I think future of the 29 is dependent more on MRCA than any of the other competitors. F16,FA18,Phoon, Gripen are all pretty much assured to be in service up to 2030 (or longer) with significant numbers to warrent continuig support and upgrade program.

Same cant be said for Fulcrum. Few dozen Ks will not be enough to warrant significant expenditure and upgrade program. 120 Aircraft filled with latest tech (AESA , OLS, Jammers etc) would change that. There are many Mig29 opperators in the wolrd with units which are mostly at or beyond their service life. Some of these looking for replacement could look to Fulcrum again, providing that its future is secured.

I expect MiG to be pushing very hard for MRCA as it stands most to gain/lose compared to other manifacturers. Question is whether or not internal politicis in Russia is such that some “players’ would like MiG to remain weak??

Unforutnately, he has never stated anything concrete about the airplane either, only information that has been already declassified.

… probably because he values his freedom.. and kneecaps… and gonads.. 😉

T-6, …so they have ditched “Lasta” purchase i can assume?

I’d really like to see bank account details of the good doctor and just how many transactions have come from Bethesda 😉

So when the Aussie pilot said he couldn’t lock onto an F-22 he could see he was wrong? And you know this how?

I am not sure what your claims are.. so Aussie could not lock.. are you claiming that F15 can not lock on to raptor, or that no other fighter can lock on to raptor???

If you are… well RAF pilot quotes he had no problem locking on the F22 with his phoon once in visual.

USAF pilot giving the lecture on MKI also mentioned that once on their nose the rnose they could engage raport (in same f15 and F16)

You have a cockpit video of a T38 puting its weapons on Raptor

It is a confirmed Fact (again Video) that FA18F locked and shot down Raptor

So that leaves few possibilities about RAAF pilot

1. Lying for what ever reason
2. Had no skill
3. Was Jammed – quite possible considering that MiG21 Bison can Jam legacy F15 as confirmed by USAF pilot
4. Could not Manouver F15 into kill zone – seeing raptor above your head, would OFCOURSE mean you could not put your weapons on it in F15
5. Raptor is such supa-dupa platforms it is impossible to lock on it even when its on your nose,… period.

Now you are welcome to believe no. 5, rest of use choose to use our heads and large amount of verifiable data to come to conclusion that no.5 is not the reality.

Maybe RAAF pilot was not able to lock on raptor.. but does that mean hat F15 can not lock on raptor, or that other fighters cant do it… definitely NOT.

I saw a women (sorry ladies) trying to reverse park Corrola in to a spot where i could park a Truck. So if this women told you “i could not park that car in that spot”… she would be telling the truth.. which is not the same as that car can not be parked into that spot.

So are you calling the Aussie pilot a liar, yes or no?

Yes If he is claiming you can not put weapons system on F22 even when you see it ON YOUR NOSE trough canopy… then yes he is liar.

All evidence and laws of physic suggest that once you get close enenough F22 becomes detectable as would any other VLO aircraft. There is video in front of your eyes of an experience instructor doing exactly that , yet you choose bury your head in the sand and live in your own fantasy world. “RCS enhancers” exc.. do you even read what you write??? Do you know how stupid that sounds???

You are willing to take a word of “An aussie pilot” as end all, even though you have no idea who that person is or what were the circumstances. What if he was in a legacy F15 and F22 was jamming hell out of him?? If Israely jammers on Mig21 Bison , can prevent Legacy F15 from locking , so could F22 which has even more advanced EW suite. That USAF “redflag” pilot that got Indian panties in the twist, pretty much also said legacy F15s “could not lock on Bisons”.. so MiG21 must be one hell of stealthy platform according to your warped logic… Or are you calling that USAF pilot a liar.. cmon Yes or No?? By the way in the same interview the same pilots who rates F22 incredibly, also mentions how when they do get close enough, have certain tactics (use of vector thrust by inexperienced raptor pilot) do manage occasionally to turn table on raptor.. something hard to do if you cant “put your wapons on it”.

Or what about comments from RAF pilots who prety much confirmd same thing.. once typhoon got in visual it had a fair chance,, problem was according to him is that well before they could get visual they would have AMRAAM coming at them. Once again nothing about “not being to put weapons when you see it trough canopy” .. or are you calling that RAF pilot a liar?? Yes or No?

Have you considered perhaps that “that aussie pilot” had an agenda as well.?? Are you aware of significant effort by some factions in RAAF to convince MOD to pursue F22 sale to Australia… or the fact that most RAAF pilots drool at the prospect of getting their rear ends into F22 cockpit.. sentiment that was stated openly many many times here in Australia by very senior people in RAAF.

no i suppose you would not consider any opinion or logical thought , that contradicts your own version of reality. We have name for people like that… delusional.

Perhaps you are right about the PAK FA and Chinese stealth planes — However as stated already the biggest threat in any case is not other fighters but SAMs.

I think it depends what Australia wants to prepare for. If it’s only air policing and bombing of Afghanistan, then fine, F-35 is not needed, SH is more than good enough.

However if there is a chance that you may face stronger opposition then it seems to me that stealth does give much higher survivability.

F-35 may not be the optimal solution in some respects (I for one would have like to see SC and a few other things) but still I think it’s the best choice, as of today.

If you would go the SH route for the next 30-40 years presumably you would need to combine with UCAVs — but how will you avoid jamming problems and bandwidth problems? And those UCAVs also need to be developed, they are still not there yet.

I agree though that the more costly the F-35 becomes the more attractive it may seem to switch to 4.5 gen + UCAV, however one must then keep in mind that the UCAV will also require quite a lot of investments.

(my definition of 4.5 gen: SH, Rafale, Typhoon, Gripen NG 🙂 )

I love when people start throwing these random arguments..

Let me ask you.. just in which future conflict do you see deployment of advanced SAMs against RAAF?? I am suggesting that role of the RAAF should be defense of Australia and our interests in Oceania, not being being side kicks to uncle Sam.

Besides the ECM suite on Growlers can provide protection against SAMs, stealth is not the only game in town.

EDIT: Oh and I am not suggesting that we should never procure F35… i am saying putting down deposit and commiting to buy on a unknown quantity is stupid. FA18F/G is a known quantity , more affordable and delivers more then enough in terms of capability, hence we should commit for it now…. down the track 2020 and after we can always make the decision to purchase F35 if need arises, only we would be in better position to make decision as it would be in service (hopefully).