Actually Typhoon has a sophisticated EW suite now and an AESA in development. It also has a large fuel fraction and powerful radar coupled to long range Meteor missiles. Rafale matches the Typhoon well and has some of its own niches.

Can a fighter radar detect an artillery round or a rocket? If yes it might be possible to determine the trajectory and calculate the launch point. The sensors would search in the area to find the target.

What kind of radar could do that?

JSTARS and AWACS could both geolocate artillery. It’s not finding the artillery when it’s hot, it’s finding it on the move.

When the services pared down overlap EF-111A was stood down and USMC EA-6B, just retired this year, stayed on duty. No F-15 or F-35 program will replace the EF-111A duty because it’s role simply doesn’t exist. The EA-18G is the main escort jammer into the future although it’s range isn’t anything like EA-6B or EF-111A.

Dropping ordnance point to point is more about scheduling and availability than platform. If you can get by with tubes, rockets, or drones the cost of delivery is a fraction over a manned platform. It makes sense to get eyes over target, true, but if you can do it from 6,000 to 12,000 miles away with a 3-4 second delay then it makes dollar sense. Highly mobile forces usually have some sort of helicopter support integrated into the package. If its regular patrols then you schedule them to have overlapping support just in case of TIC. The more spread out the patrols the more difficult to support in any case and cost factors come into play far faster. The only advantage armed trainers have is their running costs compared to their full fledged cousins. The latter has way more capability.

I am still convinced Iran offers up the best boogie man scenario. Its so convenient they have F-14A’s to put into the plot. And the more I think about it, the Su-37 is a safe super villain jet. Its not the Su-35, and it wouldn’t paint Russia as the bad guy nor knock their engineering. And knowing there is T-50 on the horizon its not dismissing their products. If anything its perpetuating the myth that they design the best a2a missiles.

The biggest stretch is that Saegeh is MiG-28M. I still think you focus the movie on a world tour of magnificent backdrops to fly over. I think you aim for 150 minutes and keep the action fast, furious, and low brain function to enjoy. Instead of the supporting female an instructor you throw her into the squadron. Make the audience wish it was never over, but spring the crisis on them the last hour of the movie. Big finish. Leave it open for a third w/o Cruise and centered possibly on the new star.

So two years into the future we now have all sorts of fantastic options. If you need a super villain we can have J-20, PAKFA, Su-47, or some other fanciful stealth super fighter. I still like the idea of super manuevering Su-37, which you could probably coax the IAF to repaint an MKI to act as the Su-37. You could introduce MiG-25P into a flashback then relate several MiG-31 – augmenting the villain’s stealth fighter – into the picture as an extra antagonist. Iran could still be the origin of the antagonist and F-14’s could still be part of the storyline. Maybe the MiG-31’s are compared to the F-14, only being played up as like an F-14 on steroids. Maybe F-35C has to go in because it’s the only fighter that is invisible to its long range missiles…

And for kicks you still got to have F-5’s make an appearance – preferably the Saegeh outline – and stick to them being called MiG-28’s. JF-17’s would be a fine substitute. So would a Saegeh-like F-20B. You could even stretch F-CK-1 as the MiG-28. Nobody except diehard aviation enthusiasts would know better. 🙂

You still have to have a worldwide tour of dreamy backdrops. Sell the F-35C. Make it out as something special if used right. Give it steerable bullets or a laser that doesn’t really exist. (Of course the public will insist it does.) Show it in flight with Rafales, Typhoons, F-22A, etc. None of the gay stuff. Exotic locations. Flight deck footage on a super carrier for sure. T & A to sell it to a young male audience. Again, no gay stuff. Adrenaline. Testosterone. Give the audience a thrill that would make IMAX proud.

You’re talking about replacing P&W’s with GE’s. Not a drop in replacement.

like the picture below ? , take ways too much time and not good for weapon targeting

using frequency shifts in color to determine range only work if the target is like a hundreds light year away , moving at astronomical speed and as bright as a star

When you can slice a second into a billion steps it’s not too much time. And you’re thinking visible colors. There is much more complexity to light than that.

I agree that without CFT the capabilities of the RAF go in sharp decline when it moves to a Typhoon/F-35B mix.

Typhoon with CFT and Storm Shadow are basically a necessity for maintaining a deterrence value.