"John Cook" wrote in message
...
(From Western Daily Press)

The Chairman of UKIP Exeter chooses to attack the Eurofighter, or
Typhoon as it is called in RAF service, not because it is a bad,
expensive warplane but because it is a way of attacking European
co-operation (WMN, August 24).

There have been problems with the development of this aircraft, due to
the changing nature of combat and the shift from a single Cold War
enemy to multiple threats from hot-spots around the globe.

Remember that the next time you take to bashing at the F/A-22.


This is true also of many other major defence programmes. David
Challice fails to mention that the US-led Joint Strike Fighter is
overweight and is suffering cost and schedule overruns.

Uhmmm...JSF is at a much earlier point in its development history than
Typhoon is--maybe what, a fifteen or even twenty year difference in terms of
development time?

Nor does he
address fears that the US is squeezing the UK out of involvement in
key technologies on the project. Despite investing US2 billion in JSF
development, the UK is still the junior partner on JSF, not the equal
partner it is in European co-operation.

Maybe because (gasp!) the US is still providing the lion's share of the
development money? Not to mention accounting for purchasing eight or ten
times the number of aircraft to be produced? Why, how DARE we consider
ourselves the majority shareholder!


Mr Challice is too scathing about Typhoon. It is a very capable
aircraft and better than the American F16 he champions.

That remains to be proven (see below).

In a recent
competition run by Singapore to find a replacement for its F16
fighters, Typhoon was up against the American F15E and the French
Rafale.

Actually, the competition is designed to find a replacement for its A-4's
and F-5's, and not the F-16's as yet.

Typhoon won all three combat tests, including one in which a
single Typhoon defeated three RSAF F16s, and reliably completed all
planned flight tests. According to one observer, neither competitor
aircraft could claim the same (Defence Analysis August 2004).

That would be after one aircraft was left behind on Crete, right? After
breaking down on the first leg of the journey?



Seems to confirm the Typhoon as the best AtoA for sale in the world.

But unfortunately, Singapore wants a multi-role aircraft, and as yet the
Typhoon has not proven its abilities in the air-to-ground CAS, BAI, or
strategic strike roles.

Brooks


Cheers
John Cook

Any spelling mistakes/grammatic errors are there purely to annoy. All
opinions are mine, not TAFE's however much they beg me for them.

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