sorry guys i’m confused (and perhaps lacking the stamina to unpick all of what has happened)!

has the choice been put on ice or has gripen thrown a spanner in the works?

or are things the same as before – rafale is the pick of the president and dassault are just trying to tie the contract up?

please endulge:o

well i think it would look (and i’m only talking about how it looks not its capability now) more like a unique aircraft if it had a let orthodox nose on it. Perhaps the front end of the rafale rather than the M2000.

I do think the whole rear fuselage is too busy and looks like lots of different bits have been added on as an after thought.

But when you add the big hunchback of the tandem canopy the whole thing suddenly becomes this tiny aircraft with a fantastic flowing wing and curved front end that almost looks menacing in that dark grey!

Perhaps if there was a version or image of a tejas with LO intakes and treatment of the front end then it might actually be beautiful.

However, at the moment there is too much happening on a tiny frame for me.

right, but similar adaptations are a justification for the UK to maintain a proper Vanguard replacement i would say.

my feeling (and gut feelings don’t cut the mustard here i know) is that Replica was an expression of the capability to be able to put into production advanced LO systems in a UK airframe).

So if Shinshin is close to flight then that is certainly a step beyond Replica. I do think that Replica was the tip of the iceberg though…

Shinshin would be useful in countering other similar projects in China even if it isn’t in the class of the F22. To my mind it looks like a Silent Eagle more than all out Stealth system, but having said that, I truly hope it gets flying because I feel that the more other countries produce advanced designs the more pressure there is on the UK to support their LO systems rather than focus on body armour for troops.:)

interesting.

Surely though, if it lives up to its billing there are potentially hundreds of export opportunities for Tejas….

Indian arms exporters must need sales as much as everybody else no?

The whole point is that the system is not nearly mature enough to deliver, and is more important as a technology and manufacturing demonstration effort than world beating lighter fighter right?

it will be linked to the public perception of requirements more now than ever before i would say….:(