MildaveHalf tank for take off with mid air refuelling can help with weight problems
MildaveWhat to keep in mind with a carrier based aircraft is that it can deploy much closer to its target than an land often can.
It also has inherent weight limitation that land based striker doesnt have.
MildaveLol not to mention the fact that fire control systems for the engine were deleted in order to reduce cost, simplify and make it lighter…
MildaveUK was supposed to be the second largest user of F35B after the US marine, and if they want to save they amphibious tank they could cancel the F35B (which I still don’t understand the need for the marine). Italy may have a part in the programm but nowhere as important as US and UK, so they may be in trouble. They might buy far less F35B anyway given the cost.
MildaveI think LM really underestimated the requirements for the B version. While the land and carrier based versions are relatively easy to implement within the same airframe, the B will end up been a completly different aircraft.
MildaveUS military unveils possible F-35B redesign
MildaveThe RAF is not a marketing flying club for the Typhoon, but a real Air Force. And if they retire their current air defence plane in form of the F.3 and do hardly have enough Typhoons ready to cover the air policing duties in the UK and the Falklands, while they have plenty of Harriers and Tornado GR.4s that could do the job in Afghanistan as well, then you do not deploy the Typhoons. The “combat” deployments of Rafale where also not that impressive, when they largely relied on older Mirages to do the actual targeting of the bombs.
The Rafale needs for Mirages 2000 for targeting is no longer the case, and still proved is high avaibility, reliability and capacity to carry a lot of payload in hot climate. I didn’t ask why are there no highly multi-role Typhoons in Afghanistan (even if since it is op in 5 NATO countries, some of which are present in Afghanistan it’s quite strange). I was refering to an article back in 2007 (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1559773/RAF-prepares-to-use-Typhoon-in-combat.html ) showing that the RAF did plan to deploy the Typhoon in combat. They trained for it, they prepared for it. But you must be right, it must be far more valuable in the falklands against Argentina’s Mirage 3 and 5…
Mildave:p Try to use the typhoon with storm shadow, anti-ship missile… 😮
The RAF was supposed to deploy Typhoon in afghanistan since 2008, I’m still trying to find evidence they’ve ever been there. So from an operational point of view it’s still semi-operational.
Gripen teamed with Thales in 2007 in order to produce a AESA radar, but France was worried specially for Brezil so they asked Thales to stop cooperation. All I was trying to say is that Gripen depends on other country for many of its vital systems. UK could also choose to block the export should Typhoon and Gripen NG compete as finalists (US did it in Norway).
MildaveIf US or Israel really start a war with Iran it will either be a full scale war with occupation or it will be nothing. Alternatively they are going to try and locate their target and use cruise missile. That’s why Israel is now deploying at least one sub in the PG armed with nuke and mossad special forces. I don’t see how they can fly tankers, C130 and such with 30 fighters-bombers to Iran…
MildaveIndian National Congress, the main party in the ruling U.P.A in India is still fighting the ghosts of the Bofors artillery gun scam along with many other corruption charges (thankfully none of them with regards to defense).
At this point I think they will reduce any possibility of a future corruption probe and will award the contract to the L1 bidder which has met all the IAF parameters.
I think it is between the F 16 and Gripen and may be the Super Hornet (going by the quoted price its only marginally expensive than Gripen and F 16).
India stated that the chosen aircraft would be kept until 2040 a least and I don’t see how the F16 is a good choice and I won’t even mention of the different problem due to air refuelling requirement to be met, Pakistani F16 etc.
Gripen NG is also likely to come short due to too many pressure from US, UK and France on many of its critical systems (engine, AESA…).
Typhoon is very expensive and with the air superiority role already taken by the SU 30MKI, it’s has little chance other than political.
Super Hornet due to extreme US pressure specially from Boeing who is almost as desperate as Dassault to impose on the export market will certainly make it if anything else for political respect for the US. Beside the platform provide good multi-role, specially strike capabilities and the carrier option at a very affordable price.
Given that the SU 30 MKI has French and Israeli sub-system, that India already operate with great satisfaction the M-2000 (and plan to update them with many systems similar with the rafale), already has infrastructure, access to almost unlimited ToT, already has civil, defense contracts and cooperations (nuclear, submarine, SAM etc.) the rafale would be IMO the best choice for India. As far as the 4.5 gen platform is concerned, the rafale as already proven itself to be suvivable against all other aicraft and its systems are on parity with 5th gen.
Available for the land and carrier based operation you get the fully operational and combat proven F3 standard for less than a semi-operational Typhoon. Secma is already helping India with its indigenious engine for the LCA, DCN is helping produce the scorpene under licence… the strong presence of france from a industrial perspective make it easier to honor the 50% offset requirement.
So I would be very surprised if the Rafale and Super Hornet are not the two finalists.
MildaveFrom what I know the Typhoon consortium is proposing India to participate in the R&D of the AESA. I have no idea if it has changed since. I havn’t found any indication of a Typhoon with AESA in India but since they apparently tried a prototype maybe they brought it to India.
MildaveLol the only thing the F22 really excel is in cost overun and early retirement… A more honest assessment would be technology demonstrator.
The only thing really capable to “define” stealth is a missile on your tail. By the way since the US is no longer the only one playing with “stealth” technology we now tend to replace the term by LO…
Since UK and France want to share training and at some lvl avaibility on their aircraft carrier it might be a good idea for the RN to lease some rafale M (20 or so) to practice conventional take off and landing since they have absoluly no exp. Then when the JSF is ready the FN could take the rafale back. The FN plan to buy 60 rafale M but the Charles de Gaulle can only carry about 30 of them at anyone time…
The rafale is much closer to how the JSF is going to operate than a SH.
MildaveWhen the F15 was first introduced, the Israeli used it to detect, engage and kill Syrian Mig 21 while evading detection by the enemy because they had just scored the first BVR kill in history. Doesn’t make the F15 a 5th gen.
The F22 has had trouble with its radar absobant paint degrading its “stealthy” features making it vulnerable to detection at a greater distance than intended.
Reconfiguring the Boeing airborne laser to detect, engage, and kill fighter over long distances will not make it a 5th gen aircraft anymore than is a AWAC system even if implemented in a fighter (like the USN F18 prowler… ok not exactly a AWAC but still).
F16 can fly with jamming systems to prevent the enemy from using effectively their radar and so detect, engage, and kill while helping the friendly to do so… F-16s are not 5th gen…
MildaveIran never said to be willing to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. What they said is we need to wipe Zionism from the face of the earth… wich is different. Beside even if Iran get a nuke, how exactly do you propose they wipe Isreal with enough precision to be sure it wont fall in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine instead ? Pakistant and India are still trying to find a proper way to nuke each other despite the fact that they share a border with each other. Right now it’s Isreal that is a source of destabilisation of the region with all it’s constant threat and menace to other nation, illegal occupation, oh and bombing of humanitarian convoy. If Iran had bombed a humanitarian ship there would already be war, sanctions and 2 or 3 us aircraft carrier bombing night and day.
The annual defense budget of Iran is what US and Israel must spend on coca cola for the comfort of their armed forces personel. North Corea is supposed to be a nuclear country yet South Corea seems to be doing quite well for itself.
I recently read a article quoting the Israeli saying Iran can lauch a massive missile attack in 12 minutes against Isreal… lol I almost laugh myself to death. We’ve been there and we’ve seen that already. The infamous smoking gun of evidence that saddam could launch a WMD attack in less than 1 hour ?!! An air strike against Iran would just be a video game on easy mode. The only concern is the geo strategic repercussion.
MildaveA 5 Gen fighter is an aircraft that uses stealth in order to ensure dominance of the battlefield by been able to detect, engage and kill its targets while evading detection by the enemy (and so the engage and kill never happen). That’s for me the basic definition. In addition a 5 Gen will have feature like sensors fusion, networking, advanced detection capabilities specially in the passive spectrum etc. Which it can share with 4++ platform like SU-35, Typhoon, Rafale, and the possible Silent upgrades of F-15 and Super Hornet.
In order to have a “stealth” platform you need important reduction in RCS, Infrared, Visual, Sonor… Coupled with high maintenance cost to keep your stealth platform “stealthy”. While some country (mostly european) have been researching stealth technologies for some time and had had various success in RCS reduction, only the US so far master Infrared, visual and sonor stealth and it cost them so much they can’t even really afford it.
Arms embargo for China mean they can hardly put their hand on any very advanced Western tech and Russia has fallen to far behind to have a coherent and modern industry to produce a true 5 Gen. So they will no doubt put a lot a composite and have form similar to the F-22, and while it’s going to provide them with a good and evolutive platform on the RCS front it’s going to be years before they match US-European technology lvl with AESA, ECM, ICM, jamming, sensor fusion, maintenance…
Which is why Russia is going to mature these technologies on the SU-35 before trusting its air defense with the T50. China is spending a lot of money for its defense but not yet as much as the US. It’s common knowledge that their engine industry is very poor: aircrafts, tanks, frigates it’s all the same, they cannot trust their engine to be reliable. In order to know how good your aircraft is going to be you need to look at are good are your research, industry and experience producing high tech. To date only the US has a true 5 Gen stealth engine for its B2 and F22. High end composite materials for military use are protected by secret defense so China won’t have access to any technology transfert and Russia well, as I said their top industry is pretty much behind. Have you heard of Russia introducing brand new equipment recently ? Their military is made of upgrade and modernisation of soviet era hardware with brand new name to make them look nice on the commercial. Fortunatly for them it’s still good enough for their credibility but barely. Beside a very good Russian aircraft is a Russian aircraft with Israeli sofware:rolleyes: !
So I still think that once the Super Hornet and F15 receive their RCS reduction packages along with fly by wire, AESA, digital cockpit, missile upgrade etc. They will be in the same class of the T50 and J20.
Sign In
