"Jim , FS might exagerate a bit but I don 't give much chance to a F-35 against a Rafale/Typhoon in a2a combat ."

"Well , let 's talk about it , shall we ?
I say that F-35 will do a nice hole in the ground and a lot of smoke from an IR MICA hit .
What say you ?"

 

LOL

 

Really, that "Rafale has an IRST" argument isn't going to work against the F-35, an aircraft with a far superior IRST system and far superior sensors in general.

 

The Rafale is a generation behind the F-35. It has a far larger RCS, a far inferior radar, a far inferior IRST... really it has nothing to recomend it against the F-35.

 

As usual you can choose to believe what you want. You can believe Godzilla will come to France's rescue if you want. I really don't care.

 

Take a look sometime at the nations that are lined up to buy the F-35 though. I think you will find that the F-35 is not having any trouble finding buyers while the Rafale has yet to find a single export customer. That is funny don't you think? Especially considering there isn't a single F-35 customer that France wouldn't happily sell the Rafale to.

 

 

 

Jim , FS might exagerate a bit but I don 't give much chance to a F-35 against a Rafale/Typhoon in a2a combat .

But it is irrelevant as those Aircrafts will hopefully never fight each other ...



Cheers .

While it is irrelevant if by that you mean a USAF F-35 v. a FAF Rafale, since that will not happen, it's not completely irrelevant if France ever manages to export some Rafale to someone.  However, it still is mostly irrelevant if you mean a 1 v. 1.  I won't waste my time anymore on silly exercises like that.

 

But... if you want to say it's an aerial "meeting engagement" between two competent air forces with well trained pilots in eight Rafale with an AWACS supporting them, against eight F-35 with an AWACS supporting them, then I'd gladly bet the farm on the F-35s.  Everything the Rafales have going for them, the F-35s have as well and usually even better, and on top of that the F-35s will enter the fight knowing where the Rafales are, while the Rafales will have to search around until they find the F-35s (if ever).

Yeah, US has designed a Rafale.

Same caracteristics, just 15 years later.

F-35, today's technology tomorrow and more expensive!

 

Rafale program will, at the end, be far cheaper.

But anglo-saxon (US/UK and the rest of the league) nationalism won't allow to buy a French plane.

Oh no, never!

Well, I knew you would bring this on.

HH-65 for CG. But USCG does not have special the favor of the Pentagon.

Now, the only complain from HH-65 pilots are underpowered engines.

At the same times, those are the only to fly Garrets engines!

 

Now, I didn't say Rafale has technologies that F-35 doesn't have.

But I fail to see what F-35n has over the Rafale IMHO, for more expensive!

I want to understand, as much of the NEW techs use are issued from F-2 and consequently F-22 programs!

So it should be very very cheap.

 

Aust now has no choice but buy the F-35 now. To replace the Aardvarks? I don't see it either.

But I am French and stupid (to paraphrase the DA), so I would be happy to hear your points (not DA's, lots like him on PakDef forum).

" Yeah, US has designed a Rafale.

Same caracteristics, just 15 years later.

F-35, today's technology tomorrow and more expensive!"

 

I hope for your sake you don't honestly believe what you just wrote.

 

You think the F-35 and the Rafale have the "same characturistics?" 

You think the F-35 is going to arrive 15 years after the Rafale?

 

Don't waste our time if you don't have anything worthwhile to say.

 

"Rafale program will, at the end, be far cheaper.

But anglo-saxon (US/UK and the rest of the league) nationalism won't allow to buy a French plane.

Oh no, never!"

 

Yeah, that must be why the following countries are currently planning to buy the F-35...

 

The US, the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, Singapore and Israel.

 

While the following countries are currently planning on buying the Rafale...

 

France, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, S Korea, . 

 

Clearly that is nothing but "anglo-saxon nationalism"....