Like a shark saying, “Get in my belly!”

$45 million per unit implies low 30’s per unit and the cost to set up the logistics chain.

Old School Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-29A (9-12A) courtesy of Airliners.net

MiG-29M2 chaseplane courtesy of Today’s Zaman

Vertical Work

Field work
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_wjLSOEl0BZk/Sota2UXcNpI/AAAAAAAAD4w/tddeIVqEziM/s1600-h/3778443575_f509f68a04_o.jpg

Robinson R22’s would make a decent scout. What they really seem to want is a mobile command center in a helicopter airframe….

Yep, a fighter with the overall dimensions of an F-16 yet double the thrust of the original most nimble version is inferior… 😛

The canted tails minimize the need to use the all-moving tails. They also reduce the size or in some cases remove the need for air brakes. With digital controls and electro-hydraulic actuators the limited movements of control surfaces has not only become removed, but the computers will distribute the movements to non-traditional surfaces to gain the best expected net result. And the most advanced systems incorporate emergency control movements with damage recognition to remain flight worthy with what should be catastrophic failure. The only way to reach the goal is combining redundancy and broad distribution. Aligning control surfaces with the x, y, and z planes is not as helpful as being at an angle to the plane as alignment reduces – not increases – redundancy.

You don’t walk away from your percentage of future obligations. Scotland must pay its share of the debt. And the RoUK as you term it has no obligations to turn over 8% of the force structure. The UK won’t simply leave the Scottish coast unguarded while the same Scot idealists decide whether or not they need other things like ships, tanks, planes, etc.

Its not about victory, its about sovereignty. We messed with them, now they return the favor. The idea of one country richer and more aware of everything and everyone is unsettling. I was raised during the Cold War and find a headless hemisphere in the East as a danger, especially with China taking position to be the counterweight.

Mutual assured destruction using nuclear weapons isn’t about staving off a million man army, its about sovereignty. If the Scots blindly believe that they can rid themselves of nuclear weapons and remain a part of the NATO alliance it is wishful thinking. The UK will never allow the Scots to simply walk away. Letting the Scots leave means leaving a vital flank vulnerable in the islands, threatening the very existence of the remainder of the UK. The facts that the UK owns the sub base, not Scotland is plenty reason to assert itself to retain control.

The real question London ought to be asking itself is who is trying to make the change and where do they get their money. You’ll probably find foreign influence.