….This could be just a stunt organised by the local organisation for a publisity stunt to get more recruits to join up. Considering the date of the pic I’d say you’ll see it rather soon in an advertising campegine

Well if it is indeed a publicity stunt wouldn’t they have choosen better weather? Shure the F-16 formating looks cool but the weather doen’t suggest a sunny (pun intended) day in the Civil Air Patrol.

I would guess what contrailjj said. Its prolly just a part of an (minor) exercise or something.

/Dan

How is the F-22 in its current guise a sufficient stop-gap? A ground-attack loadout of 8 GBU-39 SDB’s or two GBU-23 JDAM’s isn’t really all that impressive. I know the Raptor can launch these weapons at pretty good ranges, but that’s a very limited number of weapons, and the weapons themselves are fairly small.

No 2,000-lb. class weapon has yet been cleared for the Raptor, and that remains my biggest problem with it as of right now. It’s bay wasn’t designed to handle those larger types of weapons, and thus its limited to a maximum ground-attack payload of 2,000-lbs. total….hardly ideal, even as a stop-gap, to replace the F-111 fleet…..

If they want a Hornet replacement for air defense that’s one thing….but for the Pig?

Like I just said in another post: IMO there is no newbuild aircraft to offer a sufficient replacement other than the F-15E or the SU-27 IB/SU-32/SU-34 if not politicaly impossibel.

I think Australias concearn is more range than carrying a lot of bombs. Beeing ‘down under’ with it’s endless hillarious permutaions (sorry if I offended anyone :p ) Australia is far away to anywhere. Some defence analysis remarked that Australias largest threat is to the north and some 20 years away. The F-18 E/F is to short legged for what the F-111 does today. IMO an F-22 with 8 SDB’s would be much more efficient than a Super Hornet. Even as having a couple of externa 2000lb bomb or AShM’s it would bo a better job I think. But this specualtion is more or less usless since the US wont export the F-22 apperently. 🙂

/Dan

….

That info can be found on page 65 of this document:
https://www.saffm.hq.af.mil/FMB/pb/2007/afprocurement/3010_Aircraft_Procurement_v1_FY07_PB.pdf

F-22 raptor costs:
Engines: $19.069 million
Airframe: $75.848 million
Avionics: $25.171 milion

Total: 120.088 million

BTW, it lists the attrition replacement cost for an F-15E at $108 million on page 81, so the raptor is (about) $12 million more per unit than an F-15E

Thanks zeroyon04. The URL just wont open for me atm. Either its not for public viewing or I just cant load it. I will try later..

/Dan

$200 million USD per F-22 to Japan wouldn’t be that bad of a deal considering that japan spent almost $100 million USD per F-2 ….

The high cost of the F-2 is the reason the Japs stoped procurement. Setting aside the much better (different) performance that the Raptor has over the F-2, why would they be happier with spending even more?

/Dan

…
Anyways, I’m curious…..who does Herc glass cockpit upgrades besides the new Boeing program?

The Turkish C-130 avionics upgrade progam called “Erciyes Progam” has been on the table for a time now, just like many procurement and upgrade progams in Turkey 🙁 . Apperently things are starting to develop now….

http://defencetr.blogspot.com/2007/01/c-130-avionics-modernization-erciyes.html

/Dan

What on earth?

A Harrier II body with a Sea Harrier FRS1 nose/radar????????

Eeeeerhh… not realy. That is a AV-8B+. The radar is a used APG-65 from F-18A Hornets with a slightly smaller antenna dish.

FYI the SeaHarrier FRS1 nose is pointed and the radar is called “Blue Fox”.

http://website.lineone.net/~roling49/Navaljets/SHarr-3a.JPG

Nimrods were modifyed to carry sidewinders during the Falklands war. Apperently the new MRA4’s retain that capability.

Searched for some pictures but didnt find any.

/Dan

I would like to see F-35 get the same treatment as F-16XL.

Stretch the fuselage by adding plugs aft of the cockpit and aft of the wing. Fill those plugs with fuel and increase the length of the weapons bay. Then replace the wing and horizontal tail with an X-47 style wing….

I have also thought of something similar. But adding fuselage plugs would require substantian testing and analysis of the airframe. Just adding a larger wing and not changeing the CG would not cost so much I belive. I would prefer a scaled down version of the F-22 wing. Maybe ad a few essential Raptor avionics and develop a double rack for AMMRAM’s (6 in total) in place of the JDAM(it would be very tight), and ad TV. utilize the new aircraft as a altitude air superiority/supremacy Fighter. Call it F-35 F for air supremacy Fighter or F-35 R for Raoptorized :cool:. This aircraft could be offered to countrys already operating or considering to buy the F-35.

Or better yet… Take out the fancy schamncy stuff in the F-22 and insert F-35 technology such as LO and avionics on the F-22. Essentialy an F-35 in a F-22 platform. The Americans can keep their precious F-22 LO tech a secret :p and yet offer a Air Superiority/Supremacy fighter to complement the F-35. 😎 Call it F-22 L for Light or Lightning :diablo:

/Dan