Some rather brilliant bits of marketing by McDonnel Douglas and Lockheed Martin:

F/A-18

F/A-22

I know the F/A-18 was conceptualised in fighter F-18 and attack A-18 models but that never eventuated.

The designations are designed as marketing plouys. They basically say: “look our plane drops bombs as well as shoots down other planes.”

That’s all fine and dandy but why didn’t they redesignate the F-4, F-14, F-15 and F-16 which were all in service at the time?

Quality can often backfire. Smaller numbers means less combat capable airframes. However in this day and age, larger fighter fleets are still necessary in order to take into consideration attrition, maintennance, training and overall spare aircraft.

In regards to Yugoslavia performing less than Iraq. If you take into consideration Iraq in 1991 and Yugoslavia in 1999 then the following emerge:

1. Iraq had a much larger and more modern air defence network that included French made Roland SAMs and more modern interceptors (wasn’t 1 F/A-18 shot down by a MiG-25?).

2. Yugoslavia had been under sanctions since the early 1990’s. Most Yugoslavian air defences were based on 1960’s SA-2 and SA-3. Sanctions made it doubtful whether all systems were at 100%. Indeed YuAF MiG-29’s were sent up with defective radars.

3. Allied tactics had changed. For example, the RAF lost several Tornados in 1991 due to low level tactics. In 1999 Allied tactics focused on high level bombing as a result of improved PGM delivery systems and the need to avoid casualties.

4. Allied SEAD and DEAD systems were a lot more advanced in 1999 than in 1991. The Allies had also by 1999 gained access to Soviet missile and radar systems from former Warsaw Pact members so they were perfectly aware of the capabilities of such weapons and how to counter them.

5. Finally I don’t know how “well trained” Yugoslav air defence personnel were in 1999 after years of economic stagnation and sanctions. This not only meant less money for spares and new equipment but also less training, especially for interceptor pilots.

The truth of the matter is that most people in this sad world only care about their pathetic little lives that generally revolve around the acquisition of useless consumer goods such as their latest mobile phones or gas guzzling SUV’s or arguing with other like minded people over trivial rubbish. I will now refrain from talking about obesity.

They generally don’t care and have little or no respect for the people who put their lives on the line to ensure that the modern consumer can live in peace. Look at the soldiers in Vietnam who got labelled “baby killers” and were disrepected by their communities because they fought for what was perceived to be in the people’s interest.

I say that the officer was right in being patronizing and sarcastic.

(Sorry if I sound jaded and bitter, but modern Western societies are greedy and shallow societies where people only care about themselves at the cost of everything else. If you don’t believe me, go to your nearest shopping mall or nightclub)

Shame. It’s a great aircraft and is probably more suitable to current low intensity conflicts than most jet fighters currently in service. At least the Indians are continuing with their 100+ Jags. What’s the status of Ecuadorian Jags? Also will the Omani aircraft be retired once the F-16 enters service?

Open market in Europe

The most ironic thing about this is that in Europe the JSG has been selected by several countries (e.g. Netherlands, Norway, Italy) without any reference to a tender or a competition to choose the most appropriate aircraft. I understand the Brits picking the JSF because they are participating in the design.

The current British fighter fleet is mainly of European design, apart from the Harrier II which is a joint US-American development. But an issue arises if the the third Thranche of the Eurofighter is not acquired. With the acquisition of 150 JSF’s (possibly more if they decide to replace Tornados with it), the Brits finally commit total military aerospace suicide and jump into the pockets of the Americans (kinda like in the 1960’s when they cancelled everything from the TSR2 onwards and acquired F-4’s).

The Italians would make sense if they were only acquiring enough to replace the Harrier on thier aircraft carrier, but they are acquiring about 131 aircraft. This is more than their acquisition of Eurofighters in which they are a major partner. So the US built JSF will replace the European Tornado and the Italian-Brazillian AMX. Surely more Eurofighter’s would have made sense?!?

Norway and the Netherlands are the best. They don’t have STOVL Harriers to replace. Instead they are going for a US made fighter without any reference to their own requirements. The Norwegians had a competition between the Eurofighter and F-16 in 2000 that was cancelled. They then accepted the JSF without so much as looking at other fighter designs.

So much for the open market!

The worst thing is that these countries have literally sold out the European defence industry. What kind of bad publicity is it when major partners in the Eurofighter opt for American built JSF’s that are totally uproven and still arguably “paper tigers?”

If the USAF acquires 179 F/A-22’s as planned then Alaska is their last base. The breakdown is as follows:

Tyndall : 23
Langley: 75
Elmendorf: 50
TOTAL: 148

That leaves 31 aircraft as reserves or test aircraft. But then again maybe all the F/A-22’s will be assigned to operational squadrons?

I doubt Bulgaria will go the MiG-29 upgrade. They seem to be doing anything to get rid of their Soviet equipment. For example they have cancelled both a MiG-29 upgrade as well as the Mi-17/-25 upgrade.

I doubt they’ll acquire new aircraft in any considerable number as well. Look at the Czech Republic or Hungary who are wealthier nations and who acquired only 14 JAS-39’s. Even Poland who is one of the largest Eastern European countries has acquired only 48 F-16’s. Bulgaria may be in a more volatile zone, but I doubt it will be able to afford many new fighters.

I think they might acquire a dozen or so and still utilise the Su-25 for CAS. I also doubt Romania will acquire new aircraft as well.