It would be quite pointless since Dassault/Thales are supposed to provide India full access and transfert of the technology.

As I understand it the figure is 60% ToT, and something tells me SPECTRA is part of that other 40%.

According to Raytheon, the RAF Sentinel and Shadow aircraft could be used for maritime patrol with only a software upgrade. Of course it would probably only be maritime surveillance rather than a full mpa capability but I think it would be a good idea to expand these aircraft’s role given the RAF experience with them.

I was under the impression that the most pressing issue with the lack of MPA was lack of escorts for the boomers heading out. ISR aircraft (and UAVs) will do nothing to solve that problem, although I agree that it is logical to expand their repertoire to maritime surveillance.

+1 for C295.

Korea and Vietnam cooperation?

Sure, why not? I know Korea fought with the US in the Vietnam war, but what else is standing in the way?

Vietnam is on a growth path similar to Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, and other nations that’re looking to build their aerospace capacities as they gain in stature on the world stage. Long-term GDP projections have Vietnam tussling with UK/GR/FR for tenth spot by 2050. In that light, joining KF-X as a junior partner as Indonesia has done seems a sensible long-term strategic investment, in addition to being operationally suitable.

Apparently Vietnam is buying more Flankers this decade, and upgrading older birds to an “SM” standard.

Which adds to something I’ve been curious about regarding Indonesia’s stated intention to fill out a squadron of Flankers: where’s the production capacity coming from? Aren’t KnAAPO and Irkut fully booked out for RuAF and moving exclusively to Su-34/35 in any case?

I must admit Vietnam’s gentle move into buying Western equipment is fascinating.

Perhaps Vietnam isn’t as safe a bet for T-50/PAK FA in future as it once seemed. F-35 for VPAF…? A lot can change in 10-15 years.

And your companies work under the rules of a “free” economy?? 😀

Indeed. Laissez-faire capitalism has a very limited role to play in military matters and other items of strategic significance. The Americans are particularly deluded about this as their domestic market is generally large enough to afford a degree of market operation, yet even there when push comes to shove — e.g. submarine construction — the free market goes out the window, which is as it should be.

You’re missing the point. I was responding to Rii’s comment about the ship being nearly the same temp as the surrounding water. These pictures clearly show that not to be the case for EOTS and EODAS.

I never suggested that aircraft couldn’t detect and identify ships using IR sensors. What I suggested (or rather implicitly hypothesised) was that if the aircraft can identify the ship using IR, then the ship can identify the aircraft using IR also. Even if that aircraft is a wunderbar F-35.

I’m not an expert on IR systems (or anything else, duh) but I’m aware that temperature difference between the target and background plays a significant role in their functioning, and there is a much larger temperature delta for the aircraft than for the ship, in part because the air is much colder at altitude, in part because the ship experiences negligible friction heating, and in part because the ship’s primary sources of heat are embedded within and dissipated throughout a large hull. And of course the sensor on the ship can be significantly larger (and be backed by more processing) than the sensor on the aircraft. If you are aware of additional, mitigating, or countervailing factors of relevance, feel free to share. I am here to learn.

The reason F-22 doesn’t deter anything is because the United States exerts overwhelming dominance with or without it. In that respect it is probably true that it is a waste of money.

the FLIR in the plane will detect the ship long before an IRST on the ship could see the plane.

Why? The temperature difference between ship and surrounding environment is much smaller than that between aircraft and surrounding environment.