The Typhoon isn’t a Rafale when it comes to heavy air-to-ground loadouts. It can’t carry more than two Storm Shadows, true – but when will that ever be necessary?

probably never. But the ability to carry 2 storm shadows + 3*2000L tanks is more than relevant. The typhoon can’t do that AFAIK.

the rafale can and this loadout is being operational now.

(just for my own pleasure :p )

Simplicity is therefore very much to be prized in any display, even before you take account of the fact that under high g, pilots will grey out, losing peripheral and colour vision, and seeing their smart colour displays in monochrome! Colour can be useful, of course, but there are good reasons for not RELYING on the colour of symbology.

Under High G, pilots use their HUD or HMD.

In any case, Typhoon has equally bright LCD displays (three dpiX/Planar Inc Active Matrix Liquid Crystal Displays), so to claim an advantage for the Rafale on the basis of its displays is unsustainable.

Nobody is claiming such a superiority.

There’s little real difference between a touch sensitive screen and one with circumferential soft keys, except display area, whereas the ability to change displays without reaching for the screen at all is a real advantage.

Who told you that you can’t change the rafale displays with the hotas ?

So I’d stand by my judgement that ‘Color touch sensitive screens’ are not a big deal. Touch sensitivity is only marginally more useful than using soft keys, and is less useful than HOTAS and VTAS control of displays, while bright, readable displays are by no means unique to Rafale.

VTAS won’t work over 7 G… So it’s not a big deal neither.

Because I have been watching these programmes for years, and because I have good contacts in industry and the operators and customer air forces. I have spoken and corresponded with people who have flown both types, and my ‘acquired knowledge’ of the programmes has paid my wages on many occasions.

From my own experience about “good contacts” : those who know don’t speak and those who speak don’t know (or are advertising their product)

Jackonicko, your so called “facts” are nothing more than a smoke screen of cheap gossip.

BTW, we are still waiting for the typhoon to prove the “facts” established by the JOUST simulation.

Anyone got any thoughts on the Pentagon’s claim that showing the cockpit video (particularly the HUD) would be militarily sensitive? Surely that kind of thing is pretty common knowledge by now? Col Bob Stewart on BBC this morning reckoned they’d have to completely revamp the A-10 now, which seems way off the mark.

There is nothing sensitive in this video. This is just Gun straffing.
BTW, you can find many other A-10 HUD videos on the net…

Swizerland too:

1Saludo

Actually, this picture shows an F-5 landing on the runway of the Meiringen airbase, not a road.

Swiss bases are quite unique because some of them are crossed by civilian roads. This is the case at meiringen or Paryerne for exemple : When there is no flight operation, you can cross the runway with your car (but you can’t stop or park off course 😀 ) and when jets are about to take off or land, they just low a gate as you can see on the picture.

“Hey that’s not fair – only we’re allowed to pervert the course of justice. You guys have to play by the rules!!!”

Just one exemple…

1- In contrast to UK, French justice didn’t wait 20 years to start an investigation on the “Taiwaneese frigates” briberies.

2- In contrast to UK, France never stop the probe on the “Taiwaneese frigates”

3- In contrast to UK, France lost the juicy taiwaneese market for ever because of a truly independent law.

So, get your facts right, please.

If I use the canards for braking in the air, I must counteract their influence on aircraft attitude.

Actually the rafale uses the 4 flaperons as breaking and manoeuvering surfaces and the canard to correct the trajectory

Even the evolution represents that difference in thinking. While future EJ Versions offer more power, the French focus on efficiency.

on the other hand, the lighter and less powered rafale can already fly with heavier payloads than the typhoon… So more thrust is definitively not a priority for the rafale.

The refueling probe is in my opinion a good example for the different design philosophies.
The Dassault designers decided mostly for the slightly simpler solution, while the EF designers decided for the little bit more performance.

looks like the simpler solution is more efficient this time.

Disadvantages of the control surfaces for brake concept:
– the aircraft can’t brake and manoeuvre effectivley at the same time

off course it can. The brake function is juste achieved through all the 6 aerodynamic surfaces. however, it is true that it requieres a state of the art FCS software far more difficult to write than the simplistic code of the typhoon FCS :p .