PARIS (Reuters) – France will take the lead in the development of a next generation combat jet with Germany under an agreement the two governments signed on Tuesday, the French defense ministry said.

The new combat jet is intended to replace from 2040 France’s Dassault Aviation (AVMD.PA) Rafales and Germany’s Eurofighters, made by a European consortium.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-france-defence/france-to-lead-joint-fighter-jet-program-with-germany-idUSKBN1JF2UJ

Very interesting that Dassault will take the lead — perhaps they have learned something from history…? If they can keep politics out of this then this fighter will become somthing quite impressive. If they can pick the best from French and German aviation industry.

I am surprised that they intend to have the new fighter ready as late as 2040 though… I woul have expected a bit more overlap between Rafale/Typhoon and the new fighter.

Now, what will Sweden do? And what options will the UK have, after Brexit?

Interesting times.

Edit: another article on this, with a few extra details: http://www.defenseworld.net/news/22722/France__Germany_Sign_Agreement_to_Develop_Rafale__Eurofighter_Successor_by_2040#.WyoGZvZuIic

The man hours to “construct” an A has dropped dramatically since 2012:

http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/21367/it-takes-47000-hours-of-labor-to-build-a-single-f-35a

I wonder what is actually included in those numbers? Assembly only?

Also I wonder what comparable numbers for the SH, Typhoon, Gripen E and Rafale would look like?

Impossible to tell without knowing exactly what is included.

In any case one can probably assume that the numbers in the table “table 4” in the GAO report have been calculated in the same manner, thus a massive improvement for the A.

Pompeo called for Turkey to “rejoin” the North Atlantic Treaty Organization by acting in a way consistent with the alliance during a House hearing on Wednesday, and added that he had not yet made a decision on the delivery of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

Turkey is set to purchase as many as 100 of the latest generation stealth fighter, though a proposal lodged in U.S. congress to temporarily halt weapons sales may yet frustrate the sale.
Pompeo was asked again during Thursday’s Senate hearing if the F-35’s delivery to Turkey would be a good or bad decision, and responded that the sale was still “very much a live issue.”

https://ahvalnews.com/pompeo/turkeys-trend-wrong-says-pompeo

The missile that downed a Malaysia Airlines flight over eastern Ukraine in 2014 belonged to a Russian brigade, international investigators say.

For the first time, the Dutch-led team said the missile had come from a unit based in western Russia.

All 298 people on board the Boeing 777 died when it broke apart in mid-air flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

It was hit by a missile fired from rebel-held territory in Ukraine. Russia says none of its weapons was used.

But on Thursday Wilbert Paulissen, a Dutch official from the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), told reporters: “All the vehicles in a convoy carrying the missile were part of the Russian armed forces.”

He restated the JIT’s conclusion that the plane had been destroyed by a Russian-made Buk missile, adding that it had been supplied by the country’s 53rd anti-aircraft brigade in Kursk.
At a news conference in the Dutch city of Utrecht, the investigators also showed social media pictures which they said traced the route the missile convoy had taken to reach eastern Ukraine.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44235402

More details:

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/mh17-missile-transporter-originated-from-kursk-brig-448862/

Saab has been awarded SEK224 million (USD26 million) to upgrade systems on the Swedish Air Force (SwAF’s) fleet of Gripen C/D combat aircraft.

The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) contract, announced by the company on 23 May, involves enhancements to the current MS20-configuration, which was rolled out in 2016.

Specifically, improvements will be made to the aircraft’s ‘central capabilities’, including the target acquisition, self-protection, communication, and human-machine interface systems, as well as a number of key support and training systems.

The work will be carried out at Saab’s facilities in Gothenburg, Järfälla, Linköping, and Arboga, with deliveries to take place between 2018 and 2020.

The SwAF fields 73 single-seat Gripen C and 24 twin-seat Gripen D aircraft that have all be upgraded to the MS20 standard (the final such block for the Gripen C/D). Essentially a software package, MS20 includes integration of the MBDA Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile and BoeingGBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb I; improved radar modes; a digital close-air support capability; increased Link 16 connectivity; civil navigation enhancements; chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN) protection for the pilot; night-capable operations using the SPK 39 Modular Reconnaissance Pod II; and a ground collision avoidance system (GCAS).

Read more: http://www.janes.com/article/80248/sweden-to-upgrade-ms20-standard-gripen-c-ds

Countermeasures don’t do much good if you have to rely on the Mk1 Eyeball in order detect the attack and the Mk2 Hand with the Mk3 Finger in order to engage said countermeasures.

Luckily for the Gripen E users, Gripen E will not suffer from those limitations you refer to 😉

If they go the Super Typhoon road (whatever “Super” means for any operational credibility for a plane built to be spearheading the 1990s RAF then forced into this role for the 2020s), the consequences are:
– new Tyhoons dev, production, training…
– New supporting hardware like expensive stealthy autonomous UCAV
– Full commitment to the Franco-German future manned platform designed to offer not much more than an F-35 does today with all the public expenses to be expected
– A frantic fight (with all the diplomatic consequences) to get more than a symbolic folding seat as an industrial partner

And probably, at one time or another, more F-35 to feel any Urgent operation needs that will surface…

Don’t forget there is a massive synergy between F-35 and 4.5 gen fighter jets like Typhoon.

Only in the most demanding environments will a 100% 5. gen fighter fleet be needed. In many cases you can fly 1 F-35 with 3 Typhoon/SH/Rafale/F-16/Gripen and benefit from this.

Maybe they could integrate a better datalink in the Typhoon, add CFTs and voila you got a very powerful bomb/missile truck to supplement the F-35.