I speak the following fluently:

Bengali (mother tongue)
English
Hindi/Urdu

I understand Punjabi, I can make out what people are generally saying in Pushto, I knew a good deal of French but recon I forgot a good deal 🙁 That’s another problem with my Pushto and Punjabi.

I can speak a bit of Chinese and am currently teaching myself Mandarin.

Oh and I can read arabic and know a hand full of words and phrases.

I’m really looking to learn Manadarin as fast as I can as I’m going on a trip to China this summer!

Lately I have spent a lot of time researching the IL-2. I’ve been “traveling through time” so to speak, to find the perfect plane for ground attack and this is what I come up with. Wonder how an IL-2 could be brought into the 21st century. new avionics and cockpit. New engine, new weapons, more steamlined. I think it would still be the perfect balance for a ground pounder. HOwever, I’d like to employ them differently. 🙂

probably want to stop covert recon missions into Iran if you don’t wanna get caught.

I think there still remains a huge gray area about stealth.. who knows, maybe fighters designed 20 years from now will think it passe as other means of tracking aircraft or better radars would have eliminated any hope of stealth being successful. Having said that, the best thing I like about the Raptor program is that its willing to take the bet and at least try to create an ubber fighter. Everyone else is playing a conservative strategy.

I think they should focus on being classic more than being on top of the technology chain. That’d reduce r&d and still get them sales.