“All that stuff about the Eurofighter may be true (I wouldn’t know, I’m not an aircraft engineer), but I would have thought it was all a moot point, because superior stealth is the most over-riding factor. The F22 will be able to sneak up on just about anything, whereas the Euro fighter will not.”
That’s what they said about the B2 stealth bomber. Then a BAe Rapier system on display at Farnborough air show in 1996 tracked it all the way in and back out again even though it was said to be impossible. Excuses were then made about it being becuase it was raining and the water made the B2 shiny! Google it, there’s plenty about it, just don’t swallow the aircraft manufacturer’s propaganda whole, you’ll choke!
Of course that was with a plain old radar, even now Russia is developing PAK-FA radar specifically to detect F22’s and the like.
“In the US, there is more competition, and thus defence contractors are forced to be more competent than BAe Systems, which I believe is complacent in its belief that they will almost certainly get the major defence contracts regardless of quality, because there are no other British defence contractors with the capability to produce rival products anymore, seeing as BAe Systems systematically gobbled them up over the years.”
If BAe are so incompetent why do the US use them so much? Why are they a 20% partner in the F35? Why do the US buy their Bradley IFV’s, artillery systems, naval guns, missile launchers and precision guided munitions from them? Failures in military procurement have little to do with BAe and everything to do with incompetent governments.
BAe systems are undoubtedly capable of producing good stuff... When they have to. They have many talented engineers and boffins capable of doing great things. The trouble is, what they can get away with in Britain is less likely to fly in the US, so there is a certain element of them having to ‘raise their game’ when they are producing for the US DOD rather than the MOD...
BAe systems are undoubtedly capable of producing good stuff... When they have to. They have many talented engineers and boffins capable of doing great things. The trouble is, what they can get away with in Britain is less likely to fly in the US, so there is a certain element of them having to ‘raise their game’ when they are producing for the US DOD rather than the MOD...