Great video! Lovely aircraft too. Thanks for the link.

We’ll just have to wait and see.

Regardless of the cost issue, the F-35 has turned out to be the best candidate for future service in the RNoAF.

Well, that’s for the Norwegians to decide, but anyone who really believes it’s anywhere near as inexpensive as Gripen is deluded.

I think the Norwegian people may have some serious questions for their government.

Are you 100% sure it wasn’t ISS? It can be incredibly bright. The red light after it passed could be due to it being lit through Earths atmosphere by a low Sun… 17:50hrs… maybe !

For other satellites I find it amusing to watch NASA’s J-Track 3D on my laptop in the garden…. after BBQs ! You don’t see them all, of course. Low orbits are easiest to see, but then you need the sun just below the observed horizon to light the satellite.

BIG mistake. Sad.

LM and the US government are well on the way to taking the military aviation industry away from the rest of the Western world for ever.

Cheaper? ! ! ! I don’t think the cost can be measured.

Norway are in disgrace.

A famous UK yacht designer, Uffa Fox, used to say:

“Weight is useful…… only to the designer of a steam-roller.”

It’s something aircraft designers should remember.

I don’t quite understand how F35 and Gripen can be in the same competition. They are half or a full generation apart. They are vastly different in weight. F35 is not available yet or fully tested. It is going to cost a lot more than Gripen. Gripen is the first mil jet I’ve seen that breaks the ‘cost increase’ curve, and why not? Why do people always EXPECT everything to get more expensive all the time? Sure… things are more complex, but the design tools and techniques are better.

If someone suddenly finds a way around stealth (if they haven’t already), JSF will be an overnight expensive flop, and a big waste of money to anyone who buys it.

Jonesy is clearly unaware that for the JSF to land on the ship it would have to jettison all of its ordanance or else it would be too heavy…Paveways, ASRAAM’s AMRAAM’s etc all cost an aweful lot of money, especially just to be throwing off the side of a ship.

US Navy might need enlightening too. They want to use F-35C on carrers. :confused: