Guys, here is a snapshot for the UAEs F-16 block 60 carries 4 * gbu-12. I wonder is it possible for the block 60 to carry 6 * gbu 12?
It’s as much a political deal as a procurement of fighter aircraft, so I don’t rate the Russians chances too well.
if its a political as you said more than procurement of fighter you would‘not see
all these hard negotiations for these sophisticated and highly requirment:rolleyes:
and for your information we were the first to show interest in FLANKER famiy
in the Middle East 😉
lets read what MR Mikhail Simonov, designer of the Su-27 and Su-30,said about emaraties :
How the Arabs helped ‘Su’
Simonov insists that perestroika allowed the Su-27 to become the best of the best. A lack of money in the Nineties forced the Sukhoi Company to make a desperate move – to try to sell the jet abroad. The first place they looked was the United Arab Emirates.
“At that time, their air force was headed by Colonel Khalid,” recalls Simonov. “He wasn’t a flexible man. As he looked at and flew our fighter jet, he said: ‘It’s not bad, but can it sink a destroyer?’ But these were two different things… It’s one thing to conduct air combat, and completely another to destroy underwater and ground targets.”
This could have been the end of the conversation. Intead, Simonov proposed the Arabs formulate their demands for the machine: “If you want the fighter jet to be able to hit targets at a distance of 100km – that can be done. You want it to sink destroyers – it will do.”
So, the Su-27 became a multi-function fighter – though the Arabs did not buy it. Khalid admitted that the Americans would not have allowed them to do so. It is often said that the Su-27 and Su-30 are the best, but they have not been used in a single war. So how could their superiority be proved?
“That is, of course, a secret,” smiles Simonov.
This display of equipment was not simply advertising, but a comparison with competitors – at least with the French Mirages that were part of the UAE inventory. How could they be compared? Two of their best pilots took turns flying the aircraft, the Mirage and Su. All flight information was documented and the information analysed.
we test out carefully what we buy not like others…;)
ah…i just remembered that we have flown the typhoon 😀
this a pic for emaratis mirage 2000-9 pilot with 3200 hr and he has flown the royal air force typhoon in 2010
Looks like a Kfir. And what kind of M2K HUD is it?
its clear = gripen in the gunsight of the mirage 2000-5
For military reasons, they want an aircraft which can fire their Black Shaheen missiles, & it would be convenient if it could also use their stocks of MICA, etc.
Black Shaheen is a reduced-range (for MTCR) Scalp. The USA refuses to allow it to be integrated on the UAE’s F-16Es, & refuses to sell an equivalent weapon. Rafale would be able to use it immediately. It could easily be integrated on Typhoon.
I presume the UAE wants it to bust open Iranian bunkers & other hard targets without having to get close to them.
420km ….great range
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