The photo with the Hornet is well known and was taken during the Enduring Freedom encounters.
Apparently the Rafale totally outmaneuvered Tomcats and Hornets (at the time the E/F had not entered service) in dogfight. American pilots were stunned by the agility of the fighter. There was the testimony of French pilot Santiago in AirFan, july 2002 “contre les Tomcats, c’est une véritable boucherie”
“against Tomcats, its a real slaughter”

PCB?

does your Harrier III need to be supersonic? because it is possible to fit PCB (plenum combustion chambers) to a standard Harrier. This was Hawker P.1175 of 1970.

Steve O I suppose there’s no model of the P.1216 so I have to do one starting from a F-16… I know the website very well (alas it is no longer updated 🙁 ). In fact the author just scanned the pictures, traduced the book and put that on the web. The article is only a french translation of Butler’s work (!!)
I think the P.1216 was the perfect project to replace the Harrier by a “pure” british aircraft. Its really a pity that even the Falkland war couldn’t convince Miss Thatcher to fund the project…
Have you seen the X-wing P.1214 ? awesome project!

Ca serait le comble…

Wow. I didn’t know that ITAR problems between GB and the USA were so importants… Do you think this article is really serious? A rafale in FAA markings? this is really impressive…

Shorsch, thank you very much!!! I appreciate a lot what you said…how fine was it…

First, learn that General Hankock test the Mirage IV for the RAAF in may 1963.

Second, BAC was ready to put the electronics of the TSR2 in the Mirage IV, after the TSR-2 cancellation. With two powerful spey turbofans, it would be much powerful than your scrappy Vigilante or prone-to-wing-pivot-failure and-engine-stall F-111.
This airplane would have been the Mirage IVK (K for Kingdom, United Kingdom).

Third, The Mirage IV stayed on nuclear alert until 1996, and as recon airplane until 2005.(much better than the vigilante, scrap in 1979…). And the delta wing has much less drag than a swept wing in supersonic flight…
Cheers,
Archibaald

“There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know.
There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things we know we don’t know.
But, there are also unknown unknowns. These are things we don’t know we don’t know.”
— Donald Rumsfeld

My goodness!! grey area, tell me that’s a joke. Rumsfeld don’t said something so stupid… he REALLY said that? I remember Bush saying something like”I think fishes and men could live together in harmony”, but aparently Rumsfeld is not bad, too.
🙂 🙂 🙂