I suspect it’s just the angle of the photo, but it looks like the island will barely make it under that bridge even though it’s just on a barge!

T-50 need much more effort to customise with french equipment, so does M-346. Hawk has more chances to customise for French equipment. However ‘if’ French need to invest with big project like changing their Alpha Jet with new trainer, why they need to give leverage for Hawk (UK) or M-346 (Italian), when taking Hal project will increase they leverage on one of the biggest defense market now and in the future.

Besides if T-38 still can be used for more than 4 decades. Alpha Jet still have 2 more decade, before need substantial changes. If UK can developed T-2, well French can also further developed Alpha if need be. What I’m getting at, if French need import trainer, then having Indian will benefit them more on future defense projects than having UK, Italian, Korean-US, or Rusian. Albeight on that, they always can developed Alpha for 2030 need.

Sorry, but just because one type could be used for 40 years doesn’t mean that another type necessarily can. And while France and French companies certainly have the capability to make an upgraded Alpha Jet I really don’t see the point. They would have to spend millions just to create an aircraft for which they are likely to be the sole customer, which would take years of design and testing and still not be guaranteed success.

If they bought the Hawk they could negotiate local assembly just like India has done, and with a significant proportion of the aircraft already made in France it probably wouldn’t be difficult to increase this even further.

The Hawk is a completely capable option for France, that’s also low risk and low cost.

He mentions F-35 support from Italy and UK but ignores that these guys are also commited to Eurofighter and would never buy Rafales.

Given that the UK and Italy both want a STOVL aircraft for their navies, and the F-35B is pretty much the only game in town in this regard, I hardly think they can be blamed for buying American.

Death itself isn’t too scary, I think Mark Twain summed it up well:

‘I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit.’

The process of dying is the scary part. I fear some kind of unpleasant illness a great deal more than dying at the end of it, I’d much rather end it myself while I still had my dignity than waste away due to some degenerative condition.

For such a terrible aircraft there sure is a lot of interest in it as we now learn that the Japanese may also want to buy the F-35B s well as the F-35A.

(Some of the anti F-35 kiddies my want to email the Japanese defence ministry and warn them of the terrible mistake they’re about to make)

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20130526/DEFREG03/305260004/Japan-Plans-More-Aggressive-Defense

Not such a terrible idea if you ask me, the Japanese Navy has a few helicopter carriers that the F-35B might be able to fly from. If the Japanese were planning on getting back into the Carrier business this would be a good way to start.

Missile Delivery Prevents Foreign Meddling in Syria – Russia

‘Russia sends arms to Syria to discourage other nations from meddling….by sending arms to Syria’

I tend to have my tv on in the mornings, just as something to wake me up a bit. In the evenings it’s usually only on as a bit of company (I currently live alone), or because I’m watching something specific. Most of my actual TV viewing is from on-demand services or dvds these days, I find it’s the easiest way to wade through the seas of trash they broadcast. There’s actually a lot of quality programming out there, I like BBC 4 particularly, but there is just so much more choice it’s difficult to find what I like.

Assume you have any aircraft or payload at your disposal.

Well, they aren’t used any more, but a couple of We.177s ought to do it.