yes, what happened to starstreak?

I think whoever was running it stopped doing so and I have an idea that John Cook then kept it up for a time. If he’s out there somewhere and reads this, perhaps he would know if it still exists with a different URL.

Seems like the best idea for both Turkey and the UK is for the Royal Air Force to join the program as a full partner and get an eventual Typhoon-replacment.

Any reason why Typhoons should not be fitted with TV (perhaps as part of a MLU)? I imagine that the research/development on the EJ200 was done with a view to applying it to Typhoon. If the main requirement for a TV Typhoon is a change in the flight control software, why not? I recall it being said that controlling trim at least in part through thrust vectoring would reduce drag.

Growing Global Ambitions: Japan and UK Developing Stealth Fighter Super-Rocket

‘The pair seek to develop a new air-to-air missile by the end of 2017…’

Oh yea, Britain and Japan are just a few months away from having developed a new A2A missile, are they? Wonder where sputniknews got that from.

a backlog artificially sustained by the slow pace of production output… Don’t be mistaken by the nbr. Nor by the very weird financial incentives that led to the Egypt order. Although the situation is better than 2 years before (Raf line), a trend toward an equally slow pace decline can be outlined without being overly pessimistic.

I think that the Rafale production rate was lowered to the minimum level at which the line could be run profitably so the assembly line could produce at a higher rate. Whether the supply chain has latent unused capacity allowing for a quick ramp up is a different matter. In any event with cross-trained assembly workers with expertise in both Falcon and Rafale assembly (according to one of the French members here), it sounds like Dassault is well placed to boost the production rate.

i think its serviced by 1 technician & 8 conscripts, engine swap 1 hour, rearm-refuel =10 min.

I think it is easy to accept or dismiss this claim. If an engine change in 1 hour has been done several times by 1 technician & 8 conscripts, it is a fact that the engine can be swapped in 1 hour by 1 technician and 8 conscripts (rather than an estimate). It would be interesting to know the man hours and skill levels needed to do this with other western fighters currently in production.

Best naval radar, best missile load (naval), best AoA, best info display, Credible Frontal RCS reduction … Best price.

Yeah, the worst. Anything else?

Is the interim purchase of 18 SH’s a genuine interim buy ie is there really an urgent need to buy something? Or is the buy a way of getting SH logistics paid for so that if it comes down to a choice F-35 v SH a few years from now buying 40 or so more SH’s will prove to cost far less than 40 F-35?

If it came to paying (say) $6 billion in a deal for 40 F-35’s or $3-$4 billion for 40 more SH’s down the line, choosing F-35 would look like a very expensive choice, wouldn’t it?