:confused: Then what are those AEW helicopters the Italians fly from Cavour & Garibaldi?

Those things with the anemic radar that has far shorter range than Sea King AEW and a poorer target-tracking capability? That are more a “stand-off carrier-radar substitute asset” than a “fighter direction & control asset”?

I don’t consider them a true AEW aircraft at all.

Right now the ship is being offered in the market.

Can you point me to the official declaration asking for offers to buy?

If not, then it is NOT being offered “right now”.

The US Army has been using them in the sandy places… and they are wearing out.

Hence the attempt to buy C-27J… which is another saga.

The USAF simply doesn’t like anything that isn’t large… unless it can exceed mach 1.

Do the USAF still fly the ‘Stores Van’?
mmitch.

The US military never operated the Skyvan itself, buying the enlarged Shorts 330 & 360 models.

The USAF got rid of them almost as soon as they got them.
18 C-23A entered service with the USAF in November 1984, and 6 were transferred to the US Army in 1990. 8 more were transferred to the U.S. Forestry Service at the same time, leaving only 4 still in the USAF, serving with the Test Pilots School… these have been retired.

The US Army, however, bought some 40 additional new and used Shorts 330 & 360s, most of which are still in service.

{edited spelling}

You cannot put an afterburner inside a fuselage… there are no exhaust tubes that can handle the heat.

Afterburners have to be mounted so that the super-hot air immediately exits the aircraft structure… so you would have to rebuild the tail of the A-4 to fit the afterburner module there, which would upset CoG.

Besides, the M88 is NOT the same size as the J52… the J52-408 in the A-4KUs that Brazil bought has a 32.1″ diameter (early model J52s in earlier A-4s had a 30.2″ diameter), while the M88 has a 35.4″ diameter.

Please note that the only A-4s to receive the 35″ diameter F404 were the A-4B/Cs of Singapore… which were built for the 37.7″ diameter J65!

The J52-408 produces 11,200lb.s.t., but they could be converted (via a filed-installable kit, like the USN did) to the 12,000 lb.s.t. -409 standard that is flying in the USN/USMC EA-6Bs.

Only the M88-3 produces more dry thrust (13,500 lb.s.t.), while the -2 matches the -408 with 11,250 lb.s.t..

However, there IS an alternative… the EJ200 is a 29″ diameter engine that is shorter than the M88… but which produces 13,500 lb.s.t. dry in its initial production model… and is to produce 16,200 lb.s.t. dry (and higher) in later models (if development is funded).

Granted, there would not be commonality with any other Brazilian aircraft… but that’s where they are now with the J52, so the added performance and increased reliability might make it worth the work!

After all, the J52-408 is a late-1960s variant of a late-1950s design engine, while the EJ200 is a 1990s design engine!

Wasn’t the main selling point for SH that it was more of a lease, with USN guaranteed to buy them back as soon as F-35 hit the road ?

They’re not on lease or buy back, and will probably be in RAAF service for a long time: either following conversion to EF-18G spec (http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2012/03/29/minister-for-defence-and-minister-for-defence-materiel-joint-media-release-growler-electronic-warfare-aircraft-–-long-lead-item-equipment-purchase/ ) or to allow the purchase of later block F-35s compared to those in the initial tranche.

The “USN buy-back” was indeed stated as being in effect at the time the initial purchase decision was announced… but deliveries of F-35A have been pushed back several years since then (and costs have risen), and the RAAF has decided that the Super Hornets will be more useful than they had expected.

Reports are that they are very impressed, and that the modification to the purchase order that saw the last half modified to include the “built-in” Growler modifications was part of the re-assessment of whether to keep them past completion of F-35A deliveries.

This is an official statement made by the Brazilian Air Force to clarify the process in 2009.

things have moved on since then, now, only three official contenders are there:

– Rafale
– F/A-18
– Gripen NG (or E/F or whatever the new designation may be)

We all know that!

His post of the list of aircraft in the RFI was in direct response to the purpose of this thread… which is to discuss why the F-35 is not on offer to Brazil.

He was showing that Brazil had asked for LM to offer F-35, and the decision was made by LM and the US government to NOT offer F-35C, but to instead offer F-16!

The thread is NOT about what aircraft are still in contention… there are other threads devoted to that subject!