I’d rather see Japan get the F-35 or an F-22 with F-35 engines and cockpit with them paying for the fit out. They’d get much more than they would a stripped down F-22 and we’d get a better F-22 option for our own force. The F-22 could be better if it hadn’t been so strapped for cash in the program when it came to post-development revelations. Sure its the best now, but best is a relative term. Lets make it win-win for both parties.

When I first read the thread title F-15 ST is what I somehow read. I was eager to see why the British would dump Typhoon and buy Boeing. I wonder how many other people did the same. 🙂

Shave 7700 pounds off the Rhino and its probably worthwhile as an export fighter.

From a logistical viewpoint the F-35 makes more sense. In the long run the F-22 is going to consume too many resources in comparison. IMHO the F-22 is necessary for complete air superiority. In war you do not want to play catchup, which is what would happen if you did not enjoy the advantages of first strike. The F-35 is not going to be that horse that garauntees air superiority.

But like others have said, the bomb trucks do not have to be stealth and such expensive platforms.

Ah, Les Chevaliers du Ciel again, excellent footage as usual. Too bad you can’t save it on your HDD though, does anyone have a link for this video where that’s possible?

Use hte DownloadHelper plugin with firefox and then go get the free flxplayer. Problem solved.

Engine is the strongest point of FC-1. latest RD series are in class of EJ-200/F-414 with TWR of 9 in K and they already managed more than 10.
from factory website.
http://www.avia500.ru/ru/produce/motor/rd33/

That would be using the term “class” liberally to describe the license version. Even the Russians hold something back in license deals when it comes to sensitive technologies like turbofans.

I wouldn’t put it past someone to figure out a way to use them to guide missiles. China has basically done the exact same thing with the FT-2000.

But by the nature of the way these things work you cannot triangulate within a meaningful locus. You’re picking up refractions of energy versus direct reflections of waves. You cannot even pinpiont a return in a meaningful way as to determine a doppler shift. So its never going to happen unless they up the energy level of the transmission beam to a level that will kill the target with massive radiation by default. Your power needs are going to eat away any advantage you’d gain with such a system.

It also very plausible that the sr-71’s trailing exhaust plume was easy to detect even if the plane itself was not. People should look into the science before they mock the explanations.