Why fighter pilots wear a Typhoon Grin.
MattyC MattyC:
Looks like the US needs to put a leash on Israel. That is unless the US is in on it and the technology being sold is faulty...
That wouldn't surprise me, because the US is almost fanatical about second party technology transfers like this.
I know in the past, Canada has had trouble selling some of our older equipment (I think it might have been the CF-104s but I could be wrong) to NATO countries like Turkey because the US doesn't allow the same level of tech to Turkey that they allow us. There have been rumours that sales of the LAV III to some foreign countries were turned down by US export controls too.
As for the Lavi, it was high tech in 1987. Nowadays, it's a second line plane. The Su-27s that China is building under license are likely better. Even if they are not, it be a long time before China has enough to replace it fleets of Mig-17s, Mig-19s, and Mig-21s. The Chinese air force is a joke and everyone knows it. Not only do they fly obsolete planes, they fly less than half the hours pilots from the West do.
Even with recent purchases, the Japanese air force itself has more first line planes than the Chinese do, and the South Koreans and even Taiwanese are damn close in numbers to the PLA Air force.
The Israelis also tried to sell the Chinese some of there Searchwater Radars (in the late 90s) to build a Chinese AWACs capability, but that fell through after intense US pressure.
-MC- @ Mon Apr 03, 2006 5:22 pm
It would be interesting to see how each country stacks up on the list. Right now the UK is pissed as hell because they are getting a dumbed down version of the F-35. Well them and everyone else too. Of course next to the U.S., the second largest contributor to the JSF program has been the UK.
Turns out the best way to down a F22 is with absent minded ground crew.
$1:
Landing-gear pin causes F-22A damage
03/22/2006 -- LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) - A maintainer's
failure to control the nose landing gear pin streamer during removal
from an F-22A allowed the pin to be ingested into the right engine Oct.
20, 2005 prior to a mission at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, according to
an aircraft accident investigation report released today.
There were no injuries in the incident and damage to the right engine
totaled approximately $6.7 million.
The aircraft is assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing,
Langley AFB.
At the time of the incident, the pilot had started engines before a
night surface attack tactics mission. The crew chief then realized the
nose landing gear pin was still in and instructed the pilot to shut down
the left engine so he could remove the pin. During removal, the crew
chief failed to control the pin's streamer allowing it to be caught in
the suction intake of the operating right engine and torn from his hand.
Investigators concluded failure to remove the pin prior to engine start
was a direct result of inadequate and incorrect technical order guidance
that led to the pin remaining installed during engine start.
-MC- @ Tue Apr 04, 2006 10:55 am
Yeah I heard about that.
Britain is having more of these Eurofighters than any other nation.
The RAF will have 232, the Luftwaffe will have 180, Italy will have 121, Spain will have 87 and France will have 0.
Give it 5 years or so, and the RAF will overtake France's airforce as the most powerful in Western Europe.
$1:
Any good details on the British tanks in iraq? I was reading that the 120mm rifled guns had some awful accuracy problems.
Imagine how unaccurate they would have been with Americans controlling them?
And, being an island, Britain's strengths have always been in the Navy and the Army is seen as less important to the British as the Army is.
We're as sea power, not a land power.
-MC- @ Sat Apr 29, 2006 10:49 am
ridenrain ridenrain:
Turns out the best way to down a F22 is with absent minded ground crew.
$1:
Landing-gear pin causes F-22A damage
03/22/2006 -- LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (ACCNS) - A maintainer's
failure to control the nose landing gear pin streamer during removal
from an F-22A allowed the pin to be ingested into the right engine Oct.
20, 2005 prior to a mission at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, according to
an aircraft accident investigation report released today.
There were no injuries in the incident and damage to the right engine
totaled approximately $6.7 million.
The aircraft is assigned to the 27th Fighter Squadron, 1st Fighter Wing,
Langley AFB.
At the time of the incident, the pilot had started engines before a
night surface attack tactics mission. The crew chief then realized the
nose landing gear pin was still in and instructed the pilot to shut down
the left engine so he could remove the pin. During removal, the crew
chief failed to control the pin's streamer allowing it to be caught in
the suction intake of the operating right engine and torn from his hand.
Investigators concluded failure to remove the pin prior to engine start
was a direct result of inadequate and incorrect technical order guidance
that led to the pin remaining installed during engine start.
Did you see this one?
Pilot trapped in cockpit for 5hr