However this would be politicaly sensitive as Airbus is also working on SCAF with Dassault. But if in the end SCAF and Tempest can fuse in a single fighter program that will be good news for Europe.

er.. how so? another Typhoon-like? do that and you have good chances you get two products again, french on one side and others on the other

not so strange if one considers that, beyond buying aircraft, they’re buying influence… 😉

Orion said:

I’d be surprised if Europe, ie EU and UK, can afford two production fighters. I think it can afford single prototypes of two designs followed by a production run of, say, 500 aeroplanes. This Tempest design is very much a marker for the post Brexit future.

or maybe the british didn’t like that the french and germans let them out of the game and try to show they have something to offer… in any case, do the british have the political will to develop a whole fighter all by themselves? I seriously doubt it.. what’s more, with what money? with budgets reductions, they couldn’t even afford the last batch of the Typhoon, had to size down RN and RAF, have to order the F-35 (and make it fly) with money one can’t be sure they’ll be able to find, and yet they’d have the cash to develop a whole new aircraft?

the germans and french have agreed to define exactly what they want the new platform to be, and not let any new “partner” get in and interfere with the requirements.. once it’s done, they’ll propose the deal “as is” to others (ok guys, here’s what we’ll do, do you want to play with us on it?), ensuring they know in which direction they go and don’t waste time in negotiations trying to please too many politicians with contradicting interests

though it looks nice, chances are, this mock up doesn’t go much further than what it is now…

I don’t know, that’s why I wondered how it will turn out 😉

Well, all buyers until now did, in Canada, who wanted to try the contenders, LM said “there’s no need to try, we’re the best”… several LM supporters said on several occasions that there’s little chance that a potentially buying country does a flight test as there’s no two seater (all tests for other contenders are done with a qualified pilot in a back seat, as a safety measure).. so I simply wondered what LM will respond to the “flight test requirement”

as they require to perform the test flights, I wonder how it will go on with LM, as there’s no two seater F-35 and I doubt they train a swiss pilot (or more) “just in case” to let him to whatever he wants with the aircraft

As far as these go, the Mig19 could do with better engines…

F5 is simple, agile, and cheap.. but facing an F-8 or, even more, an F-104 properly flown, it will have difficulties touching any of them. It will be able to turn on a dime, but the other guys, especially the F-104, will simply remain at speed and use their massive power advantage to remain out of range

The apparent urge to ‘fix’ or ‘correct’ someone else’s posting is just another example of how the Modern Military Aviation forum has deteriorated to the point of near uselessness.

no urge, but the repeated rafale-bashing gets a slight bit tiring at one moment…