Since the Rafale has already been ordered would it make sense to not order the F-15 and wait for the KF-21.
The KF-21 should be better than both the F-15 and the Rafale.
It would be interesting to see what systems China will actually inculde. Probably export versions that we won't be able to learn much from.
Also if we do get into some kind of conflict with China then Chinese weapons won't be that useful. They would know all the capabilities and weaknesses of...
SSKs are fine for the mediterranean. Turkiye does not need SSNs unless it wants to project power outside the mediterranean and that will be very difficult without a naval base outside the med.
Having to send your fleet through the Suez or Gibraltar in a real war seems very risky.
Nuclear submarines are much more difficult to build and operate than conventional submarines. Even with the support of the US and UK with the AUKUS program Australia will still take decades to be able to build and operate their own submaries.
You would need to get the support of Russia or China...
Having an RCS similar to the F-16 is a bit disappointing. I thought that the Rafale was designed with some RCS reduction in mind.
I wonder how this compares to the F/A-18E, Eurofighter and F-15SE which are also 4th gen fighters that are suppsed to have some RCS reduction.
Never understood the hype about the Griphen-E/F. It uses lots of American parts including the engine so it is still vulnerable to American export controls.
The F-16 Block 70 is also still a bigger plane with higher range and payload. The Americans also have better avionics and radar tech than...
If you got 11 years to pay for it like Pakistan did with this deal then an all western fighter fleet wouldn't be unaffordable. Not sure if western countries would give such generous financing terms.
Though given how bankrupt Pakistan is maybe China doesn't expect to get its money back anyway...
What do space planes like the X-37B even do? They don't seem very useful for reuseable satellites launch. So far the US Air Force has used the X-37B for "secret missions". I assumed it was just research but the fact that both China and India are developing thier own means that there must be some...
Would ASW frigates even be able to detect those submarines? I've heard that US and British SSNs are so quiet that even their own navies struggle to find them during excercises.
I never understood how Rafale can get so good performance from a GaAs radar with so little cells. Most other western aircraft with AESA radars have many more cells. The RBE2 AA might be one of the smallest modern western radars.
Brahmos and some the the fast movers are also sea skimmers. Those missiles can travel at mach 3 while staying at only a few meters above sea level.
The advantage of Western missiles are in better electronics and now stealth. Not sea skimming which many Russian and Chinese missiles can do.
Subsonic sea skimming is only potentially harder to counter if it is stealthy as well like the LRASM. A normal subsonic sea skimming missile isn't going to be harder to intercept than a supersonic sea skimming missile like the Brahmos. Going three times faster means you have a third of the time...
The A-100 is surprisingly capable. It and the E-3 are significantly better than the rest. I guess size does matter a great deal compared to smaller AEW&C like the Erieye.
Under the US-Philippines mutual defence treaty the US is leagally obliged to defend the Philippines. However depending too much on the US to protect Philippines soverign territory is dangerous. I'm not sure the US would risk thousands of american lives to protect some filipino land. China...
Do we have any communication satellites that can be used for military use? What does Turkey use for its drones? More range would be good for naval patrol in the South China Sea.
Korea and Japan owe a lot to the USA. They benefited immensely from US aid after WW2. South Korea itself would not exist and then South Koreans would be living in poverty under the current North Korean regime if the US had not defended them in the Korean war.
The Bangladesh Myanmar border is not that long and seems like difficult terrain. Not very condusive to large scale conventional military invasions. Also Myanmar is an isolated and poor state that has been in civil war since gaining independence. Bangladesh should not have to worry about...
