Aren’t the F-35B & C models being shown at their maximum loadings in that chart versus lightly loaded adversaries? That is a fair comparison.

The competition is about tech transfer as much as it is about the actual design chosen.

Maybe not a sure kill of a MiG-25, but either one immediately guaranteed no more overflights by the Foxbats. The AIM-7 did prove worthy of the task. More than likely the AIM-54A would have also done the job because the Foxbat was well within its design limits.

I have a suspicion that the F-14A was more palatable for the Iranians because of the AIM-9 version they were allowed to obtain. The F-14A was a two seater and the second set of eyes was a big plus in wvr fights. The first fighter to see the opponent was much more likely to make the right tactical move in an engagement, a crucial event with that version of the Sidewinder. And since the G-version of the Sidewinder could be slaved to the awg-9 radar it gave them just one more edge over the Eagle at that time.

Iran’s neighbors were plenty of a threat when it came to wvr, but only the Soviet Union at the time could match them in bvr. Both the F-14A and F-15A offered AIM-7 support, but the longer reach of the AIM-54 was probably the golden carrot that put the deal over the top as Iran is a huge country. Nobody would risk taunting Iran by flying the edge of their hinterland when their tomcats had long enough arms to reach that distance.

For an aircraft that is supposed to have double the mission rate of the current generation of fighters the upswing *finally* in tempo is kind of disappointing.

So its basically the Super Hornet versus the Rafale. We know how that one is going to end. Only one has a track record of foreign sales…

Size and reflection of the target are also factors in the debate. The F.1 doesn’t have the radar return of the MiG-23. This played a big factor in DACT when the trainers had A-4/F-5’s and their diminutive radar reflections.

Or just get the “WordTranslator” plugin and set a button on the navigation bar.

Another option is to copy&paste material into babelfish: http://babelfish.yahoo.com/

Liftoff on thursday.
Acually Chinadaily.com.cn uses both austronaut and taikonaut in this article. But I agree, Taikonaut is rather cheesy:)

I like the word “taikonaut” as it separates themselves from astronauts and cosmonauts rather well. Now when another country joins the space race ghetto style we can label them accordingly.