in fact, i would probably compare it to Su-27, which sadly offers little value for the money, even with all the stuff bout its capabilities.

Can u pls elaborate the above statement of your a little bit, (is it due to poor avionics or something else)

its not just the ‘peek’ under the bonnet aspect that appeals to the PLA. there will be a huge array of none-military european high-tech products that would be available for purchase should the embargo be lifted. things ranging from supercomputers to the latest machine tools.

it doesnt really appear that a lack of theoretical work is what is hindering chinese technological advances, but rather the inability to transfer theory into reality. the tools and computers and advanced matericals tech alone would give the indiginous chinese defence industry a quantum leap in capacity, allowing it to making things it could only previously dream about.

then there is the ‘software’ side. with the embargo lifted, a far greater degree of co-operation and exchanges would be permitted, this should help to improve the standards of the chinese personel using the tools and weapons, and so will also be of great benefit.

as for the money, well beijing has always got the bigger picture in mind, and it doesnt do to go back on your word. even if the embargo is lifted by strick rules limite the amount of military equipment allowed to be sold, china would still reward the nations that led the way in helping to end the embargo.

airbus jets are just as good as boeing ones. giving airbus a near monopoly of chinese civil airline purchases for the next couple of years would amount to a huge windfall for france and germany, and purchases of supercomputers, advanced materials tech, machine tools etc would give the other ‘helpers’ a big bonus as well. it would also give boeing extra motivation to put its political might behind trying to relax the rules on the american side.

that is no doubt another objective that beijing would like to achieve, but one that is more of a bonus if it happens, as opposed to a real target that beijing is determined to reach.

China already has the 17th fastest supercomputer (cluster-based) in the world, it can build even more of them if it wants. Furthermore, europeons themselves rely on the US for their supercomputers, so little point in turning to europeons for at least supercomputers. For the remaining stuff (e.g. engines, avionics, composites construction technology) China should definitely buy/learn from europeons but this should not come at the cost of local industry.

And Burger boy, do you share his opinion of the Super Hornet?

I guess the fully sealed perfect American made aircraft never ever wear down? And I am sure if they did it was the “wind” coming from the cockpit, and no fault of the aircraft design itself.

Some of the comments here are very amusing.

I guess the Germans and the Americans and British did so well, while the Russians lost so many because the Russian tanks were roughly finished and not polished and shiny when they left the factory.

The simple concept that using the outer skin for the fuel tanks of the aircraft makes them lighter but also requires more expensive manufacture and maintainence, and that the Mig-29 and Su-27 can do what they do even with the heavier older concept of having seperate fuel tanks with the external surface of the aircraft being more simply made and maintained might actually have been a good thing at the time?

So Chinese aircraft don’t rust? Is that because they make their rivets out of the same material as they make their aircraft, or can they just ignore the laws of Physics regarding electrolosis?

So if the M2 uses the same design structure as the Mirage what are you all talking about regarding the manufacturing processes of the older Migs and Sus? Did the lower tollerance make any difference whatsoever to the older migs or sus other than reducing usable internal capacity and increasing dry weight?

The question here is one of a degree not “absolute” perfection.

Russian aircrafts tend to have poor build quality than western and chinese aircrafts, while this may not be an issue for the current generation of hardware, the future generations with their emphasizes on stealth will require strict tolerances. A country with a poor record of build quality may then have to go through a steep learning curve.

Yes, they have changed.. Germany is a totally tamed lion, without teeth. They enjoy a pretty high technological and knowledge level , but what do they mean in the world today? Nothing. Their influence is minimal, the train for global players has escaped. Germany has become way too social, die Gewerkschaften enjoy senselessly great influence on everything, you cannot even fire an employee who is laughing and spitting into your face and doing nothing. With stagnating industry, increasing unemployment level, Gewerkschaften screaming for even less working time and expensive Euro, Germany is rolling down a hill. Pretty sad for a so-said leader of the EU.

Whilst Germans are probably world leader in metallurgy (don’t know about the composites) and Mechanical Engineering stuff, why they lag behind US in electronics. It seems to me that the overwhelming edge US has over the rest of the world is it’s mastery of electronics.

Which country in Europe has found the optimum balance between socialism and capitalism, is it UK or some other country.

how can I download this movie, clicking on the link gives the usual meaage “,… cannot be downloaded’…

I like the ’50s. They were so full of can-do optimism and unclouded confidence in technology.

Why 50s, has the confidence in technology gone down.

The Kh-22 and the Kh-15 isn’t for sale. It is against the MTCR treaty that Russia signed. No way Jose you can sell a missile with a range in excess of 300km.

Do those treaties still stand, after US’s decision to go ahead with missile shield program.