TR1 wrote:RAM treatment's have been around for a while, hardly a revolutionary "5th gen" trait.
Two things . First the Super Sukhoi is officially still a 4th/4++ gen aircraft . Second and more importantly, it is not the RAM treatment per se but the type of RAM treatment that is revolutionary.The limited optical visibility, of the Super Sukhoi is largely attributed to the use of metamaterials and so-called “e-camouflage” in the more recent versions of the Super Sukhoi. The negative refraction index of metamaterials makes them an ideal means for camouflaging military targets, as they cannot be discovered by radio reconnaissance equipment within a
certain range of frequencies. This technology will be fine tuned in the PAK FA but it makes it's debut on the Super Sukhoi.
Vladimir79 wrote:Rafale will never be armed with Taurus. It is configured for SCALP-EG,
But the Taurus is being used by Germany and Spain . The Tornado and F 18 were not configured initially to carry the Taurus.
Also, as I said in my earlier post that it is a probability . As on this date the IAF has only issued an RFI for CALCMs.It remains to be seen if the Taurus will be made available with range limitations (300km) or not (600+km). Dassault stated during the MMRCA competition that the Rafale can be configured for the Taurus and the Storm Shadow.
Vladimir79 wrote:the French won't configure redundant weapons unless it is a deal breaker. Taurus is hardly that.
If the French do NOT learn now they never will . Inspite of loosing innumerable contracts.
Unlike its US-based counterparts, French aerospace OEMs have, since the 1990s, failed to grasp the enormous marketing advantages offered by way of industrial synergies when it comes to export-driven marketing strategies. For instance, for marketing the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet on a global scale, OEMs like Boeing Defense & Aerospace, GE Aero Engines, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman formed an integrated consortium as far back as 2001 and to all prospective export customers,
it is this unified military-industrial consortium that has given technical presentations and conducted in-country product demonstrations, and most importantly, has also successfully implemented multi-party and multi-disciplinary direct/indirect industrial offsets obligations. In stark contrast, the Rafale’s marketing campaign has been conducted to date solely by Dassault Aviation, with other French OEMs like THALES, Sagem Défense Sécurité and Snecma Moteurs being left alone to promote their sub-systems and components on board the Rafale through their own individual ways and means.