Libya tells nothing about the aircraft involved. Given the state of the armed forces under control by the loyalists, even a F-105 with a Litening pod and some LGBs could have attacked targets there without too many problems.

What I would agree on however is that Rafale did some remarkable things out there. Or should I say the weapons used by Rafale were remarkable?

Not after Afghanistan gets wound up. They’ll then be abslutely worthless and pointless and the question will be asked why manned light strike was pursued when unmanned light strike was so readily available.

Well, if they are taken into service, it could be interesting. They could become a love relation between the unit and the special forces guys. I can imagine lots of stuff those light aircraft could be used for in the war on drugs and other minor conflicts. Kind of a modern time Air Commando Squadron.

Probably quite an interesting assignment. Not good for reaching a high rank probably.

I wonder which missile Rafale uses for SEAD….

Which is solely the fault of the British defence ministry and not buying enough spares.

Civil interest for a 767-250 can be considered non existent.

I don’t think it’s a waste of money, but i think it requires a lot of money that few can afford… That and the fact that at the end, while started with more momentum for upgrades, it fell into the trap of “two cooks spoil the broth” (where the cooks here are actually more, the EADS members), while the Rafale, although without exports, follows a more reasonable upgrade path.

P.S.: I can’t stand the targeting pod in the center hardpoint of the Typhoon instead of a fuel tank. It shouts “I wasn’t thought to bomb, someone forced me to along the way”.

I was just joking, as some people to their most to make EF look bad. The targeting pod on the centre pylon is a quick fix and not the intended position. Although it seems that the position has some advantages when it comes to the field of view for the targeting pod.

One should not forget that the aerodynamically superior Rafale will get 90kn engines in the future. While Typhoon – well maybe somebody will buy Tranche 3B.