Some more proposels for today:

Spain-Looked at getting the F-4E but in the end,didn’t.This maybe linked to them going with the Mirage F.1 instead.

In that years in Spain we wanted a mix of two procedences in the Air Force, we wanted european planes when the Mirage were bought we already had SF-5´s and F-4C´s, so Sepecat Jaguar, Viggen and Mirage F-1 were the contenders.

F-4E were offered from USAF stocks as a replacement for the F-4C, but the Air Force already has the FACA program, and they decided to stay with the F-4C until the program could be completed (F-18 Vs F-16), after that they requested some RF-4C more, but that´s all.

Didn’t EADS get a few L-159s as part-payment for the C-295s supplied to the Czech Air Force?

Four or five planes, yes, Paraguay was interested a couple of months ago.

Well, Argentina at least for now doesn´t operate any LGB even any laser pod, that A-4´s are operating AIM-9M, and a wide variety of dumb bombs, and they are testing the dual guided DARDO bombs, but no Mavericks, Paveways or similar equipment. Neither from US, Israel or any other country.

At least we have a mock up

Not the F-16 Block 50 or 52. Never, ever, competed against Rafale or Typhoon directly. Only offered to Morocco when Dassault, the DGA & the French finance ministry had already collectively driven the Moroccans to despair with their conflicting offers.

If a proper, coherent, Rafale offer had been put together, at a tolerable price & with sensible financing arrangements, I’m pretty sure that al-Quwwat al-Jawwiyah al-Malakiyah al-Maghribiyah would have been the first Rafale export customer, without F-16 even being evaluated.

Together with the Mirage F.1 upgrade, which made it capable of using Mica & AASM, buying Rafale made sense.

Well, the Moroccan Air Force tried at least three times to get some F-16´s from the US, even second hand, it was one of their main issues since 1990, the ASTRAC deal was offered as the first part for the Rafale agreement (with the credits, for sure) but the american offer was better (F-16, T-6II, C-27J and probably C-130J) and in the other hand, the french got the FREMM deal, along with other deals Puma upgrades, VAB upgrades, trucks etc etc.

They wanted F-16´s and at the end they got their planes. And BTW the ASTRAC deal is a bit delayed.

time for some updates 😀

assorted types at Asmara airport:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48545521@N06/5431551422/in/set-72157625887012229/

Ghana air force

https://picasaweb.google.com/116267869479778671180/GhanaAirForceBase#

The ghanese planes marked as macchi 326 are 339.

Arka :

Indeed . The F16CG is useless against non-emitting targets . While being well equipped for Search&Destroy of emitting SAMs with the HARM and the Shrike , it is unable to search by itself for silent SAMs .
Both its pod and AN/ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System can ‘t do the trick .

I find it interesting to note that one of the best US Wild Weasel doesn ‘t have the capabilities of a AASM loaded Rafale , thanks to the Damoclès pod or the combo Recce pod + OSF against silent SAMs .

Cheers .

Shrike was retired about 20 years ago…