Careful mack8… its statements like that (truth) get people into trouble.
Sadly a lot of people are swayed quite easily by “popular” beliefs which are distorted facts.

The US military machine is what keeps most of the US economy and large corporations going. Having no enemy means no arms race… look at what happened when the “cold war” ended.

Time and time again we have heard about the “war on terrorism” and how its a “war without end” when Afghanistan was being mentioned…

Oh and for those who actually believe China is nasty towards Australia… its funny how for the first time in history the Chinese navy visited Australia last year in order to bolster relations… oh but i spose they were here to insert nasty spies in reality.

You are joking right??

If the USA wants to dominate the pacific then they can pay for it.

It never ceases to amaze me how many seem to think that its the USAs mandate to control the world.

Edit2: so I missed the fact that the RAAF run the 27J / 130J together. I wonder how they determine which takes what where and what goes in a Chinook instead.

whats the Chinook got to do with RAAF? Answer is nothing…. I think the answer would be obvious as to what the chinook is used for.

As for who determines what goes where…? Ah the RAAF also operated the Caribou for 40yrs successfully. The C27 will be used to forfill a role which the RAAF lost when the caribou disappeared (though obviously without the stol performance). There is nothing too rigid in how the raaf operates its cargo fleet.

I guess a modern F-5E would be built around something like the Honeywell F125 engine, and as Swerve suggests incorporate Selex Vixen 500E. The problem I suspect in keeping the cost down (when I think about this idea I keep adding base line capabilities that I am sure aren’t cheap or even needed – do we need FBW? While I can’t imagine a fighter without a RWR, does it need any sort of ESM? What sort of baseline avionics fit would be good enough for air policing?)

Is it possible to build a modern F-5E for the OP’s target budget of £20 million?

My gut is that it might be more like £35 million to build a new F-5E, and that wouldn’t include incorporate the development costs, which even with off the shelf components I am guessing the whole aircraft would need still need an expensive programme of static testing, flight tests and certification.

Wouldnt it be better to use the F-20?

All this discussion of one of my favourite medium? bombers and no pictures?? lol

Bit of a mixed loadout for an airshow somewhere..

Same aircraft different angle.. showing the MER and bombs..

Asymmetric load…

Such a nice picture…

Yes, Australian airforce prouds itself on high quality of maintenance, ground crew, people behind the scenes. A attitude of can do, not what cant be done.

While true… budget wise if your not a flying squadron (ie no aircraft) their budget has always been limited, flying squadrons on the other hand have more money thrown at them in order to maintain their level of service.

It a bit silly doing this as all support squadrons are just as important in keeping the cogs turning.

so, PAK-FA experts, what is the smoke column released from the aircraft spine?..:) check time….0:20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTbFGWdklps

There are two ground crew in the background, as the aircraft appears to have been towed there im guessing its the startcart powering up.

Ok watched the extended video …APU it is!?

And here i was thinking they were mini dam buster type bombs which were installed the wrong way on the pylons lol