an idea.
http://www.dsca.mil/PressReleases/36-b/2008/Romania_08-55.pdf
The equivalent proposal to Romania (24 new + 24 second hand) by Alenia (Typhoon) his (more or less, depending on what the Euro/dollar exchange rate his offered for contract) 1/3 higher.

And taking into account that from entire 126 MRCA fleet, 110 will be built in India, that´s a massive cost leverage between the six (five?) proposal´s.
Whatever the plane the IAF chooses it´s costs wont be the same that the equivalent fighter built in France, Great Britain, Russia or the USA…

You can’t really gauge a country’s capabilities to develop UAVs on the basis of Raven, Corax, SHARC and for that matter AVE-C or D. Rudimentary designs with bits sometimes raided from radio-controlled aircraft parts bins that had no purpose other than tweaking and investigating some of the technologies or looking at the kind of designs that could be used. Things have moved on since most of these flew and certainly since Mike Turner was working for BAE Systems complaining about a lack of funding. The UK has a funded programme now in SUAV(E), that will include two full-scale demonstrator programmes, including a MALE UAV that is based on operational experience, as well as a fully-funded tactical UAV programme. And then look at what Italy is doing. Things have moved on.

Mick

Good post, very informative.
Now let´s just hope that his Majesty MOD doesn´t can two thirds of the SUAV(E) program…
“Let´s just buy some more Reapers and get done with it”.

Cheers

Swiss: Gripen
India: Super Hornet
Brasil: RAFALE
Libya: Flanker
Nederland: F-35A

Look, you better ask the builders of the ship (Type 45 Daring Class) and the heads of the RN for this. Because they and its a fact, have an alternative proposal for the Block II ships to use the Mk. 41. The proposal adds a new AESA array for the specific purpose of SM-2 illumination. It appears this is all a serious consideration for the moment, though its not set in stone yet.

There are no block II ships. Six T45 were ordered with the PAAMS, and that´s it, no more T45´s for the RN, the rest was canned.
What you have described seem´s like LockMart proposal to fit the MK41 VLS on the Daring´s that was made almost a decade ago.

Like i said before i was not talking about the human toll on either side or humanitarian crisis. Right now in Afghanistan, the Americans are prepared to win the war at any cost, while the British are more towards a political settlement. That is all I am saying here.

Ever heard the expression “The Great Game”?
Read a few history books before lecturing the British about “Afghanistan”, “Terror”, “Terrorism”, guerrila warfare, or “will to win”.
Start with the Malaya campaign, then learn a bit about the “Mau Mau Rebellion”, go on for something about the (more or less) five hundred years of operations in Ireland, then find out what recently happened in Sierra Leone, and then finish with “The First Afghan War” by Major General Sir Henry Marion Durand.
The last foreign intervention who managed to get a military victory in “Astan” was under the supervision of a guy called Timur-i-leng, and he did it by making a bloody holocaust, killing every men, women and child of every enemy setlement that oposed him. Every one else who tried “to win the war at any cost” in Afheganistan has failed, from the Czar army, to his majesty´s rifles, to the Sovietes…

There must be a “political settlement” to win this war, there´s no other option

While, its likely you could design a stealthy fighter with smaller twin turbo fans. That doesn’t mean its ideal or even equal. As the F-35 is still likely to have far better range. Because the P&W F-135 has a similar fuel burn rate to one EJ-200 or F414. Let alone two……….

The P&W F-135 might have a similar SFC to a F414/EJ200, this means that it burns the same amount of fuel for a determined amount of thrust produced. If the F-135 produces 2X the thrust of one F414/EJ200 that also means that it burns the same fuel has TWO F414/EJ200 combined…