It wasn’t supposed to be less than a 1:1 without a qualitative enhancer in technology. That quality jump has happened. And you don’t get that quality jump with refits to older fighters.

The wild card is unmanned programs.

Easily solve the imbalance by yanking the M53 and strapping the F110 in the tail as a counter weight.

From the home of the ‘Roo down under

Not really a threat to Gripen sales IMHO, because these do not reach the level of a Gripen in capability.

They would basically make the FA-50 look overly expensive in comparison, but wouldn’t impact T-50 Golden Eagle sales.

They do essentially match the JF-17 technology-wise and will be a fine way for western leaning countries to opt out of Chinese influence.

Instead of a guppy design I’d hope for a flattened shape with an internal bay for a pair of 500kg-class smart weapons at the minimum. All moving tails and rudders. Large low aspect ratio for the main wings. Emphasis on reducing overall height.

Something more like a shrunken Sukhoi T-50 look with an A-37 type of side-by-side cockpit baseline. (The single seater then has major room for equipment.) Power it with a pair of smaller engines to push around 10 tons with a requirement to maintain flight under one engine at 65% mtow. Engine vendors provide at least engine twr of 9:1 at maximum wet thrust. Optimize stealth for the front hemisphere and low wide-spectrum IR emmisions on dry thrust.

If utility is the goal then aim for Fast Pack-style interchangeable CFT’s that offer options between fuel, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare. Attachment points for ordnance on the fuel CFT’s. Modular designs are so fifth generation. The landing gear must not impede the Fast Packs.

It’s a good cleaned up look. The high gloss finish looks sharp. It would be realistic to see in Phillipines or Vietnamese service.

From another angle.

If Dassault had kept a single-M88 powered Mirage F.1 option open for export they might have continued the Mirage success story. The M88 is a better engine than the 9K50 and the Mirage F.1 is substantially easier on the pocketbook. Even trying to move F-5BM upgrades to French radars, RWR, and missiles meant French jobs. (Yes, an M88 in the F-5 would be cool, too.) MICA didn’t have to be Mirage and Rafale exclusives.

Really, the Dassault salespeople have nothing to show for results in the aviation industry. How such a big developer has few export sales I’ll never understand. If France ends up selling nothing to Brazil the French bureaucrats have a lot of explaining to do.

VersuS