The Flyaway cost of a FY2011 AIM-120D is $1.043 million USD and the AIM-9X Blk2 = $330k USD.

From the FY2011 budget

AMRAAM
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AIM-9X
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They should go with the Piasecki mods :

LOL Spudman,

X35 wasn’t a technology demonstrator, but an “aircraft in a development or experimental stage”.
See the difference in the link.
EAP was a technology demonstrator (G, J, or N designated perhaps, if the US have made it) and EF and EAP are two different planes, so your comparison is pointless…

I was not the first to compare the timelines, including the X-35 and EAP, but snafu.

Even including the X-35 and NOT including the EAP, the F-35 will take less time to develop, fly, and enter service than the EF.

Well you should go by the expected in service date and the actual in service date for both.

The Typhoon was +54 months, what’s the JSF running at now?

cheers

Eurofighter Time-line (not including EAP program)
Program Formally started 1985 (EAP dev started 1982 & FF 1986)
First Flight 1994
IOC 2003
Total time 18 years (21 with EAP included)

F-35 program
SDD program started 2001 (X-35 dev signed Nov96 & FF 2000)
First Flight 2006
IOC (F-35B) planned for 2012
Total time 11 years (16 with the X-35 included)

If you want to know how late the F-35 is vs the original IOC, it stands at +24 months now and may slip.

Production is only at +12 months vs the original schedule and shows no sign of slipping.

Here is the original schedule from June 2001, the year SDD was started.
.

The F-35C (642nm radius combat loaded) can go further than the F-18…. remember the lack of drag due to internal loads.

Curious on the time to develop part; do you think that due to the amount of cash likely to be thrown at it or for other reasons?

Edit: Rising to the bait!
The dates that contracts were signed for development airframes / prototypes were ’88 for the Typhoon and ’96 for the JSF.
Taking the in service date for the Typhoon as 2003 that gives 15 years of development.
The JSF is currently at 14 by my math and not in service yet…

If your going to look at the X-35 as the starting point in the F-35 program, then you must include the EAP into the Typhoon’s timeline also. That puts the Typhoon timeline from 1982-2003.. 21 years.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601081&sid=atfnvVtm5vF0

First delivery in 2014 means contracts signed in 2012. The only thing done is the AUS government has approved (and set aside) the money for the first 14. Again, no contract with the JPO has been signed. In 2012 the AUS gov will evaluate the next 72.

Australia’s first batch of F-35s, the next-generation fighter plane, will be delivered in the U.S. in 2014 for initial training and testing, according to the statement. The first squadron should be ready for operations in 2018 and all three are planned to be in service in 2021.