Isnt that French STX shipyard nationalized to keep it away from Italian hands. It mean French are going to keep independent exports and will likely use German money to develop further. French already moving against Italians in Libya.
I am sure there will be pressure coming up on Germany to give up Eurofighter.

Yes and No. Needed more insurance about possible tech transfer to China. The idea is probably to merge DCNS and STX then to have a joint venture with Fincantieri. But i am only guessing. More on topic, noone noticed that EF is atm puushed against F-35 in Belgium?

Germany do not have financial base to buy F-35? Are you drunk? They could easily buy the whole russian economy simply by snapping their fingers…

You do not hijack anything important. Recover fastlty, need to argue with you!

It does not need a 2nd seat for C&C due to advances in datalinks & it’s avionics.

Taht is an interesting point to discuss. datalinks also bring a huge number of information to be processed. Computers are certainly faster to process most of them, but some decisions like relevance of threats etc. Could still need a human operation after computer’s advice. Workload certainly disminished, but enough?

Rafale drop tanks come in two sizes – 1250l and 2000l (apart from capacity, drag index will vary as well, of course).

Depending on how they are combined, it might explain the difference in range increment per tank.

Btw, up to 3*200OL (dubbed subsonic but ualified up to mach1.3) and 2*1250L tanks (certified 1.6 mach, tested 1.8)

Super Hornet Crashes During Emergency Landing at Bahrain Airport; Pilot Safe After Ejecting

bird strike?

lack of research in efficient wing profile for that range of flight system

Wow what a strong assessment. Develop please?

Don’t take me wrong, the fog of war still means that a WSO or RIO is needed in some scenarios. But flight automation will soon end the need of a Front seater the time the operator focus on the tactical situation. IA will ensure the pilot build a relevant SA bubble until his full attention on the tactical picture is needed and advanced autopilot modes will guarantee flight safety and tactical manoeuvres.
The merge of combat and flight software will alleviate the need of twin seats on fighter size aircraft (then complexity of systems on multi-sensored large platform is something else).

On the other hand, networking with drones etc. May enhance work load and the need for a navigator.