My take on why the Japanese chose the F-35...and why the Eurofighter keeps losing...
1. Relationships count. The European community has been a practical no show in the Pacific. Until they make themselves more visible and become more active, they won't crack this market.
2. Costs count. Many are making an issue of the price tag of the F-35, but the latest costs came out for a little over 110 million for the airplane. You can play all the accounting tricks that you want but this plane is still in development and its coming in at the same price points as legacy aircraft with bells and whistles.
3. Twin engines are no longer supreme in over sea combat. I always thought twin engine reliability has always been over stated. The Japanese have operated their version of the F-16 in the sea strike role for a while and the F-35 will too. The thought that twin engines are a must have make as much sense as four engines being necessary for large airplanes operating over water.
4. China is a threat. This is probably the biggest factor. No matter how much some want to think of China as being a non-issue in the Pacific, that's just not the case. We're on the cusp of a major arms race in the Pacific and the reason is China.
What should scare critics is that the F-35 is on the verge of "Western World" domination. It will have 10 firm partner nations and two observer nations. This has happened before and it did not spell the end of fighter development in other companies. The European's need to quickly and efficiently start development on a 5th or 6th generation fighter in order to remain viable...the thought that they will be able to catch up via UAVs is wishful thinking. Due to government policy in the EU, US equipment will always get a battle test first and is usually looked at as being the best in the world.
Long story short. No one should be surprised.
5. Capability counts. While the Eurofighter can point to one or two metrics and say that it is better than the F-35, when you look at the system as a whole (and especially the look-first aspects), there simply is no current rival for the F-35 in the export market.
ReplyDelete6. Post production support. The F-35 program will be the most funded Post-SDD program in history. With the combination of Open systems and UAI, the F-35 will be able to mount the latest munitions faster and to better effect than any fighter in history.
I agree Spud, i mean we try to say this airplane can do this and that the best, well look at the F15, is not the fastest, the best turn rates or whatever, but it has the perfect mix of everything to make it one of the best fighter jets in history (now of course its aging out of service and the 35 will be a welcome replacement, seems like it will be more of a replacement than the 22), but no plane can max out every category, its about making the right mix so you have the best aircraft in general.
ReplyDeleteI'd add to that that it also is a relatively easy way for Japan (and I expect SK as well) to get into the carrier business as well. When China starts getting more aggressive at sea Japan and South Korea are going to want to counter that. A relatively easy way to do that is the F-35B, and by going with the F-35A early it gets them all kinds of expeience with the aircraft.
ReplyDeletealso, in a more general context, i think the B is important to the fact that major airfields will be on the high list of targets a power like china will use, so having the B version will not only allow air ops from amphibs but in lesser runways if major airfields were damaged or destroyed by a quick first strike (i.e. Pearl Harbor).
ReplyDeleteNot hard to understand why the F-35 is so popular. It's cheaper than current Euro jets and will be far more capable than the current Euro and US legacy models can ever hope to be.
ReplyDeleteBtw, very interesting how quickly the critics have dismissed this 42x aircraft purchase as "irrelevant" whilst praising the Gripen for attracting a 22x aircraft order...
Double standards much? Nah, not in the ABJ crowd...