Bush agrees entirely… 🙁

what do you mean by “catch it”? I’m sure that they were waching the bomber for a long time before it enter (according Japan) their airspace.

EADS Eurofighter signs Greek contract

The Associated Press February 5, 2008, 1:08PM

ATHENS, Greece Under the agreement, the government-controlled defense and aerospace company Hellenic Aerospace Industry SA will obtain technology and know-how to bolster its airframe design and development capability at a newly created design center recently opened by the company. The move comes before a long-awaited tender by the Greek air force to purchase several dozen next-generation fighter aircraft. EADS’s warplane unit, Eurofighter, is one of several companies hoping to win a deal with Greece. “Greece is welcome to become an integrated partner in the Eurofighter program,” said Bernhard Gerwert, chief executive officer of Military Air Systems, a unit of the EADS Defence & Security Division. Reiterating the company’s earlier calls for Greece to join the European countries that use Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft — Germany, Britain, Italy, Spain and Austria — Gerwert said “we offer Greece a long lasting partnership which will secure high tech jobs and facilitate industrial development and economic growth.” Last year, the company signed a 4 million euro production contract with EADS to manufacture a part of the air intake system for all Eurofighters through 2013, adding to existing component production deals worth about 38 million euros. In 2003, the previous Socialist government of Greece initialed a preliminary contract with Eurofighter with an eye to acquiring as many as 60 of the aircraft. But following elections in March 2004, the newly elected New Democracy government put off a decision on the contract due to budget constraints. The government, which was re-elected in September, is expected to launch a new tender this year for a next generation of fighter aircraft. Apart from the Eurofighter, the Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16, the Boeing Co. F-18, the Dassault Aviation SA Rafale and the Swedish Gripen fighter are also reportedly contenders.

so the “integrated partner” offer is on the table again… I’m impatient to see the Rafale’s counter-offer 😆

I wonder how these Russian defense systems show on their western aircraft’s radar warning receivers? Does it show as a hostile site or friendly?

That was a main problem (as much as the integration with the rest air defence network that includes Patriot, Skyguard, Crotale NG, HAWK, TOR-M1, OSA-AKM, etc… 🙁 ) but it has been solved (and steel under development and improvements) by the interposition of an IFF translator between the Russian and the NATO standards. By this way the classified areas of the NATO and Russian IFF codes remained untouched from the Russian and NATO parts relatively.

either way it is very important development. Not only from the tactical point of view and the new (outstanding) operationaly possibilities it opens up, but most important because of the apparent climax of Greek – Russian strategic/military partnership. I want to remind that after a long period of quiescence in greek military purchases the first and – as it seems – the second most important purchase, concerns Russian systems.