Cruise is per definition level flight, so no, that’s irrelevant.

You are right. But you can achieve supercruise descending and then go back to level flight. You will continue supercruising. Not lasting and not meaningful, surely, but possible nonetheless.

And on topic, there are numerous Cold War-era jets that could pull off supersonic cruise, but only a few could do it with any meaningful weapons/fuel load and even fewer could push through the transsonic without having to use reheating (AB) at least for a little while. That having been said though, it is obviously not a new phenomenon in any way. It’s just that the modern day buzzword refers to a more practical side of it.

Gripen included, presumably. One of its test pilots when asked about demo’s supercruing, he claimed “you can supercruise with the C/D too, but you have to be in Sweden {north climate} and it has to be cold.”

most 4gen fighter with decent TWR (F-14 certainly was one) can supercruise in case a) it is flying clean and b) it has a light onboard fuel load.

Also it’s important whether ascending or descending, obviously the latter makes it easier.

I stumbled across an article link on Wikipedia regarding the potential acquisition of P-3C’s by the Vietnamese Navy. I don’t think this will happen but am curious to see what others think (or not).

there was a time not long ago when there was word (confirmed) of even an F-16 sale to Vietnam.
Vietnam has already purchased American communication satellite(s?) from Lockheed Martin. That alone would sound unbelievable some time ago. Given that the US would not mind at all to see a stronger Vietnam countering China, I don’t see a P-C sale (or even transfer) as impossible.

two vids from the recent military parade in Thessaloniki (NH90 included, first appearance in public, ever):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIo7Z25bk8k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nr5WXyrg9Mk

the entire parade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBUuZLnkIbo

I agree that Gripen fits Brazilian needs…

on an operational level it’s highly possible. But Brazil has made it more than clear that wants to exploit that buy on a diplomatic level, and Sweden, well, it’s not exactly a major player in international politics and diplomacy.

Greece: Primarily multirole and from what I’ve read, one unit operates them primarily in the air-to-air role while the other focuses on air-to-ground though I believe both units are tasked with both missions. The remaining RF-4E’s of 348 Mira are obviously still the primary tac recce aircraft in the HAF’s inventory.

All aircraft are the same, they received the same upgrade and can carry the same weapons; As such, they may be used in any role we choose. The only difference is with the training of the crews. 338 sqn trains mainly in A2G missions, while 339 sqn trains in A2A.

It’s an old design, but the F-4 still presents some useful capabilities for those Air Forces that still fly it. It’s fast, carries a large payload, and tends to be able to employ a wide variety of weapons. The two-man crew is arguably what has helped it remain in service up to this point. My two cents anyway. Feel free to disagree. (Just do so politely.)

Its major advantage is that it was a well sold plane, with many users and many upgrade programs and a surplus of compatible spare parts and systems. So despite the age, it is unexpectedly easy to support. Other fighters of the same era despite being equally good or better, were abandoned because they could not be supported.

PS here is a small bonus :p

bomb truck mode on:

So here’s an idea I randomly had for a thread that I thought might be interesting as the intent is to pull the collective knowledge of those on the forum, at least based on what people have seen in photos (or in person) and/or read from a reliable source. This isn’t an X vs Y thread so hopefully the bickering and nationalistic crap so often seen on this forum won’t be present. In any case, as most of us are aware the F-4 Phantom is still flying in six different air forces around the globe as an operational combat aircraft. It remains active in the United States as a test aircraft, target tower, and drone. For those air forces that still utilize the aircraft in a combat role (recce variants certainly included), I thought it might be interesting to see what all we could gather is utilized on the aircraft by its various users today. For example, in Greece, the F-4E AUP’s are fitted with the AIM-120 AMRAAM. Well..what else are they carrying? Bombs? Rockets? AGM’s? ECM pods? External tanks? (I mention this because some nations utilize the F-15-style centerline tank while others do not)

I realize the chances of the thread taking off are slim, but I thought I’d give it a shot in the interest of variety and I figured people could come up with some interesting photos and stuff. If you claim something at least mention where you got the information (photos and/or book, magazine, etc.) If you have a photo then please by all means share it! Let’s see what we can come up with. I’ll start off…

Greece (Hellenic Air Force)

Variants still in service – F-4E (AUP), RF-4E

Stores – AIM-120B (A?) AMRAAM (based on photographs and widely disseminated information on the Peace Icarus upgrade…I admit i don’t know for sure its the AIM-120B, but I thought I remembered reading that variant was the one utilized on the jet)
GBU-24 Paveway III (photos)
Litening II (III?) targeting pod
AIM-9L/P (M?) Sidewinder (photos)
Mk-82 500-lb. GP bomb (photos)
DWS 39 gliding bomblet dispenser
AGM-65B (D/G?) Maverick

The litening pod is also used in air-to-air combat.
Armed with AIM-9Ls.
No AIM-9Ms in Greek inventory.
AIM-9Ps only used to simulate weight, drag.
Centerline tank never used in peacetime.