I missed the Indian contest, predicting Super Hornet would win. But when you think about it, the result may be a fluke of the current weak administration positioning itself to collapse it’s spending base more than a straight win. If the US hadn’t spent itself into a hole under the false pretense of world economic collapse then it would diplomatically been unlikely Super Hornet was removed from contention. I also feel the rumblings in the EU hampered the Eurofighter bid, whereas there was far less instability dealing with France. And because everything was dragged out by the F-35 distraction, a stronger diplomatic tone could have spoiled the Rafale bid. Luckily for France the overspending from 2008 by the US government weakened the current US bargaining position. Anyone that picked Rafale was solely right out of luck.

Now if Brazil would make up their minds!

The only real option is rebuilt Hornets from the boneyard. The USN already has a plan to dust many old airframes off. You can then use the mod for using ASRAAM and it’s cheaper than Super Hornet or Rafale. When they are done with them the USN can have them back. Simplest and cheapest solution.

The problem is its a slippery slope that has to get ‘better’ with each passing year or there is systemic failure. The economic woes of today is the realization that the road of progress is no longer open. If these ‘new ways’ of fixing old problems were investments they would consider them a form of ponzi scheme. The shrinking purchasing power of today is firmly entrenched in the decisions of yesterday. Add in the complexity of modern systems and the issues cascade.

Everything in the cockit is COTS and the engine is used by M-346.

The twin tails on the Javelin lay in the airstream. The single tail has to be tall to hit that same airstream. The M-346 and Yak-130 could have opted for twin tails to not only be prettier, but to have some control surface redundancy.

Aim for purely Pentagon staffing cut in half, that will cut down a significant amount of the budget.

The long tails on the Yak and M-346 bother me. I’m surprised with the way their back end lays out they didn’t opt for a more visually pleasant experience. Can anyone look at the now defunct Javelin project and say its unappealing to the eye?