correct me if Im wrong, the whole idea of building under license is creating the production line from scratch, not using the existing production line

The problem is that you also have to make from scratch the machinery and tooling used in the production line. Only that more than triples the cost per aircraft.

Best regards,

“The crucial issue that needs to be solved is the insistence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to give guarantee on the delivery schedule of the Rafales that will be license-produced at HAL.”

er, seems strange to me. as I understand it, HAL wants India’s government to guarantee it will take the Rafales produced in India as planned? what does that have with the negotiations with the French?

This might help clarify things; from EXCLUSIVE: Specifically Why India’s Rafale Deal Is Held Up:

So, as I mentioned in my earlier post, sticking points in negotiations between Dassault Aviation and HAL remain the chief reason why a draft contract hasn’t reached finality. There have been a few reports that point to general difficulties in negotiations between HAL and Dassault on liability for the 108 aircraft that the former will license build in Bangalore. What you probably haven’t heard about are the specific stumbling blocks. There are basically three:

1. Responsibility for the 108 aircraft in terms of liability, damages and attendant clauses on access, inspection and post-manufacture testing. Dassault’s concern is that HAL hasn’t built up any of the fixed assets which the company feels would be the minimum requirement to begin discussing the modalities of the kind of liability HAL wants Dassault to take on for the jets built in India. With the last 60 aircraft to be as much as 90% ‘Made in India’,
2. The ball is apparently in HAL’s court, with Dassault telling the Cost Negotiation Committee (CNC) that it still awaits figures from HAL on the financial specifics of the liability it is seeking to transfer to Dassault. Dassault has asked HAL to clarify the specifics of any similar liability parameters in comparable deals like HAL’s Su-30 MKI production line on license from Russia.
3. Modalities of licensee/licensor and the manner in which the final agreement sets down their roles. Things are actually more contentious than most believe/report. Dassault has even flagged up issues with access to HAL’s facilities.

(…)

Best regards,

The US shouldn’t be a problem, the real problem here is the UK. The UK didn’t even let France and Spain sell Argentine older fighters.

The big question is: will Sweden, Brazil and Argentina be capable of replacing all British and French components on the Gripen with their own components? Will Brazil and Sweden even want to go into the trouble of doing so and dragging out the remaining development time and the cost just because of Argentina?

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A Portuguese Air Force A-7D Corsair II painted with FAM decals as a sales pitch to Mexico. Even though the Mexican Air Force was looking at the type, it was never ordered most likely due to financial constraints at the time.

http://www.aviationmex.com.mx/aztec-warriors-of-the-sky

Great find MSphere. Quite interesting. Note that Portuguese Corsairs weren’t true A-7D but rather converted/rebuilt A-7A airframes with D and E avionics.

Does anyone have any more info besides this source? It says that it was offered in early-1980’s so was this photo taken in the US before delivery of this Corsair to Portugal?

Best regards,

out of curiosity and i’m not thinking much….for a country like Switzerland, defensive, relatively short range, and most likely will not participate in any expeditions, would it be better to base the entire fleet on STOVL fighters like the F35B? For those naysayers about the F35, my point is on STOVL types, not a specific fighter just because it doesn’t go with your agenda. Would getting rid of airports (long runways) free up more land for developers and at the same time reduce costs? maybe not? runways are cheap? Don’t know, just some thoughts.

STOVL fighters, like the F-35B, have to a lighter payload to be able to take off vertically or even with a short run. In this context STOVL doesn’t give much of an advantage since the Swiss already have experience using roads as airstrips. The Gripen was also developed so that it could takeoff from short runways.

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I know that this is going to sound stupid but did Boeing even have a fast jet past or does it have a present? If we look at the F-15 and F-18 they were designed and developed by McDonnell Douglas. Boeing’s last fighter was developed in the 1940s and they stayed out of the fast jet market until they bought McDonnell Douglas. The F-15 and F-18 had great success, but Boeing hasn’t developed a fighter on their own or as the main contractor for a long, long time.

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Does anyone really think that given the current political (mostly lack of interest) and economic situation, that Brazil is actually going to order new fighters before 2015? It’s a legitimate question; I’m curious since almost everyone else so far doesn’t seem to think that they will.

I really doubt that the Rafale costing more than the F-18 and Gripen would be such a factor given the transfer or technology that the French are willing to give and have demonstrate in past cooperations when compared to the US. Who will without any doubt put limitations on the F/A-18 (remember the Australian experience with it?) and can even embargo the Gripen if they choose to. Any difference of price between the Rafale and the other competitors could also easily be fixed not only with the ToT. Sure FAB might have to get less Rafales because of the price, but with local manufacturing they might more easily get further aircraft down the road.

Honestly, looking at the Rafale’s capabilities and the political relationship between France and Brazil I would expect the Rafale to get more easily an order from Brazil than India. The only difference is that Brazil doesn’t have much of a neighboring threat or in an arms race as India is.

Best regards,

@archangelski: That’s a Brazilian TV host and former-model.

Best regards,