This story has shown up in the mainstream press as well. No reason to doubt that Israel did this; they have the means and the motivation.

As far as your quote, not sure what they mean by “The raid would have degraded Iran’s ability to retaliate for a potential Israel or US attack.”

percentage of software reuse is extremely high, the big difference is ADA (F-22) v C++ (F-35)

You realize that the above statement makes no sense, right? If they are written in different languages, the percentage of software reuse is zero. They may share some software design principles but that is it.

All that is true, so I wonder why we spend so much time comparing aircraft A with aircraft B on this forum when there are so many other factors to take into account?

Because jet fighters are phallic symbols. End of story.

Which is what it all boils down to.

Isn’t it also often the case, that an older two seater aircraft will out perform a
more modern single seater, purely by having an extra set of eyes and being
able to share the work load ?

Depends on how much older. It is certainly the case that, all else being equal, two sets of eyes (and hands and brains) are better than one. For air to air combat this is not really true any more, since offboard aids to situational awareness make up for the extra set of eyes, and the weight and fuel penalty of a second crew can be put to better use.

In multirole aircraft however, two seats are still the preferred option due to the workload; thus the Su-30MKI, the fact that the USN has purchased more two-seat Super Hornets than single seaters, the AdlA’s preference for two-seat Rafales, etc.

Again and I cannot reinforce this enough – MBDA (formerly Matra) – integrated Meteor onto Gripen first. That is not something that is done if it is the most complex of integrations… not when a significant degree of company & program prestige is resting on it.

Technically they integrated it onto Tornado F3 first. Gripen is just the first type to be integrated that will actually use it operationally.

As far as the whole question of MBDA heritage being evidence of MICA compatibility, that is simple speculation. The MICA uses older technology and its datalink includes compromises to allow it to work with the Mirage 2000. There is no guarantee that this is “just a software problem”, there may be operating mode or frequency issues to deal with as well. In short, until it is confirmed, there is no certainty at all that it is compatible, simple as that.

This is what the USAF had to say on these WVR BFM’s:

“It sounds as though we have very different recollections as to the outcomes of the BFM engagements that were fought,” one Raptor pilot says. USAF sources say that the Typhoon has good energy and a pretty good first turn, but that they were able to outmaneuver the Germans due to the Raptor’s thrust vectoring. Additionally, the Typhoon was not able to match the high angle of attack capability of the F-22. “We ended up with numerous gunshots,” another USAF pilot says.

But hey, maybe the Eurofighter guys can make a patch like the M2K guys did.

The Austrian Air Force was forbidden from using any type of guided missiles from its creation in 1955 (the “Raketenverbot”). In the early 90s the Austrian parliament amended the constitution to lessen this prohibition so they could purchase AIM-9s for their Drakens. So they don’t really have a long tradition of using AAMs, and it is possible they are still prohibited from operating BVR AAMs.

The term « Omnirole » was chosen as a differentiator with mech scan radar aircrafts that could perform only one task at a time.

But by that standard, the Rafale is not “omnirole” either. The RBE2 does not provide full interlacing between air/air and air/ground modes, otherwise the UAE would not have needed to ask for that to be added on.

I believe the RBE2 does provide interlacing between air-to-air and terrain following mode, but not simultaneous air to air and air to ground targeting.

If this concern has already been addressed, I’m sure someone can provide a reference.