As you all know, I really like weapons from a technological perspective. I like gadgets, and I really love weapon systems as those are generally (next to "get rich" schemes) where most of human ingenuity is focused. And, fortunately, they're for the last half century mostly things any country should have, and not for actually killing people.
Perhaps only next to affordable rockets that can seriously take us into space, jet fighters and their counters are the ultimate techno-porn.
(It's a shame DemoCoder doesn't visit around here very often anymore, as he was the perfect sparring partner.
)
Anyway, back to business.
Part one is scrubbed,
part two is here,
part three is here,
and, it's time for part four!
As predicted by many, the JSF is by now about as expensive (if not more so) than an F-22, if other countries are even allowed to purchase that plane. And stealth has become something that probably works against medium-technology threats. The low-tech adversaries saw them all along, and the high-tech adversaries developed effective counters.
So, many countries (like the Netherlands, even while they invested billions in the development and "preferred partner program"), ask themselves if the JSF might, eventually, somehow, deliver any bang for it's very high buck.
And most aren't convinced.
Then again, the best bang-for-buck plane available (the Saab Gripen), doesn't have much sales either, as do the Typhoon and Raphaele. Although the Su-27 derivatives still seem to be on a roll.
So, what plane does a country like the Netherlands (with an aging F-16 force, and part of the NATO) buy as a replacement?
This is made a lot more difficult by the thing, that their main missions (killing other fighters and bombing people with high-tech defenses in place) haven't been done in decades, if ever with these parameters.
For one, I would love to see it all in action, and take score. But at the same time, I'm very happy that doesn't happen. But that leaves us without any actual benchmarks.
Perhaps only next to affordable rockets that can seriously take us into space, jet fighters and their counters are the ultimate techno-porn.
(It's a shame DemoCoder doesn't visit around here very often anymore, as he was the perfect sparring partner.
)Anyway, back to business.
Part one is scrubbed,
part two is here,
part three is here,
and, it's time for part four!
As predicted by many, the JSF is by now about as expensive (if not more so) than an F-22, if other countries are even allowed to purchase that plane. And stealth has become something that probably works against medium-technology threats. The low-tech adversaries saw them all along, and the high-tech adversaries developed effective counters.
So, many countries (like the Netherlands, even while they invested billions in the development and "preferred partner program"), ask themselves if the JSF might, eventually, somehow, deliver any bang for it's very high buck.
And most aren't convinced.
Then again, the best bang-for-buck plane available (the Saab Gripen), doesn't have much sales either, as do the Typhoon and Raphaele. Although the Su-27 derivatives still seem to be on a roll.
So, what plane does a country like the Netherlands (with an aging F-16 force, and part of the NATO) buy as a replacement?
This is made a lot more difficult by the thing, that their main missions (killing other fighters and bombing people with high-tech defenses in place) haven't been done in decades, if ever with these parameters.
For one, I would love to see it all in action, and take score. But at the same time, I'm very happy that doesn't happen. But that leaves us without any actual benchmarks.
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