Aussies called the F-18 a piece of shit.

[gator]

Funny - it was good enough to save your real estate from being over-run by the Japanese 65 years ago.

I think we knew jack shit about the security needs of Australia. It was simple. Americans will kick the Jap's ass so the Japs don't kick the Aussie ass.

[Teetop]

I really like the Aussie people, but if they don't like the product, spend your own damn billions on research and build your own damn aircraft.

[Elspeth]

Funny - it was good enough to save your real estate from being over-run by the Japanese 65 years ago.

65 years ago, the island nations around Australia were not nearly as well armed.

Oddly enough, I'm with Sonnabend on this one. And for people who say that the Aussies should do their own R &dD, just remember that this is exactly what the MIC does NOT want: the US-MIC wants the R&D edge to stay here (and not with (even) allies) for security reasons and economic ones. The US is producing less and less. One of our major remaining exports is weapons systems (along with entertainment DVDs).:)

[gator]

65 years ago, the island nations around Australia were not nearly as well armed.

Oddly enough, I'm with Sonnabend on this one. And for people who say that the Aussies should do their own R &dD, just remember that this is exactly what the MIC does NOT want: the US-MIC wants the R&D edge to stay here (and not with (even) allies) for security reasons and economic ones. The US is producing less and less. One of our major remaining exports is weapons systems (along with entertainment DVDs).:)

There is a downside to selling really good weapons abroad. It may comeback and bite us in the ass some day. At one time we trusted Iran with our best weapon systems. Nowadays we are trusting Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Aussie government made a significant turn to the left in the last election. Who knows what the future will bring?

Wouldn't it be better if we weren't in the business of trying to play International politics now that the Cold War is over?

[megimoo]

There is a downside to selling really good weapons abroad. It may comeback and bite us in the ass some day. At one time we trusted Iran with our best weapon systems. Nowadays we are trusting Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Aussie government made a significant turn to the left in the last election. Who knows what the future will bring?

Wouldn't it be better if we weren't in the business of trying to play International politics now that the Cold War is over?

If we turn our backs on our allies, real or imaginary, we would lose world wide credability.The days of being neutral in world affairs are gone,they ,Islam,would bring our next war to America's doorstep !

Every country ,Read Israel, that tries to purchase Either the F-22 or the F-35 wants access to the internal micro/nano code of the flight/navigation/fire control computers .

The internals of computer code of both aircraft are considered to be 'state of the art' and secret.

We will provide a GUI to take care of the problem but they want the actual code,so tough craps on them !

If we give the code to Israel they will integrate it into their weapons systems that they sell abroad then its public knowledge !

In the case of Iran's F-14 sold to the Iran's Shah the Microcode was never revealed and their F-14's fly now with obsolete IFF code making them dead meat in an air battle.That's what caused the Iranian airBuss being shot down during the preamble to the first gulf war, old IFF code !

[LogansPapa]

65 years ago, the island nations around Australia were not nearly as well armed.

Oddly enough, I'm with Sonnabend on this one. And for people who say that the Aussies should do their own R &dD, just remember that this is exactly what the MIC does NOT want: the US-MIC wants the R&D edge to stay here (and not with (even) allies) for security reasons and economic ones. The US is producing less and less. One of our major remaining exports is weapons systems (along with entertainment DVDs).:)

Let’s be precise here. One of the United States’ major exports are weapon systems virtually given to places like The State of Israel and the like. The new JASDF stealth fighter jet that’s going to be made in Japan soon will knock us out of the box within the next decade anyway. Let the folks from ‘Down Under’ carry their own water and if they want to bitch about the American technology available - let them buy Russian.

[LogansPapa]

If we turn our backs on our allies, real or imaginary, we would lose world wide credability.

Christ, that quality left the barn back in March of 03'!

[megimoo]

There is a downside to selling really good weapons abroad. It may comeback and bite us in the ass some day. At one time we trusted Iran with our best weapon systems. Nowadays we are trusting Israel, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. The Aussie government made a significant turn to the left in the last election. Who knows what the future will bring?

Wouldn't it be better if we weren't in the business of trying to play International politics now that the Cold War is over?

Japan's Aerospace Industry
snip
Japan will never launch a totally indigenous commercial aircraft or engine program, but in the future Japanese aerospace companies will participate as equal rather than junior partners in international collaboration projects.

The Japanese don't like to 'stick their necks out 'and will always seek a consensus when ever possible and that especially includes the design of a high performance fighter aircraft !If their design were to prove in anyway inferior to Americas aircraft they would lose tremendous 'face' !

Other Japanese subcontractors include FHI, KHI, and IHI, and the principal U.S. subcontractors are Lockheed Martin, a large defense firm that produces the F-15, and General Electric.
snip
But there have been some limitations for IHI, KHI, and MHI. The Japanese have found out first hand how long it takes to recover the significant investments required to develop and produce a new engine. It took nearly 15 years before the V2500 project started to generate positive annual cash flow (Nihon Keizai Shimbun 1996), and it will take many more years before cumulative cash flow turns positive.

Two factors have somewhat limited Japanese learning on this project. First, the Japanese companies in IAE have responsibility for the sections of the engine that run at lower temperatures and lower pressures, which are relatively not as technologically difficult to develop and manufacture as those sections assigned to the other companies that make up IAE. Second, the assembly and testing of the engines are performed at Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce facilities with their own personnel.
..................................
Several key conclusion can be reached from this essay's analysis of the Japanese aerospace industry:
snip
Based on Japan's learning on the F-2 fighter program and their international collaborations, the country will soon possess the capability to develop and produce an indigenous aircraft, but it still lacks critical technologies to effectively produce a large aircraft engine without foreign assistance. Even though Japan may have the ability to produce an indigenous aircraft, it would be a strategic error to pursue this project alone due to its huge cost and commercial risk.

Japanese aerospace companies still have weaknesses in certain areas such as systems integration, assembly, design, and marketing, but they are actively seeking to gain experience and improve their skills in these areas by participating in key international collaboration projects.
................................................
Japanese companies will continue to join in international collaboration projects and will demand more significant participation in future projects—both larger percentage workshares and more critical and high technology sections of planes and engines. Japan will achieve this by exploiting the intense rivalry of the international prime contractors. Building on their Boeing collaboration projects, the Japanese will gradually increase their participation in Airbus projects.

Within twenty years, and maybe much sooner, the Japanese will join with a current prime aircraft or engine contractor in a 50/50 joint venture to develop and produce a new aircraft or engine. This joint venture might be similar to the successful CFM engine joint venture between General Electric and the French company Snecma.



http://wgordon.web.wesleyan.edu/papers/aerosp6.htm

[ConJinx]

the aussies are pragmatic, they are probably pissed because the Raptors were not on the available list in the free worlds ass kickn' catalog. They might see the Supeer-hornet as second class seeing as how we've sold them to the Brits and probably the Israeli's and Saudi's. Should be fun to watch "allies" shoot at each other, and us with the technology we created.

[megimoo]

the aussies are pragmatic, they are probably pissed because the Raptors were not on the available list in the free worlds ass kickn' catalog. They might see the Supeer-hornet as second class seeing as how we've sold them to the Brits and probably the Israeli's and Saudi's. Should be fun to watch "allies" shoot at each other, and us with the technology we created.

If the F-18 they have are about fifteen years old they probably not super hornets just plain hornets !

F/A-18 Hornet

The F/A-18 "Hornet" is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The F/A-18 fills a variety of roles: air superiority, fighter escort, suppression of enemy air defenses, reconnaissance, forward air control, close and deep air support, and day and night strike missions. The F/A-18 Hornet replaced the F-4 Phantom II fighter and A-7 Corsair II light attack jet, and also replaced the A-6 Intruder as these aircraft were retired during the 1990s.

F/A-18A/B Hornet

While the general configuration of the YF-17 was retained, the F-18 became a completely new airplane. To meet the single-place fighter and attack mission capability, full use was made of new technology in digital computers. Coupled with cathode ray tubes for cockpit displays and appropriate controls based on thorough pilot evaluations in simulators, a single airplane and subsystems configuration for both missions was evolved !

F/A-18C/D Hornet

Following a successful run of more than 400 A and B models, the US Navy began taking fleet deliveries of improved F/A-18C (single seat) and F/A-18D (dual seat) models in September 1987. These Hornets carry the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) and the infrared imaging Maverick air-to-ground missile. Two years later, the C/D models came with improved night attack capabilities. The new components included a navigation forward looking infrared (NAVFLIR) pod, a raster head-up display, night vision goggles, special cockpit lighting compatible with the night vision devices, a digital color moving map and an independent multipurpose color display.

F/A-18Cs have synthetic aperture ground mapping radar with a doppler beam sharpening mode to generate ground maps. This ground mapping capability that permits crews to locate and attack targets in adverse weather and poor visibility or to precisely update the aircraft's location relative to targets during the approach, a capability that improves bombing accuracy. New production F/A-18Cs received the APG-73 radar upgrade radars starting in 1994, providing more precise and clear radar displays.