Picture of the Day (Other eras)

[Biiviz]

In this day and age of constant budget cuts, the JAS-39 is the most cost-effective choice and I'm quite certain that the FAF will choose it in the future. In '95 the first JAS-39 model hadn't come out yet and we needed a new plane urgently that was also NATO compatible. We chose the F-18.

[th_battleaxe]

I agree with the F-35 being an overpriced, overhyped, useless flying brick.

The F-18 is a decent, tried and tested plane. It's a safe option for what it'll have to do. Plus you can do emergency landings on a carrier if you'd have to.

Rafale: why not.

Eurofighter: I'd say it's not a bad idea to buy this. We could benefit a lot from the experience of the German pilots to train our crews.

JAS-39 Gripen: decent, cost-effective, NATO stamp of approval, it's Swedish. I see no reason why not. Unless it comes in Ikea-style package.

I see another Agusta-scandal coming up...

[Born2Kill 007]

Plus you can do emergency landings on a carrier if you'd have to.

I don't think our army will get the version with tailhooks installed on them :p
And btw, the Rafale also operates on carriers

[TASSER]

You guys have some good sources to back up the F-35 being second rate? Genuinely interested, not trying to be a jerk. I'd like to see some data on it. Weapons capacity, turning radius, top speed, etc. compared to say Eurofighter. My understanding of that program is that the fighter is designed to be a jack-of-all-trades, master of none. Points towards flexibility, but won't win in any head-to-head engagements. Over budget and schedule, still unproven concept. Anything I'm missing? (Like that's not enough to detract from it haha)

I'm a little embarrassed to say I haven't researched it much, so I'll reserve comments until I do


Regardless, some pretty damn fascinating engineering.

[Born2Kill 007]

not sure if the question was sarcasm or not, but if not, this video sort of sums it up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxDSiwqM2nw
And its stealth is also relative, a Eurofighter detects it at 60 km distance

Person interviewed is a plane engineer, some of his work is the F-16 and the A-10

And comparing specifications to the Eurofighter... lol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Martin_F-35_Lightning_II#Specifications_.28F-35A.29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurofighter_Typhoon#Specifications

I mean, the Eurofighter even beats the F-22 in dogfights, and the F-35 is supposed the be the cheaper shittier version of the F-22

[TASSER]

not sure if the question was sarcasm or not, but if not, this video sort of sums it up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxDSiwqM2nw
And its stealth is also relative, a Eurofighter detects it at 60 km distance

Person interviewed is a plane engineer, some of his work is the F-16 and the A-10

Shoot, sorry about that, no sarcasm intended. Edited my other post to be more on target. And thank you!

[Born2Kill 007]

edited my post in that case to have some more specifications as requested

[luftwaffe.be]

F-35 is the most horrible aircraft you can buy with your money. You have to be either stupid or corrupt to buy this (barely!) flying turd.

If I had to buy a military aircraft for my nation these days, I would order the Swedish Saab Gripen. Proven, high-tegh yet no mambo-jambo, and it does the job.

[Dukat]

Iraqi militia firing at IS-emplacements, Iraq.

[Born2Kill 007]

[DesertFox20591]

The 'Trust Jump' which must be performed by every class before graduating from First Military College in Iraq (the graduated student receives Second Lieutenant rank)The jump is performed from Al-saraafiya bridge into Tigris river in Baghdad

[Zoologic]

I mean, the Eurofighter even beats the F-22 in dogfights, and the F-35 is supposed the be the cheaper shittier version of the F-22

"Beat" in a red-flag exercise means, you are given dogfight space, with set of rules, and that successfully made a lock-on, press that pickle for consent amount of time, and DONE! You are credited with the kill. I am no American fanboy, even being slightly anti-American, but this needs to be clarified.
"Set of rules" mean that the Eurofighter have to be in this-this-that state, while the F-22 is not allowed to do this-that, setting up the scenario of ambush. Many of its capability is highly classified, and currently, its radar signature AN/APG-66 is also not available for recognition, even to allied countries. They mostly broadcast JTIDS data link signal and IFF to avoid blue-on-blue incidents. So I wouldn't claim that Eurofighter Typhoon > F-22A. This is similar to Eurofighter claim's of acheiving 1 to 5 victories over Su-35 (1 Typhoon for 5 Su-35 kills).

But speaking on F-35s, yes, they are overrated.

[Born2Kill 007]

Only limitation I knew about was that it had to be a short range engagement as it was so simulate an ambush, there might have been other limitations, but I didn't read about them (I read about the exercises on a few forums, but they aren't the most reliable source usually). Therefore, i said "dogfight" and not just  that the Eurofighter is a better air superiority fighter, as I have only seen the word dogfight being used for short range engagements. Anyway, i might be wrong in the worduse of dogfight, or in the details about that red flag exercise, always feel free to correct me where i'm wrong 

For today, a video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0pbbhDTmJ0
Not the highest quality, and usually I dislike french equipment, but the sound in this video is just too awesome.

[Turkish007]

Battle of Sakarya from Greek arcihves

[hOMEr_jAy]

Someone has been very lucky...