I’ve see several presentations that say FA-50 can mount the AMRAAM.

Also, I’m not sure of the AESA on the FA-50 (if it can be tailored to the bid), but RACR/SABR are certainly better than Zhuk-ME.

There were 10 “White Tail” C-17s which Boeing built with plans to sell them at a later date.

Dragonflyer is right, this was the last of the 10.

India looks set to receive a further C-17 to add to the 10 it already fields, after the US State Department approved a potential sale on 26 June. Source: Boeing
The announcement on 26 June that India is to receive another Boeing C-17 Globemaster III strategic airlifter has brought to an end a two-year effort to sign up a customer for the last aircraft to roll off the now-closed production line at Long Beach, California.

The US Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said that the State Department has approved the sale to India of the final C-17 for USD336.2 million. The proposed deal, which still needs to be approved by Congress, covers equipment as well as sustainment and support in addition to the aircraft. The Indian Air Force (IAF) already fields 10 C-17s that are flown by 81 Squadron out of Hindon Air Force Station, near Delhi.

As with all the other operators of the C-17, the IAF’s fleet is supported by Boeing via its Globemaster III Integrated Sustainment Program (GISP) performance-based logistics contract. This ‘virtual fleet’ enables international customers to tap into the US Air Force’s (USAF’s) vast support infrastructure.

It is likely that a large percentage of the value of this proposed Indian sale is related to the aircraft’s through-life sustainment and support through the GISP programme. Even so, USD336 million is an inordinate amount to pay for one aircraft (Kuwait paid USD371 million for two aircraft plus equipment and support in 2014). In 2016, an official from the USAF Air War College in Alabama said that there was “a fight going on between the Qataris, the Indians, and the Australians to get the last C-17”. From the cost of the deal, it would appear that Boeing may have sold its final aircraft to India at a premium.

http://www.janes.com/article/71793/india-to-receive-final-white-tail-c-17 (Dead link for now, the above quote is from Google Cache)

Unable to process its request in time to buy three C-17 Globemaster heavylift transport aircraft from the US, the Air Force is now moving a proposal to buy the only remaining aircraft in the American inventory for over Rs 2,500 crore before the Defence Ministry.
Originally, the Air Force wanted to buy three C-17 planes from the US, which has stopped the production of these planes at its facility in Long Beach, California but the American government was left only with one plane for sale.
“We will now buy whatever we can and are planning to buy the single aircraft left with the US. In this regard, we are planning to move our proposal in a key Defence Ministry meeting planned to be held this month,” a senior IAF source told Mail Today here.

More at the jump
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/iaf-buy-last-us-c-17-aircraft-left/1/838640.html

Israeli F-35s to be declared operational in December

The Israel Air Force (IAF) will declare its Lockheed Martin F-35A jets fully operational in December, a military source has told Jane’s.

The operational status will apply to the five F-35s already delivered to the IAF as well as all future jets on their arrival. Israel has ordered 50 jets to equip two full squadrons, with final deliveries expected in 2022.

http://www.janes.com/article/71646/israeli-f-35s-to-be-declared-operational-in-december

Rockwell Collins prototypes fix for F-35 green glow

Lockheed Martin recently tested a prototype from Rockwell Collins that could solve the F-35’s helmet-mounted display “green glow” issue, F-35 programme Jeff Babione told reporters at the Paris air show this week.

Pilots on the Joint Strike Fighter have struggled with a green glow created by light from the cockpit avionics display, which leaks into the HMD and affects visual acuity, distracting pilots on night landings during carrier qualifications.

The Gen III HMDS is a joint venture between Collins and Elbit Systems. Collins is now using organic LED (OLED) – similar to technology used in cell phones and televisions but in a micro-display configuration, according to Lockheed – to solve the green glow problem.

“It effectively eliminates the green glow phenomenon caused by the current display technology’s low contrast ratio,” a Lockheed spokesman says. “We are working on a flight clearance to use the prototype during carrier qualifications this fall for an evaluation of pilot workload reduction while landing on the carrier at night.”

Collins engineers were working on technology for displays in low light conditions before Lockheed approached them, says Dave Schreck, vice president and general manager, airborne solutions for government systems at Rockwell Collins. However, the OLED solution is not yet ready for the Gen III helmet and the system is currently around a technology readiness level of six, he says.

“It’s been shown relevant in an operational environment,” he says. “I think we’re getting to the point where it definitely shows promise.”

https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/paris-rockwell-collins-prototypes-fix-for-f-35-gre-438687/

“The” IFDL in the F-22 is classified so no, it’s not the same.

Also, the above pic says LPI but not “directional”.

Still can’t see anything and both links are broken

Deducting VAT on the India sale just makes it look that much worse and give credence to the notion that France is silently subsidizing or shifting internal costs to keep the price down in the Senate docs.

I can’t see any other explanation for $100 mil for a “bare plane”.