There was the AESA-problem, the fact that Gripen is a direct competitor to HAL Tejas (very similar in size and uses the same engine) and some other problems like how sensitive the Gripen system is to third party embargos.

So the options where Russian jets, french, EADS or some US option. The russians never had a chance since their fleet looks like this:
272 or 314 Su30MKIs on order/157 delivered
157 MiG 29UPG
102 MiG 27 (ok, its old)
153 MiG 21 (to be replaced very soon)

And thats all Russian jets. Later Pak FA will be added to the list. The need for diversifying was pretty substantial. (Other jets are 55 Mirage 2000 and 151 SEPECAT Jaguar)

So there are only 3 options left and none of them is Gripen. This is what was said on performance.

“Gripen meets or exceeds every operational requirement raised by the IAF in all roles — air-to-air fighter, [beyond visual range/within visual range], air-to-surface land and sea, and reconnaissance,”

So it wasn’t performance, it was the overall package that didnt suit India. Personally I think they did an excellent choice in picking Rafale. Obviously they have cash and if they want range then nothing comes close to the Rafale. Just look at this number:

Combat radius: 1,852+ km (1,000+ nmi) on penetration mission

And by penetration mission im not talking about something that includes ladies and alcohol.

Amongst modern fighter jets (as in not the F111) I think its pretty unique.

Considering there are plenty 4th gen fighters that can carry standoff missiles with 200km+ range i think its a tough situation for RAF considering they only have 2 airfields. 1 on the Falklands and one on a carrier.

All Argentina have to do is to bomb the living hell out of those two spots and the enemy (as in the UK) wont have any airplanes that are operational in the area.

The jets can fire at ships from a longer distance than the ships can respond. So with a fleet of Su34 in the attack role escorted by more capable jets that to higher alt CAP Argentina could be very succesful despite having less capable jets.

So basically UK has a huge tactical disadvantage if Argentina gets actual standoff weapons and a somewhat capable airforce. Then the ships will be sunk one by one. There isnt even necessarily a need to go to A2A combat.

Flankers are really good looking, but they arent as clean and elegant like many others.

As stated in a scientific post in the other thread there is a difference between being cool and elegant.

The SR71, Draken, YF23 and possibly Spitfire are all very streamlined designs that are surprisingly clean.

Ah…..didn’t get the “signal”.:)

Its ok. Sarcasm in writing has a tendency to not be understood 100% of the times, no matter how retarded the claims are. Maybe we have Tigershark and similar users to thank for that.

Cheers.

Not very modern, but the Kalinin K7 was a monstrosity:

Looks like a solid 9G capable interceptor 😉

?!!!!!!!!!

Definitely beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Quit posting sexy jets, topic is fugly ones 😉

However, even good looks can become bad looks simply by applying a crappy paint job.

I also don’t think its RCS was in the same class as the F-35. That big opening at the front had to expose compressor blades and even if a screen were used as a shield ( so I’ve heard ), it would only work for a certain range of wavelengths.

Are you sure thats how it works? Sure, maybe some very short radar blockers have a limitation that actually matters but if you look at proposed solutions for the Pak FA you see that the blockers pretty much are miniature S or C ducts or angled “tunnels”.

To get past the blockers one pretty much need to use wavelangths that are long enough to get past the bending, and that usually means at least the UHF band.

Otherwise the reflections will be pretty marginal. Pak FA will carry L-band AESAs in the wings (15-30 cm) and that could be enough in some cases, but the primary radar (as always) is in the 24-37 mm range.

Antonov A40 isnt mentioned?

X-32 might qualify as the ugliest, or one of the ugliest, military fighter jets. Il 40 of course being a tiny bit more hideous.

Another strong contender:

The PA 22 wouldnt win a beauty contest, and you know its bad when the best looking part on the jet is a swastika.

Happy new whatever btw.