It’s not how much money you throw, but how you throw it and how it’s used.

You can spend all that money on better education for all kinds of books, paper, supplies, extra schools and other crap but the fact is that still won’t improve your education when you are learning stuff in gr12 that the Europeans learn in gr9

Man that’s one really heavy upgrade for the SMT and the III especially if it goes ahead.

Yak-130 could serve as a multirole fighter, in terms of air defence, it’s performance is not bad and could certainly get newer engines and more fuel by extending the fuselage.

I like the fighter-bomber one, hook it up with a decent radar, BVR weapons and all kinds of Russian A2G weaps.

Could be a good competition to F-50, FC-1 and LCA

The problem with the Euro jets is that a lot of the market for high tech fighters has dried up.

The Middle East was a huge importer of Western aircraft from the 1960’s onwards, be it Lightnings, Hunters or Mirages.

But many of these have become tied to the USA (e.g Kuwait, Saudi Arabia) while others such as Libya and Iraq no longer have the funding for such equipment.

Furthermore Western aircraft are too complicated and too expensive to be operated by many third world operators.

Asian nations are acquiring Russian, US or indigenous hardware, and Asia has never been a large market for European fighters.

Finally many airforces in Europe are reducing or even scrapping their fast jet fleets. Belgium will in the future only have about 60 fighters, Germany only 260 (if they’re lucky), while Eastern European airforces have virtually disappeared as large importers of aircraft.

Realistically the bulk of the world needs fighters in the catagory of the FC-1 or JF-17, not expensive Eurocanards.

I totally agree, but the large Flankers are sure making good sales around the World.

I don’t know, but the French Rafale is just wayy too overpriced like the Typhoon, remember that the cost of Rafale impends on the 300 Rafales France is planning to order, the cost of Typhoon is impending on the 600+ Typhoons European nations are planning to order, yet the cost of F-35 is impending on 3000+- orders impending from US and Britain.

I don’t know but the Rafale to me is probably the cheapest out there if it was impending on 3000 orders like JSF is and if Typhoon was.

I think cheap and light multirole fighters are the way to go in the future, aka FC-1 and LCA and J-10 and other jets.

Cold War is long gone.

I think it’s better for us to know because we want to discuss it but it’s always better to keep it secret because when you go up against your enemy, they won’t know anything about your weapons.