reduced to 60 from 80

The original buy rate was 110 and production would have ended in 2030 (even including the delayed IOC).

This never-before-seen nighttime F-35 helmet cam footage is both intense and revealing

Navy Presents Revealing F-35 Helmet Display Videos and Flight Test Dangers (excerpt)

I uploaded it to YouTube for ease of use and compatibility:

Meteor does not cruise at Mach 4 out to 200km.

GPS helps with jamming because it can be updated with the target’s precise GPS location from multiple off-board assets (if available) which can allow the AAM to get much closer to the true target in order for it’s own seeker to burn through the jamming.

Spud, given the rather limited flight time of AAMs the INS error is pretty small.

Given that AAMs can reach out to near 100nm, even a small error can keep the AAM from reaching the reletively small killbox where it’s seeker can achieve a lock. Throw in jamming and the AAM has to get even closer to “burn through” the jaming.

Furthermore GPS gives your missile a velocity as does INS btw, but target velocity is not obtained through GPS but MCG from tje guiding platform.

The target’s precise GPS location & velocity are provided via datalink. As I said, GPS removes all accumulated INS errors and even helps with jamming.

The seeker & battery of an active AAM are too small to prosecute guidance over it’s entire BVR range, which is why all BVR missiles have datalinks to begin with.

Historically the gyro-based INS is used to guide the AAM to the killbox in order for the AAM’s seeker to obtain a lock. During the flight, the datalink can be used to update the target’s last known position. However, because the INS is based on a gyro, that introduces errors that get worse as the range get’s longer and the flight profile get’s more complex.

A GPS assisted INS removes these potential errors so that the AAM knows exactly where it is, exactly where the enemy is, and exactly what velocity the target is on in order to setup the best interception possible.

Given that the Meteor is a fixed inlet air breather with a one-way datalink & non-GPS INS, it stays relatively low.

The nice thing about a lofted flight profile (especially a GPS aided one like the AIM-120D’s) is that the endgame is prosecuted with the aide of gravity rather than fighting gravity like a traditional, strait-on shot.

If you are looking for 2nd hand airframes that are NATO compatible, single engine operating costs, large upgrade potential, etc… Go for the F-16.

LM has already stated that the latest F-16V can be bought as an upgrade package.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/features/2016/Meet-the-F-16V.html
http://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/dam/lockheed/data/aero/photos/F-16/F-16V_Product_Card2016.pdf