Wow. That looks familiar.

You could says “why did the IAF opt for the F-4 then? It’s not as if they haven’t been successful in their air campaigns.” as well. Probably $$$ and not wanting to be at the mercy of arms embargos.

The U.S. did not want to sell the F-4 to Israel, originally. It was Golda Mier that really pushed for it over what the U.S. was offering at the time (F-104 and F-5). Israel also wanted the A-6, but never got it.

You own an Su-22M-4? Got pics?

I think F-5E/F’s for the FAA is not a bad idea. They have to be better than what they have now. Maybe, somewhere down the line, they could get a BVR upgrade for them. Didn’t Chilean F-5’s have BVR capability? Maybe the FAA can acquire those after Chile replaces them with F-16s. Brazil will probably retire its F-5 fleet when the Gripen becomes operational. There is an opportunity to acquire more there. What does the U.S. care over the possibility of Argentina getting some out-dated F-5s?

I’m torn on the notion of the U.S./NATO shouldn’t have purchased the F-35. In my opinion, besides being a scam to make a whole bunch of companies money courtesy of the taxpayer, I’m not sure the F-35 is needed. From what I read about the aircraft, it really isn’t what the designers cracked it up to be. I do agree that something is needed, but I am not sure the F-35 is it. I don’t believe that the F-35 is a replacement for the A-10 based on pure capability. It seems as if all of these air arms put their eggs in the F-35 basket and it the product is not all it is cracked up to be.

Same goes for all of the aircraft the U.S. has injected into the Afghan Air Force. Once we leave, and the Taliban move in, they’ll run it until it dies and that will be it. So much money wasted…

What could the FAA do with just 12 Su-24s? They’d have to fight their way into the combat area, deliver the payload, and fight their way back out. I may be overestimating the Typhoon’s capability and that of it’s RAF pilots, but I think 4 Typhoons can handle 12 Fencers. The FAA would need additional, somewhat-modern, aircraft to back the Fencers up. Even then, I would rate the RAF pilots over their FAA counterparts. A decrepit Mirage III is no match for a Typhoon. The FAA would need an aircraft like the Su-30 or even Su-34 to pose a credible threat, then they would need to be well trained and combat ready on those machines to the same extent as their RAF/NATO counterparts. In five years, it seems a bit of a stretch for the FAA.