Massacre thousands of civilians, get western plaudits and hardware. Some things never change.

Interesting that the Zero is on screen for exactly 30 seconds, at the very end of the film. Much of the Mitsubishi-related part of the film deals with the development of the A5M Claude…

Yeah, it’s a great film, but when folks read “… about the designer of the Zero” they should really be reading “…about the designer of the Zero.”

I found it most interesting not only for all the fiddly aircraft and engineering porn — but also for providing a glimpse of Japan of the period, the national tumult, transformation, insecurities, etc. As well as the social commentary, there’s more philosophical stuff too, about the nature and purpose of creation, etc. I particularly liked the resonance between the A5M as a harmonious expression of ideas that is turned to violent and tragic ends, and the character of Nahoko, [SPOILERS] a beautiful but sickly woman who takes leave of her husband so that he should not have to witness her degeneration.

So yes, it’s a great film for aircraft lovers, particularly of the period, but it’s much more than that too. I was also impressed at how Miyazaki made good use of the fantastical potential of anime to explore such a comparatively ‘grounded’ theme. There are any number of scenes in the film that would’ve been all but impossible to pull off in a traditional live action production.

Presumably the availability of other platforms able to fill the role (Tu-22M3, Su-24, forthcoming Su-34, etc.) made it unnecessary.

Nonetheless, doesn’t the BM upgrade program bring some level of A2G capability?

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently survived a spill motion. In the lead-up to the vote, Tony Abbott sought to sway wavering South Australian Liberals by affirming that Australia’s next-generation submarine project would follow an open, competitive tender process in which the SA-based Australian Submarine Corporation would be able to participate. Previously, it had been rumoured that the Prime Minister’s office was strongly in favour purchasing Soryu-class boats direct from Japan, with (former) Defence Minister Steven Johnston saying he wouldn’t trust ASC to “build a canoe“.

This is relevant because Soryu is not the only defence-related thought bubble to emerge from the Prime Minister’s office recently. Australia is currently ‘evaluating’ the prospect of F-35B for its LHDs on a similar Prime Ministerial whim. Alas, unlike Soryu, there is no domestic constituency lined up to oppose the PM on this, with the only pressure coming indirectly in the form of a rebelling electorate and deteriorating fiscal prospects making it increasingly difficult for the government to continue its plans of increasing defence spending even without throwing more expensive toys into the shopping trolley. Nevertheless, it would be foolish to underestimate the power of Prime Ministerial whim, particularly when it comes in the form of Tony “Captain’s Call” Abbott.

The members of IS are a new breed of evil

Not really; IS is an old breed of evil. Folks have been killing their enemies by the most grotesque means imaginable as a form of psychological warfare since time immemorial. Many states do this to their own citizens today, referring to it as “capital punishment” justified (in part) by a “deterrent effect” (i.e. terror). The only new bit in the Jordanian saga is Youtube as a means of disseminating propaganda, and that’s just a “trickling down” of the earlier American innovation of CNN anyway. A “new breed of evil” (i.e. less than a century old) would be the innovation and use of airpower — the vast majority of it western airpower.

At this rate the French might want to license the Z-18 back from China. :p

Seriously? This is the same journalist, Marco Giannageli, that claimed Russia was going to supply Su-24s to Argentina!

No, not seriously. The idea was to lol at the latest silliness from the British tabloids. A nuclear missile designed to seek Vanguard-class submarines?