Speed is king in combat. It controls many aspects of an engagements and can offset all sorts of shortcomings. It absolutely makes sense to design fighters for high speeds. Dogfights are the end game. First you have to design jets to get high and fast to maximise energy. So you're cooking for speed. ...
Jump to postEven ahead of Sweden it seems :wave: I think that around 2016(?) the Swedish government pushed back delivery to SwAF by a year. By the way, I recall that when the order for 60 Gripen E/F for SwAF was placed there was an option for 10 more. Has that been sunk by the retention and upgrading of the C/...
Jump to postVideo doesn’t show much other than vertical trajectory to impact. The early F-16 had a FBW failure mode that resulting in a maximum negative G hardover of the slabs. Incapacitating, no ejections in the events. Nickel on the grass What is it with FBW fails and neg G? Same with the Mirage 2000, Tejas...
Jump to postI have been attempting to find as much information as possible about the Russian FAB bomb family. From what I understand so far with the M62 variants these are not modular like the American MK-80 series. They come with the tail section welded to the bomb body. A guidance kit cannot be added to them...
Jump to postAnd why cannot LM buy chips ahead? It's not necessarily the chip but the whole circuit card and components that goes in to the LRU. LM can buy the chip, but they do not own the circuit card or the LRU design. I've actually ran in to this situation recently. We had a notice from one supplier that th...
Jump to postJust circling back to that Russian aircraft downing during the recent offensive. There was some debate as to if it was an air-air kill. In this video, it is confirmed that it was a manpad kill. Several were launched one hit. Ref 1 min 45 in. https://youtu.be/ZdEUicDjuhQ bt Looks like an Igla, the 9...
Jump to postLongish twitter thread, but ostensibly/purportedly HAL and the JF-17 team have come up with alternative seats. https://twitter.com/osinttv/status/1570782997179400193 [...] Argentina provides a lot of beef/pork to China (see, the ‘bi-oceanic corridor’ https://youtu.be/FPSOZCNqHdk ), the latter can p...
Jump to postAir Works Group India’s Oldest and Largest Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MROs) organization have delivered the 6th Boeing P-8I aircraft to Boeing and the Indian Navy. Air Works Group carried out the 32 Phase Checks on Boeing P-8I maritime aircraft. The Heavy Maintenance checks are carried out ...
Jump to postNot sure where to put this but it doesn't really warrant its own thread. Germany and UK suspend Eurofighter operations due to potential ejector seat issues Citing problems in one of the components of the seat ejection system [the pyrotechnic cartridges], the Luftwaffe decided to preemptively suspen...
Jump to postGlad to see more of these flying around!
Jump to postBecause of the simple bomb dropping process, the tanks being hit are static. And drones have simple IR for night. Tanks can't move forever. There also a clip of an MTB first missed by a few meters, seeing the danger, quickly starting the engine & moving, just a second too late.. Some MTB's now ...
Jump to postI would guess some nations would be sitting on the fence, waiting to see if the KC-46 problems will be worked out. A lot of the KC-46 problems are not major concerns for export customers. Some customers will not be so demanding, others may not be using RVS/boom, etc etc. I'm not surprised Boeing is...
Jump to postIndia will not get closer to China, but you're right that DC makes it harder, not easier, for New Delhi to make the right choices. Quite silly, really... US political party in power should not drive India away. Both political party have prominent politicians with India ties. Who else India will be ...
Jump to postThe Democratic Party has done an excellent job of bringing Russia and Saudi Arabia closer to China. Let's see if they have the same success with Brazil and India. India will not get closer to China, but you're right that DC makes it harder, not easier, for New Delhi to make the right choices. Quite...
Jump to postInterestingly OneWeb are using SpaceX even though they are the competition with Starlink. But I guess there aren't many rides in town! Gwynne Shotwell is on record as saying SpaceX will launch a payload for any customer at list price, regardless if they are a competitor. Good policy. Eye on the pri...
Jump to postbikerthai wrote:... and IDF (India) have taken advantage of the subsequent upgrades that were developed by the USN.
tphuang wrote:Think distributed AEW&C as something that you can have with this that F-35 is just not capable of.
tphuang wrote:Pakistan will eventually probably buy 70 to 100 J-10s to replace the F-16s in its current role.
Aesma wrote:Is it still on the bottom ?
Why not stick the F414 in the thing? IIRC the dimensions are the same or almost the same as the F404. What we found with the Tejas (and Saab did with the Gripen C - to - E) was that F404 to F414 is not a straightforward swap. That said, given Saab's involvement with the T-7, this programme has the ...
Jump to postThe RAAF and JASDF have declared their tankers fully operational. The USAF simply wants their tankers to work in worse conditions that is beyond the existing Boeing or Airbus systems. Bingo. Textbook example: neither MRTT nor the KC-767 can survive in a nuclear or chemical environment, whereas the ...
Jump to postOf the ones you've listed, it would have to be FREMM, I think. Jaguar did not get much love from the French, esp after Dassault took over. Eurofighter... LOL NOPE But how's this for one - Airbus? The original multinational idea resulted in a spectacular company that has serious staying power and is ...
Jump to postA line engineer with 5 years experience will live in an apartment in Seattle. A manager will live in their own house with servants in Bangalore. bt You're ignoring QOL and a host of other factors in this comparison... the guy in BLR will have to work his hands to the bone. Cost of living in India i...
Jump to postI always thought SAAB would have been better off just putting the F414 on the Gripen C. It might require a bit of intake modification but the engine is the same physical dimensions as the F404. THAT would be an improved aircraft. I can tell you from the Indian experience, this would not work out we...
Jump to postbikerthai wrote:If you get additional customers, and get the rate up, to one a month, you should be able to drive the price down further.
Laser welding in space may be doable. Titanium would be easiest to laser weld. At least you do not need to use inert gas. How do you keep the melted material from floating away though? You can also do resistance welding. But those joints are not strong. bt maybe they wouldn't need to weld at all? S...
Jump to posttj1230 wrote:Does anyone else think that the withdrawl could have been planned a bit better?
SeamanBeaumont wrote:I read the other day Saab agreed the aircraft wasn't good enough and why it is bigger and heavier but just as average.
They're that person that change their clothes 3 times a day, but wear the same underwear for days. Thanks, I'm definitely stealing this! It feels like this is what the Russians did with this fighter, just made a smaller SU-57 relative rather than completely reinventing the wheel. Subtract an engine...
Jump to postOld news. Not quite. CAATSA is a very serious issue that constantly threatens to derail the bilateral relationship, and two successive US admins (Trump-R, Biden-D) have done sweet nothing to allay any concerns India has regarding the legislation. Even if it ends up resolved to everyone's satisfacti...
Jump to postI see no reason they couldn't have had the opportunity. China has bought, and produced a lot of Russian hardware. J-15 for example. The reasons is obvious. The Chinese believe they can design and build a better airplane. And for the other country who had experienced in building Russian fighter thro...
Jump to postSurprised at the intake location given how FOD sensitive Russian engines are. You'd think a clean sheet would give them a chance to locate them up high. Oh well, at least it's not sucking in debris kicked up by the nosewheel this time... New pictures confirm side mounted intakes high off the ground...
Jump to postSurprised at the intake location given how FOD sensitive Russian engines are. You'd think a clean sheet would give them a chance to locate them up high.
Oh well, at least it's not sucking in debris kicked up by the nosewheel this time...
Per Popular Mechanics, a new Russian fighter will makes it's debut July 20, the first day of the MAKS-2021 airshow: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a37014981/russia-new-fighter-jet-teaser/ Let the speculation begin..... It's clear the pitch is aimed at securing foreign funding. T...
Jump to postBut please explain how expensive Stealth aircraft can help in the India v China context. As in any context — look first, shoot first. do the Chinese investments and developments in AI warfare technology neutralise any advantages of Stealth? Defense Experts like Ajai Shukla and Praveen Sawhney have ...
Jump to postA google search turns interesting results. For example India was assured that the US could disable Pakistani AMRAAMs : http://www.defense-aerospace.com/article-view/release/201127/us-assured-india-it-could-remotely-disable-pakistan%E2%80%99s-amraam-missiles%3A-report.html Poor interpretation of a p...
Jump to postIndian air Force will find it impossible to act in this sector without first neutralizing these Radars. Stealth is not useful in this specific context. Uhmm, no? SEAD/DEAD is exactly the kind of scenario where stealth brings disproportionate advantages to the mission, all else being equal. What cou...
Jump to postNo links/sources I'm afraid, but... ... from conversations I've had in India and Europe, the varying configurations of Eurofighters in service all over the world actually hurt the type when it comes to O&S costs versus a generally more stable Rafale product line. The difference was not readily ...
Jump to postThey definitely are throwing everything at this. But I'm not sure they could bring the operating cost of the Typhoon down far enough to be competitive. Is there any dependable source on the operating and ownership economics, as well as performance, of modern western fighters? I feel as though most ...
Jump to postChina's behaviour shapes that of countries and corporations that engage with China. It might be easier to hold companies accountable, but let's not give China a free pass shall we? You did write it isn't "the fault of China per-se" — except it absolutely is, as long as censorship is in for...
Jump to postI don't quite see how this aspect would be the fault of China per-se. Are you... not familiar with the concept of censorship? Because this comes off as fabulously naive. Come to Asia, literally anywhere in Asia, we'll be happy to show and tell you all about it. It's totally par for the course here....
Jump to postRussian AF accident in Saki, Crimea, Ukraine (territory temporarily occupied by Russia), May 22: Su-30SM, both pilots ejected on the ground, both survived. A ground technician suffered burns, reportedly he was on the cockpit ladder at that moment. A second ground technician apparently was stunned, ...
Jump to postThat's a good point. We don't deploy the same way so the comparison is moot. FWIW, anecdotally, the P-8I's ability to self-deploy to other bases within India and/or nearby is also light years ahead of the Tu-142 and Il-38. I've seen it with my own eyes. And during MH370, the first IN asset tasked wa...
Jump to postInteresting read. Not all is rosy with the P-8A mission capability. https://news.usni.org/2021/05/25/pentagon-report-on-p-8a-readiness-for-anti-submarine-warfare-mission While the tech performance is excellent. Mission readiness is low because of of all things, lack of bolts and O rings. bt One pre...
Jump to postOne other interesting thing to consider is if Germany delay their decision, they may lose the line position as India is wrangling for more P-8s. If India gets in first, Germany may not get their first P-8s until 2024. https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/india-approved-to-buy-six-more-p-8i-marit...
Jump to postkeesje wrote:It seems the P1 has a superior (4 antenna) 360 AESA radar.
But the Indian government is actually paying $6.5B for 85 planes, and that's $76M each. Come on man. Contract value is not the same as URF. URF cost before taxes is ~42M URF after (domestic) tax is ~50M Since export customers do not pay domestic taxes, the export price is the base URF. The rest of ...
Jump to postTejas economics question: Wikipedia says (and has lots of citations) ₹162 crore (equivalent to ₹208 crore or US$29 million in 2019) for IOC Mk. 1 (2014) ₹299.45 crore (equivalent to ₹541 crore or US$76 million in 2019) for FOC Mk. 1 (2010) ₹303 crore (US$42 million) for Mk. 1A and ₹309 crore (US$43...
Jump to postIf what you wrote above makes sense to you then maybe we should just stop talking. Agreed. If you're going to tell *me* what the IAF is thinking, and quote Franz-Stefan Gady, who in all likelihood has never interacted with an IAF officer outside of an embassy party, then this discussion is indeed q...
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