Well, if the Japanese purchase the landbased F-35A. Will the F-35B be more or less be a given for the JMSDF?:rolleyes:

No.

AESAs with LPI are ‘the holy grail’ of air-warfare (specifically the GaN sets), they are solid state (i.e. no mechanical parts) hence low maintenance, & will function despite multiple T/R module failures- so more reliable in combat.
(Though power hungry & cooling remains an issue).

Their simultaneous modes AA & AG at considerable ranges turn the fighter into a real-time battle management system, hence a true force multiplier, limited only by the pilot’s ability to mentally process the data.

Irbis is the last of the PESAs- it’s good, but it’s tech has peaked, and I bet that complex gimball mounting isn’t cheap to maintain.

AESAs are already mounted conformally- such as Phalcon AWACS & more recently J-Stars.

I meant for fighters and he Russians dont have any conformal arrays as yet.

Further more I am well aware of the advantages of AESA I was commenting only on the usage of such wing mounted arrays to extend radar angle.

Tikhomirov-NIIP reveal X-Band AESA (AFAR) T/R module block, probably for PAK-FA & Su-34/35 retrofits.
Also L-Band AESA wing-leading edge installations (for?).[ATTACH]156759[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]156760[/ATTACH]

NIIP have been playing around with wing mounted radar modules for awhile and they always pop up at Maks, I think that the AESA one was at the last show, however this seems to be the most impressive set up yet. Versions have supposedly been offered as cheap Fulcrum upgrades (the can control RV-AAE) and I have seen one report claiming that they were flying on the Mig-21-93 prototype at one point. Supposedly they can be used to increase the radar scanning degree, but with radars like Irbis floating around you have to wonder what the point is? Cold they provide a start point for conformal arrays?

We’ll just agree to disagree here. But I hope you are right, that way the Shornet won’t find itself in IAF colors. Its not a very great a/c without all the fancy gizmos. JMT

Regards,
USS.

Alot of people would not regard the Super Hornet as a great aircraft even with all the gizmos.:D

The trick would be to abandon the stupid FSTA project, and simply do what Australia did, and just buy the actual aircraft. You then get a power by the hour deal, and outsource major maintenance. Plain and simple.

The real problem is that the whole tanker fleet, which up until recently was around 32 aircraft, is supposed to be replaced by about nine full time A-330s, with five more available for extra cost. This is patently absurd, and needs redressed. It may be too expensive to buy more A-330s, but we could certainly add more A-400Ms to the current order, since they have a similar tanker capacity to the VC-10s we currently use. A final batch of eight C-17s, sixteen A-330s, and 48 A-400Ms would be a great step forward!

Unfortunately I think it is only a dream Ed. The whole tanker program is ridiculous and I suspect that this will only be discovered the hard way. This sort of idiocy is common place amongst the MoD, for instance it has yet to be explained to me why the recon Nimrods are not undergoing the same wing an engine rebuild as the MP versions. Then of course there is the classic Chinook foul up etc etc etc…….

The most likely candidate is India for 2 reasons:
1) it has already signed a deal for “codevelopment” of radar with Israel for the LCA MMR, not to mention lca prototypes may be flying with El 2032s and hence the 2052 could very well be a simple step up.
2) Providing an alternative to the apg-79 for the IAF MMRCA race. The Shornet is a very likely candidate IMHO considering the recently formed nuke deal and the U.S. subtly indicated it wanted a piece of the indian defence procurment pie in return. India clearly wants deep TOT on critical components of the MRCA including the radar (which has to be an AESA), it is also reasonably clear that this would hardly be forthcoming for the Apg 79, so IMVHO to overcome said snafu, an israeli option is likely. Further, Boeing has already indicated a strong willingness to use the Israel modification route to the MrCA prize.

Regards,
USS.

The US will not allow a foreign radar to be installed in a new build US export aircraft period. Furthermore the news suggests that the deal has been done, something which the MMRCA deal hasnt. However the LCA is a possibility as are the Indian M2K’s it has been hinted that the 2032 was selected but the two are plug an play and the use of AESA would be another explanation for not going to france for the whole upgrade.

Chile is a very serious possibility, there second hand F-16’s would be good candidates for the F-16ACE upgrade or at least part of it.

Correct as far as I could tell, too. AMX-ATA is one of those mythical beasts that never came to fruitation.

How hard would it be to mount Elta-2052 on older, large airframes like the MiG-25 or MiG-23? Seems like putting the radar on one of those airframes and dealing for Derby MRAAM would be an affordable proposition for third world operators looking to build up some serious diplomacy.

Anything that the 2032 has been put in should be able to take the 2052.

Still not the point chap. The point is that the RAF would still have what is it? 3 or four squadrons of Harriers for army co-operation, dedicated to that task instead of having to parcel off airframes so that the navy can still say they have an air force until the F35 arrives. Problem is that it splits available resources and leaves the navy that much more vulnerable to air attack because the GR series don’t even have radars. To save money the British government wouldn’t even give them that much. Both types were meant to soldier on until 2012, the government mothballed essential assets because they were not prepared to ‘do’ defence properly. It is unforgiveable and successive British governments just blythly carry on doing it and the unwashed masses pay the ultimate price. Thats you me and our kids and it makes me want to spit. 😡 😡

It does not plit it at all, it just means that the RN does not have an airforce. Like I said the RAF is currently using all the Harriers it would be even if the F/A-2 still exists. It is the Navy that is suffering. What is truly wrong is the incredibly poor level of CAS available from the British forces, a truly committed government would immediately order more Apaches.