i found some interesting news on the PLAN’s new aircraft carriers.
according to this news source, it appears that the indigenuos carrier will be more of a xerox copy of the varyag/kuznetsov :confused:

http://www.danwei.org/front_page_of_the_day/chongqing_timesjuly_6_2009_in.php

i think one of the bidders, Dassault, made a huge mistake withdrawing the Mirage 2000 in favor of the rafale a number of years back. the IAF could have ordered 126 Mirage 2000-9H to ad to the M2K-H already in service.
also for the same reason as they would have bought the MIG-35.

lets be honnest, by the time this contest is over, the contending aircraft will be obsolete before they enter service. if i was india, drom the whole MMRCA contest and order 126 more LCA’s or develop the MCA a bit faster.

if they were to make a desision now, i guess it will have to be the Gripen NG, F-16IN or the MIG-35. somehow i see the Rafale and Typhoon as to expensive for india and the F/A-18 Superbug will be obsolete by the time it enters service.

just my 2 cents :rolleyes:

actually, a Naval version of the Typhoon is not such a bad idea.
up to now, russia has a monopoly in STOBAR configured planes, offering the Mig-29K and SU-33. India has 3 carriers on order (ex-gorshkov and 2 indigenuos carriers) and has placed an order for only 16 mig-29K/-KUB’s.
by offering them a naval version of the typhoon, it might give them a good alternative to the Mig-29K, offered by the penny-pinching rosboronexport.

Furthermore, another possible customer is Brasil, if they are willing to modify the Sao Paolo with a ski-jump, they might actually buy up to 12 🙂

Also, the Royal Navy could also benifit from a SeaPhoon, offering an aircraft that is cheaper, faster, more agile, heavier armed and a longer range then the F-35B Hover-Bombtruck that possibly wont be stealth in the first place.

if those countries commit to a certain number to be ordered, that might make the Naval typhoon a serious contender.

i picked up a copy of Air Forces Monthly this morning, there’s a nice report in it on the SLAF. in that report, it was noted that now the war is as good as over, the MIG-27’s are te be withdrawn from use.

ugliest planes:

X-32A
A-10
RC-135 (with the bulgy nose and blisters)
Nimrod AEW.3

Belgium want the F-35 :rolleyes:, that gotta be a joke right. i find this article verry hard to believe.

Belgium did plan to enter the JSF project in december 1999, but after protest from the pacifist party “GROEN!” they were forced to cancel that plan.
and i do believe there is an old saying:

“those who not remember the past, are doomed to repeat it”

besides, Belgium doesnt need that overpriced, underpowered stealth bombtruck the US calls a fighter.
the aircraft is to expensive, carries a limited internal payload and propably never comply to Belgian Standards.
besides, why by stealth, when you put external loads on it, it isnt stealth anymore, money down the drain.
only last week there was a report that of all NATO members, Belgium was only second next to slovenia on the list of countries that spend the LEAST on new defence equipment.

Belgium will propably keep flying the Viper until the end of its lifespan, propably to about 2020-2025.
also the Belgian Defence/Air Component prefers to use european equipment (NH-90, A-400M, Pandur,…) so if they are looking at an F-16 replacement, it will most likely be the Eurofighter Typhoon (tranche 3) or the Gripen-NG (witch will most likely be offered as Gripen-BE to Belgium)

just in: SAAB’s response to the dutch news:

–“DUH”

Swiss competition: Rafale, Typhoon, Gripen
Indian MRCA: Rafale, Typhoon, F-16I, F-18E, MiG-35, Gripen
Brazil FX: Rafale, Gripen, F-18
Libya (they didn’t sign anything final with Russia yet): Flanker, Rafale
Nederlands: F-35, Gripen

i think the following:

Swiss: Typhoon (maintainence cooperation with Austria and Germany)
India: F-18E or Gripen, could go either way
Brasil: F-18, could be operated by both air force and navy from there carrier
Libya: Rafale (why not a planes-for-oil deal with france)
Nederland: F-35 (nuff said)