But these days of semi-retirement I seem to spend more time talking to the black raven “perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door” than to many of my industry and service contacts, so perhaps I’m just getting beyond my sell-by date.

Never underestimate our feathered friends…sometimes they can show us the true meaning of life 😉

I for one respect and value the opinions and thoughts of those who are more experienced. I really enjoy reading your thoughtful and insightful posts, please do keep it up. Would be great to hear more about your experiences in the aviation industry.

What in the name of all that is holy is a ‘Rhino’?

Rhino— the name given the Super Hornet when doing launch and recovery and other kinds of USN air ops…mostly for safety so there is no confusion between the classic Hornets.

Interesting as the EA-18G Super Hornet jammer or “Growler” is known as a “Grizzly” in air ops.

I always thought “Rhino” was the unofficial nickname of the F-4 Fantom, primarily due to its low, long swept nose, rather reminiscent of a Rhino’s nose in full charge? Kinda similar to the F-16’s unofficial nickname of “Viper”?

And isn’t “Grizzly” the unofficial nickname of the A-400M? It was being marketed as that in Farnborough 2010.

Belgrade seeks around a dozen aircraft

* Deal would cost a billion euros

By Aleksandar Vasovic

…

Top Serbian defence officials have said the country was evaluating Russian Sukhoi Su-30, the United States-made F16 and F18, France’s Rafalle, Sweden’s JAS Gripen, Chinese JF-17 or the internationally-made Eurofighter.

“Perhaps the best option would be a lease-to-buy deal, but that remains to be seen,” the defence official said.

Belgrade also has to decide whether it will buy planes from NATO countries or its allies Russia and China.

After the ouster of former autocratic President Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, Serbia sought to improve relations with NATO, but retained military neutrality. ($1 = 0.7694 euros) (Reporting By Aleksandar Vasovic; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/16/serbia-airforce-idUSL6E7NG2G020111216

I’m not sure how accurate that report is, but needless to say that politics is likely to play a significant part in the decision making process, as well as cost and capability considerations. I still think it may be a bit too soon or politically insensitive for the Serbians to go for a US option. The Eurofighter, Rafale and SU-30 may be too expensive and unsuitable for what the Serbs need, i.e. a light/medium weight fighter. The Gripen may offer the best compromise in terms of cost/capability/political considerations, although the US derived engine may cause some concern. Given the previous experience of the Serbian airforce with the Fulcrum, perhaps an interim solution could be some refurbished Mig-29s and/or some JF-17s, particularly given the commonality of the RD-33/93 between the two platforms. It could also lead to common avionics/weapons packages for both platforms.

Rumor also has it that PAF has been ordered to shoot down intruders. Don’t know if that includes drones, but from my personal assessment, yes, drones will be shot down by the PAF and will not require a political thumbs up.

You contradicted yourself there. First you say PAF has been ordered to shoot down intruders, then you say PAF doesn’t need ‘political thumbs up’?

It’s been well known that the reason why the PAF has refrained from shooting down US UAVs all these years is the ambiguous relationship between the UAV operations and the Pak government/military. On the one hand, the Pak military provides covert, if not tacit, support for UAV operations through either Shamsi or by allowing UAVs to enter Pak airspace through Afghanistan, while the government and media b1tches about it. The PAF chief has previously stated that the air force is capable of shooting down drones, but that it hasn’t been ordered to do so by either the government and/or the army. Whether that changes or not is based on the direction of future US/Pak relations.

Regardless of how it was brought down, why would the Iranians strip the grey paint scheme off?! Even on the intake grill! Or have they just painted it all yellow? It just doesn’t add up.

Indian Navy press piece with a pic of JF-17?

Interesting piece of news regarding Progress. Could it be a possible powerplant for a ‘light/medium weight’ 5G Chinese programme? Or perhaps an engine upgrade for the FC-1/JF-17?

ZDK-03 for PAF ready for delivery 11-001 ….

Thanks for the pics Deino. Any idea if the AESA radar on the ZDK-03 is a twin facing unit or a single rotating antenna providing 360 coverage?