http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2011/07/15/359508/f-35-lrip-overrun-value-raised-to-1.15b.html

I am surprised — I kind of expected that a 1,15b overrun would trigger some kind of reaction — from the anti-F-35 crowd who would remind us “that’s what we told you all along” as well as the F-35 fanboys explaining to us why it’s “not really that bad after all”.

Is everybody but me and djcross on vacation?

Edit: I am actually on vacation myself but this time I brought my computer 🙂

Only DACT with SU30, F16, F15. No mention of DACT with Rafales :diablo:

Nic

I was thinking of writing the same but notice he says

The only aeroplane that Typhoon would be frightened of is the F-22.

He did not mentione Rafale in that sentence either…. :diablo:

Seriously, I think this is BS — I doubt Typhoon is that much better than the Rafale. But I could be wrong of course.

However IF he was right, how come there is just some moderate interest for the Typhoon? Compare that to the interest for F-22 (even if it was never for sale, and if it had been the price would have been extremely high).

gotta love such articles… basically, that SAAB guy tells us that indians are an incompetent bunch of idiots… they had a list long like my arm, and then some, of requirements, and they’d eliminate saab just because they misjudged its availability.. yeah right…. 😀

Well, I don’t read it like that at all.

Saab probably realize that chances are slim, however there are a few things that probably make them try to stay in India a little longer:

1. There was one example of another deal that was cancelled of the Finance Dept since they did not feel convinced that the cheapest but still viable option had been chosen.

2. History shows that there are often delays in the process (although the MMRCA may be the one deal that could now move ahead without delays).

3. According to the leaks the IAF seemed happy with the future capabilities of Gripen NG however they were worried that it would not be ready in time.

Now, if you combine the above 3 points… add some delays, add the fact that the cheapest of the three was left out, etc. then I can understand why Saab tries to get back in.

IF they can keep the current timelines then most likely Saab has no chances to get back in. However delays tend to occur in India….

http://livefist.blogspot.com/2011/06/iaf-mirage-2000-upgrade-slowed-by.html

Bill on the latest report:

The average procurement unit cost for the USAF F-35A, over the planned 1,763-aircraft run, is about $125 million (page 29). The rock-bottom cost is $105 million in 2018. But there’s a catch: this assumes (page 15) that the on-record plans for international partner buys, reflected in the Production, Sustainment and Follow-On Development MoU, remain intact.

But that assumes substantial international buys starting in 2014, when APUC is projected to be $140 million — and if, as is now all but certain, IOC slips to 2018, that’s most unlikely to happen. And up to FY16, more than half the F-35As on the books are supposed to go to international partners.

That and other factors will have been in play as a new independent cost estimate has been prepared, for this month’s Milestone B review. So, a word of caution — the SAR 10 numbers are not final.

Now, you can wrangle a $60 million unit cost out of the SAR – but only by using 2002 dollars (page 30). And that is a recurring flyaway cost, not what it will actually cost the US government, or any other government, to put an operational airplane on the ramp.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/blogs/defense/index.jsp?plckController=Blog&plckBlogPage=BlogViewPost&newspaperUserId=27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7&plckPostId=Blog%3a27ec4a53-dcc8-42d0-bd3a-01329aef79a7Post%3a85dfa7c2-aa2c-41b2-8932-2cedca12963b&plckScript=blogScript&plckElementId=blogDest

Carter says the F-35 assembly line is still “not mature enough” to build more planes, although he acknowledged that slowing production too far could affect affordability.

“At this transition here, you don’t want to go too fast in production because you may discover things in test that will cause you to have to go back and redo airplanes that you’ve already built,” Carter said.

Defense consultant Jim McAleese said Lockheed’s higher-than-expected bid for a next batch of 35 F-35 fighters could prompt the U.S. and foreign buyers to rethink how many planes they want to buy.

He said it is critical that Lockheed and its key subcontractors, Northrop Grumman Corp (NOC.N) and BAE Systems Plc (BAES.L), figure out how to avoid “the death spiral” in which rising prices lead to lower quantities and even higher costs.

The cost of new weapons usually goes down as manufacturing matures, but Lockheed submitted a bid that was about $7 million higher per plane than in the last contract, sources familiar with the program told ******* last week.

Carter’s deputy, Shay Assad, came to Fort Worth last week to review Lockheed’s costs amid growing frustration that only about 15 percent of the plane’s cost is linked to “touch labor,” work on the plane actually done in the plant, with the rest linked to Lockheed’s overhead.

“There should be a learning curve,” Carter said…

Full story: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/12/us-lockheed-fighter-idUSTRE74B7NJ20110512

Price went up 7 million dollars instead of going down? And only 15% of the cost is linked to “touch labor”? Seems there are some challenges ahead.

Crossing my fingers and hope they will sort this out soon…

Would a larger AESA offer any advantages in LPI mode compared to a smaller AESA? (I admit my ignorance in the radar field…).

We’re not politicians, especially not US congressmen, so you might use more refined criteria than so-called, self-defined “generations”.

Well that was just my definition — my point is that if the J-20 fits what I defined as “5. gen” then both Typhoon and Rafale will struggle and most likely fail.

And that should not come as a surprise should it?

What Scorpion82 said was however even more relevant — we don’t know what capabilities J-20 will get — perhaps it’s RCS will be in the Rafale class — and perhaps it’s sensors will be inferior to both Rafale and Typhoon. In which case both Eurocanards would be able to handle the J-20.