Egyptian Armed Forces

[Nilgiri]

Is there really, or is it a common misconception? Who really knows whether operating 1 single system is ultimately better than operating a variety? I know conventional wisdom will suggest that the former is a no-brainer, but there are A LOT of arguments to support the latter, especially in Egypt's case as it depends a lot more on foreign purchases than domestic production and has a unique situation as far as past enemies and potentially new ones

It basically has both pros and cons like you said....nothing is "inherent" to one side per se...but it really depends on lot of your organisational structure and specific doctrine (on the roles you assign to the warplanes during peace and for conflict) too....and also your likeliest adversaries threat profile and projection on you.

Like what are the logistical savings and advantages (more thorough integration lets say) by having fewer types of aircraft compared to greater resolution of diversity and capabilities (and as you mention basically the acquisition process realpolitik constraint itself) of having more types of aircraft.

It all very much depends on the specific AF in the end....if the planners and organisation are good and have decent political bureaucracy on the same page, they can make any model work well....by harnessing the strengths and mitigating the weakenesses. This itself is an iterative process that you learn from too (and one hopes gets better at with time)....since you actually often have to deploy and operate assets in the real world to really learn from their nuances and foibles and specific optimisation in the larger framework.

Like why did I mention having a large body of squadrons mitigates the diverse-type issue (lets say logistics + integration is lower than ideal)? Simply because in a conflict, you can deploy them more freely without having to worry as much (in say worst case scenario for a particular "first phase" mission and everything is lost and nothing gained from it) as to what you have left for other missions you would then need to do (in that ladder of events) or what counters you expect the opponent to do that you need to have a response ready to etc.

When you have fewer squadrons (compared to what you forsee to have deterrence and whatever on top) AND they are extremely diverse with the (specific) problems that brings...then simply it restricts what you are willing to do...the overall frontier threshold basically. This will affect the war modelling you can construct...but it can still be done, you just have to be wise and prudent....and like you said you can also use the advantages of the specific diverse types to bear in which way you see best to make up for it.

 

[Zapper]

Is the BrahMos II basically a miniature HGV? Or is this just the optimal design for hypersonic flight, and will remain a sea-skimming cruising missile?

Brahmos-II is based on DRDO's HSTDV tested successfully last year.

While the Brahmos-II model exhibited in various defence expos does seem like a credible design, I expect more iterations once we optimize the Scramjet technology to obtain the designated speed and range which is the most crucial aspect in hypersonic missiles. Most HGV's of various countries use a similar design. The Chinese DF-17, Russian & American counterparts use a similar design

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

Interesting. Being that India has developed the ASTRA with a tremendous range -- and interestingly enough, Egypt is actually interested in that missile as well as the Brahmos -- and so it must have a solid grip of whatever data link it's using to operate that missile as well as all of the others. Even the missiles are from a huge variety of sources. You have Russian, French, Israeli and indigenous ones and probably some western systems as well since the Jaguars fire some type of British or US-made missiles? lol. A lot going on. I'm curious now what the SEPECAT Jaguars use for weapons in the IAF?

Astra's main advantage is the two way data link(IIRC, even the Rafale/Meteor is one way DL). The variety,missiles wise, is a combination of compulsion and deliberate planning.Mixed packages are very tough for the enemy to tackle.
Re Jaguars, they are the underdogs here but they are the best in terms of serviceability(Engines shared with the big Hawk fleet, also manufactured domestically) and cost a lot less in terms of operating(Su is the most expensive, MiG-21 is the most affordable, Cost Per Flight Hour wise) and the IAF has made it quite capable with the DARIN-3 primarily thanks to the EL/M 2052 and even self protection is above average thanks to the AIM-132.
IAF has also acquired old airframes from friends at RAFO/AdA to keep the costs very minimal.
Brilliant example here:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1257854070817079296

His interview to Hushkit is a nice read as well
https://hushkit.net/2020/01/02/flyi...-air-force-jaguar-iaf-jaguar-pilot-interview/

 

[MirageBlue]

This is my first post on the Egyptian Armed Forces thread. No doubt, one of the most capable and interesting armed forces in the Arab world. Pardon me, but I had a few questions to ask:

I cannot fathom why so many new fighter types are being added. Each adds it's own training, maintenance, spares, weapons and other logistics requirements. Why not standardize on 3-4 including the existing F-16s?

46 MiG-29M/M2 bought, then
24 Rafale bought, then
29 Su-35s apparently
And now Typhoons being considered?

Why not just focus on getting more Rafale fighters instead?

Is Egypt considering going for the F-16V upgrade for it's huge fleet of F-16s?

What's the point of the small fleet of 20 odd Mirage-2000s?

 

[Gomig-21]

Why not just focus on getting more Rafale fighters instead?

That was the first thing they wanted and tried. The order for the first 24 came with the option for 12 more and they were obviously very happy with them and opted for the additional 12, then things got complicated with the deal and between parties. They couldn't agree on the financing (which kinda puts the theory of Arab nations mainly Saudi & UAE bankrolling all these purchases to rest because if that was the case, they wouldn't have butted heads on the terms of financing, right? So they basically stalled the deal which must've led to bad blood between both parties because it also led to Egypt putting a stop to the additional Gowind Corvette deal and if I'm not mistaken, another French FREMM frigate.

So that's pretty much where the Rafales ended up and considering that Egypt bought the 2 mistrals (took that botched contract with Russia off of France's hand,) ordered a FREMM frigate and 4 Gowind corvettes along with 24 Rafales and while India was the first to agree on purchasing the Rafale, Egypt was actually the first export customer to make the deal happen and soon after that the doors opened wide for Dassault with the Qatar deal and brought India back into the fray as well. So it's too bad the French didn't make a bit more of an effort to make things happen to someone who just bought a crapload of major weapons systems from them. That forced Egypt to move along. Right now the deal for the additional 12 Rafales is in limbo although the SCALP missiles that were held up by the US have been cleared and we're waiting to see if the French succeed in pulling through the order for the Meteor missiles. If they don't, then chances are the EAF will try working out a deal with Italy for the Meteors along with the Typhoons and just make the EFT a sister pair of squadrons to work with the Rafales.

Is Egypt considering going for the F-16V upgrade for it's huge fleet of F-16s?

The US won't offer that to the EAF since it would have to upgrade the radars to AESAs and force the AIM-120 and AIM-9X to become part of the EAF's inventory and we all know where the US stands with that. Although according to the Russians, the US offered the F-15 and newer F-16s to Egypt in order not to purchase the Su-35 and I can't imagine the US offering a neutered version like the current F-16 or F-15 and the EAF must've asked to included the AESA radars & the BVR missiles otherwise the EAF would've laughed at that insult. Compared to the potent Su-35S? And they still couldn't make it happen. That's quite telling and I think it's because (according to local news out of Egypt) was that the EAF had asked for the F-35 instead of the F-16/15 and was then offered the other two and it declined them. So the EAF was going for the gusto. Besides, the Su-35s compliment the MiGs very well and open the door for the Su-57. The EAF played their cards well if there's any truth to the F-35 request and denial of the other two and then going for the Su-35 despite the sanction threats.

What's the point of the small fleet of 20 odd Mirage-2000s?

So here's the story about the 20 Mirage 2ks. Back in the late 70s/early 80s when Egypt was moving from Russia and joining the US camp, the Americans were pushing the F-5 Tigershark to the EAF. Meanwhile, Sadat was aware that the latest and greatest was in the F-16 which was going to Iran and because of Khomeini and the revolution and the Shah getting the boot, the huge batch of F-16s that were supposed to head to Iran were suddenly being transferred to Israel. So Sadat requested the F-16 as well. Mubarak, who was the head of the EAF during the war and at that time was appointed vice president by Sadat was aware of the F-16 and how revolutionary that aircraft was and put the idea in Sadat's head to not settle for anything but the F-16, but the US denied them and kept pushing the Tigershark. So Sadat told them to forget about it and that he would go to France and seek out this new Mirage 2000 that just came out and was also creating a buzz. US thought he was bluffing and the next thing you know, Sadat made the EAF the first customer of the Mirage 2K along with another batch of Mirage Vs. The US then realized that he wasn't bluffing and wanted to keep Egypt in the fray and so they settled and offered the F-16 through the Peace Vector program which ensured Egypt would keep getting them in good numbers to make them the legacy fighter for the EAF. Meanwhile, now there's these 20 Mirages lingering in a squadron and a half that has been allocated as a special mission aircraft and things like that. Attrition, accidents and overhauling has reduced the number now to about 13 or so, although even that is not clearly known. Hope this all answers your questions.

 

[The SC]

That was the first thing they wanted and tried. The order for the first 24 came with the option for 12 more and they were obviously very happy with them and opted for the additional 12, then things got complicated with the deal and between parties. They couldn't agree on the financing (which kinda puts the theory of Arab nations mainly Saudi & UAE bankrolling all these purchases to rest because if that was the case, they wouldn't have butted heads on the terms of financing, right? So they basically stalled the deal which must've led to bad blood between both parties because it also led to Egypt putting a stop to the additional Gowind Corvette deal and if I'm not mistaken, another French FREMM frigate.

So that's pretty much where the Rafales ended up and considering that Egypt bought the 2 mistrals (took that botched contract with Russia off of France's hand,) ordered a FREMM frigate and 4 Gowind corvettes along with 24 Rafales and while India was the first to agree on purchasing the Rafale, Egypt was actually the first export customer to make the deal happen and soon after that the doors opened wide for Dassault with the Qatar deal and brought India back into the fray as well. So it's too bad the French didn't make a bit more of an effort to make things happen to someone who just bought a crapload of major weapons systems from them. That forced Egypt to move along. Right now the deal for the additional 12 Rafales is in limbo although the SCALP missiles that were held up by the US have been cleared and we're waiting to see if the French succeed in pulling through the order for the Meteor missiles. If they don't, then chances are the EAF will try working out a deal with Italy for the Meteors along with the Typhoons and just make the EFT a sister pair of squadrons to work with the Rafales.



The US won't offer that to the EAF since it would have to upgrade the radars to AESAs and force the AIM-120 and AIM-9X to become part of the EAF's inventory and we all know where the US stands with that. Although according to the Russians, the US offered the F-15 and newer F-16s to Egypt in order not to purchase the Su-35 and I can't imagine the US offering a neutered version like the current F-16 or F-15 and the EAF must've asked to included the AESA radars & the BVR missiles otherwise the EAF would've laughed at that insult. Compared to the potent Su-35S? And they still couldn't make it happen. That's quite telling and I think it's because (according to local news out of Egypt) was that the EAF had asked for the F-35 instead of the F-16/15 and was then offered the other two and it declined them. So the EAF was going for the gusto. Besides, the Su-35s compliment the MiGs very well and open the door for the Su-57. The EAF played their cards well if there's any truth to the F-35 request and denial of the other two and then going for the Su-35 despite the sanction threats.



So here's the story about the 20 Mirage 2ks. Back in the late 70s/early 80s when Egypt was moving from Russia and joining the US camp, the Americans were pushing the F-5 Tigershark to the EAF. Meanwhile, Sadat was aware that the latest and greatest was in the F-16 which was going to Iran and because of Khomeini and the revolution and the Shah getting the boot, the huge batch of F-16s that were supposed to head to Iran were suddenly being transferred to Israel. So Sadat requested the F-16 as well. Mubarak, who was the head of the EAF during the war and at that time was appointed vice president by Sadat was aware of the F-16 and how revolutionary that aircraft was and put the idea in Sadat's head to not settle for anything but the F-16, but the US denied them and kept pushing the Tigershark. So Sadat told them to forget about it and that he would go to France and seek out this new Mirage 2000 that just came out and was also creating a buzz. US thought he was bluffing and the next thing you know, Sadat made the EAF the first customer of the Mirage 2K along with another batch of Mirage Vs. The US then realized that he wasn't bluffing and wanted to keep Egypt in the fray and so they settled and offered the F-16 through the Peace Vector program which ensured Egypt would keep getting them in good numbers to make them the legacy fighter for the EAF. Meanwhile, now there's these 20 Mirages lingering in a squadron and a half that has been allocated as a special mission aircraft and things like that. Attrition, accidents and overhauling has reduced the number now to about 13 or so, although even that is not clearly known. Hope this all answers your questions.

Most likely 18 mirage-2000..some say 15 but It is doubtful.. because the count of 18 nothing was lost..

 

[Amun]

That was the first thing they wanted and tried. The order for the first 24 came with the option for 12 more and they were obviously very happy with them and opted for the additional 12, then things got complicated with the deal and between parties. They couldn't agree on the financing (which kinda puts the theory of Arab nations mainly Saudi & UAE bankrolling all these purchases to rest because if that was the case, they wouldn't have butted heads on the terms of financing, right? So they basically stalled the deal which must've led to bad blood between both parties because it also led to Egypt putting a stop to the additional Gowind Corvette deal and if I'm not mistaken, another French FREMM frigate.

So that's pretty much where the Rafales ended up and considering that Egypt bought the 2 mistrals (took that botched contract with Russia off of France's hand,) ordered a FREMM frigate and 4 Gowind corvettes along with 24 Rafales and while India was the first to agree on purchasing the Rafale, Egypt was actually the first export customer to make the deal happen and soon after that the doors opened wide for Dassault with the Qatar deal and brought India back into the fray as well. So it's too bad the French didn't make a bit more of an effort to make things happen to someone who just bought a crapload of major weapons systems from them. That forced Egypt to move along. Right now the deal for the additional 12 Rafales is in limbo although the SCALP missiles that were held up by the US have been cleared and we're waiting to see if the French succeed in pulling through the order for the Meteor missiles. If they don't, then chances are the EAF will try working out a deal with Italy for the Meteors along with the Typhoons and just make the EFT a sister pair of squadrons to work with the Rafales.



The US won't offer that to the EAF since it would have to upgrade the radars to AESAs and force the AIM-120 and AIM-9X to become part of the EAF's inventory and we all know where the US stands with that. Although according to the Russians, the US offered the F-15 and newer F-16s to Egypt in order not to purchase the Su-35 and I can't imagine the US offering a neutered version like the current F-16 or F-15 and the EAF must've asked to included the AESA radars & the BVR missiles otherwise the EAF would've laughed at that insult. Compared to the potent Su-35S? And they still couldn't make it happen. That's quite telling and I think it's because (according to local news out of Egypt) was that the EAF had asked for the F-35 instead of the F-16/15 and was then offered the other two and it declined them. So the EAF was going for the gusto. Besides, the Su-35s compliment the MiGs very well and open the door for the Su-57. The EAF played their cards well if there's any truth to the F-35 request and denial of the other two and then going for the Su-35 despite the sanction threats.



So here's the story about the 20 Mirage 2ks. Back in the late 70s/early 80s when Egypt was moving from Russia and joining the US camp, the Americans were pushing the F-5 Tigershark to the EAF. Meanwhile, Sadat was aware that the latest and greatest was in the F-16 which was going to Iran and because of Khomeini and the revolution and the Shah getting the boot, the huge batch of F-16s that were supposed to head to Iran were suddenly being transferred to Israel. So Sadat requested the F-16 as well. Mubarak, who was the head of the EAF during the war and at that time was appointed vice president by Sadat was aware of the F-16 and how revolutionary that aircraft was and put the idea in Sadat's head to not settle for anything but the F-16, but the US denied them and kept pushing the Tigershark. So Sadat told them to forget about it and that he would go to France and seek out this new Mirage 2000 that just came out and was also creating a buzz. US thought he was bluffing and the next thing you know, Sadat made the EAF the first customer of the Mirage 2K along with another batch of Mirage Vs. The US then realized that he wasn't bluffing and wanted to keep Egypt in the fray and so they settled and offered the F-16 through the Peace Vector program which ensured Egypt would keep getting them in good numbers to make them the legacy fighter for the EAF. Meanwhile, now there's these 20 Mirages lingering in a squadron and a half that has been allocated as a special mission aircraft and things like that. Attrition, accidents and overhauling has reduced the number now to about 13 or so, although even that is not clearly known. Hope this all answers your questions.

bro , Egypt asked for F-35 and trump oks it ..... but the pentagon and Congress stopped it ... then Egypt went forward to SU-35 ..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-threatens-egypt-with-sanctions-over-russian-arms-deal-11573769929

 

[Gomig-21]

Most likely 18 mirage-2000..some say 15 but It is doubtful.. because the count of 18 nothing was lost..

Let's just say we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. That would be amazing if the count was actually even at 15 aircraft but that's not even the case.

BTW, have you heard Ethiopia's request from France a few months ago? Nuclear missiles LOLOL! This Ethiopian president or whomever it was is mentally deranged if he asked for 30 M51missiles with 6000km range with nukes lmfao. What might be even worst is if Macron and France decide to supply them with anything at all, knowing quite well the situation with Egypt. That would be a major stab in the back. In that case, the GERD campaign will have to be stepped up.

Ethiopia asked France to acquire Rafale, nuclear missiles: French Newspaper
This list included 12 fighter jets (including Rafale and Mirage 2000), 18 helicopters, two military transport planes manufactured by Airbus, 10 Dassault Drones, electronic jamming systems, and about thirty M51 missiles with a range of more than 6,000 kilometres capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

https://wwww.dailynewssegypt.com/20...ire-rafale-nuclear-missiles-french-newspaper/

bro , Egypt asked for F-35 and trump oks it ..... but the pentagon and Congress stopped it ... then Egypt went forward to SU-35 ..

https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-threatens-egypt-with-sanctions-over-russian-arms-deal-11573769929

That's pretty much what I said, no? I didn't say that "Trump approved it" only that Egypt asked for it and was refused because that orange baboon really has no say in the matter. Congress overrules and decides on all these matters so it doesn't really matter what that monkey says. Oh, and just FYI, the Washington Post and the NY Times are very pro-democratic party papers and you have to keep that in mind when reading their articles. They also love to bash Egypt and Sisi at any opportunity they get. As a matter of fact, I don't ever recall either of those two damned newspapers saying anything positive about Egypt. Khawalaat w'lad metnaka!

Anyway, some Mirage 2K pics that I don't think have been posted here before.

 

[The SC]

Let's just say we'll have to agree to disagree on that one. That would be amazing if the count was actually even at 15 aircraft but that's not even the case.

BTW, have you heard Ethiopia's request from France a few months ago? Nuclear missiles LOLOL! This Ethiopian president or whomever it was is mentally deranged if he asked for 30 M51missiles with 6000km range with nukes lmfao. What might be even worst is if Macron and France decide to supply them with anything at all, knowing quite well the situation with Egypt. That would be a major stab in the back. In that case, the GERD campaign will have to be stepped up.

Ethiopia asked France to acquire Rafale, nuclear missiles: French Newspaper
This list included 12 fighter jets (including Rafale and Mirage 2000), 18 helicopters, two military transport planes manufactured by Airbus, 10 Dassault Drones, electronic jamming systems, and about thirty M51 missiles with a range of more than 6,000 kilometres capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

https://wwww.dailynewssegypt.com/20...ire-rafale-nuclear-missiles-french-newspaper/



That's pretty much what I said, no? I didn't say that "Trump approved it" only that Egypt asked for it and was refused because that orange baboon really has no say in the matter. Congress overrules and decides on all these matters so it doesn't really matter what that monkey says. Oh, and just FYI, the Washington Post and the NY Times are very pro-democratic party papers and you have to keep that in mind when reading their articles. They also love to bash Egypt and Sisi at any opportunity they get. As a matter of fact, I don't ever recall either of those two damned newspapers saying anything positive about Egypt. Khawalaat w'lad metnaka!

Anyway, some Mirage 2K pics that I don't think have been posted here before.

View attachment 636520 View attachment 636521

Yes let's hope so..it is a reliable and potent machine..

"Egypt became the first export customer of the Mirage 2000 when it ordered 20 aircraft in December 1981. The $890 million order encompassed 16 single-seat Mirage 2000EMs and 4 two-seat Mirage 2000BMs, as well as options for 20 more aircraft. The aircraft were delivered between June 1986 and January 1988.
One was lost in a training accident. Egypt originally planned to buy another squadron of Mirage-2000 fighters but financial problems prevented this, instead Egypt signed a contract with France to upgrade the existing fighters which were fitted with new ECM systems."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_2000#Egypt
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dassault_Mirage_2000#Egypt



The Ethiopian guy is a real Moron if this is true!

 

[Gomig-21]

Yes let's hope so..it is a reliable and potent machine..

"Egypt became the first export customer of the Mirage 2000 when it ordered 20 aircraft in December 1981. The $890 million order encompassed 16 single-seat Mirage 2000EMs and 4 two-seat Mirage 2000BMs, as well as options for 20 more aircraft. The aircraft were delivered between June 1986 and January 1988.
One was lost in a training accident. Egypt originally planned to buy another squadron of Mirage-2000 fighters but financial problems prevented this, instead Egypt signed a contract with France to upgrade the existing fighters which were fitted with new ECM systems."

And there are still some of my compatriot brothers out there in Arab forum land who actually believe that 2nd order did happen and that the current number of Mirage 2K in the EAF is around 35 because they ended up with 40 from that 2nd order of 20! That's all wishful thinking at this point. I wish it were true. Having 3-plus squadrons of that amazing fighter which consequently was also one of the earlier FBW platforms right after the F-16 would be amazing right now. Who doesn't love that machine. The delta platform is absolutely amazing that it can perform such tight maneuverability with just ailerons. At least the Rafale has extensive usage of its canards, but these -- along with the entire line of Mirages -- relied strictly on their ailerons for pitch and yaw and performed extremely well. It's truly incredible. I always hoped they would strike a deal with the UAE for their 2000s when the rumors about that were floating around. Or even with France on some of theirs before putting them into retirement. Alas, neither ever happened.

Astra's main advantage is the two way data link(IIRC, even the Rafale/Meteor is one way DL). The variety,missiles wise, is a combination of compulsion and deliberate planning.Mixed packages are very tough for the enemy to tackle.
Re Jaguars, they are the underdogs here but they are the best in terms of serviceability(Engines shared with the big Hawk fleet, also manufactured domestically) and cost a lot less in terms of operating(Su is the most expensive, MiG-21 is the most affordable, Cost Per Flight Hour wise) and the IAF has made it quite capable with the DARIN-3 primarily thanks to the EL/M 2052 and even self protection is above average thanks to the AIM-132.
IAF has also acquired old airframes from friends at RAFO/AdA to keep the costs very minimal.
Brilliant example here:

That's really great. But what weapons (mainly missiles) do the IAF Jaguars use? I'm curious to see what source of weapons are deployed on the only western aircraft in the inventory prior to acquiring the Rafale and if it used French MICA missiles because of the IAF's Mirage 2Ks?

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

That's really great. But what weapons (mainly missiles) do the IAF Jaguars use? I'm curious to see what source of weapons are deployed on the only western aircraft in the inventory prior to acquiring the Rafale and if it used French MICA missiles because of the IAF's Mirage 2Ks?

Unfortunately, MICA is a very recent acquisition(Came in with the "I" Upgrade program)
Like the Mirage 2000 pre upgrade, she carried the Close Combat Matra Magic 2 for self defence.

Now it has (for all intents and purposes) a BVR missile with the ASRAAM

Prior to the Mirages getting upgraded(beginning this decade), the most lethal western origin fighter in the country(A2A) was the Sea Harrier

Magic 2 CCM and Derby BVR

 

[The SC]

And there are still some of my compatriot brothers out there in Arab forum land who actually believe that 2nd order did happen and that the current number of Mirage 2K in the EAF is around 35 because they ended up with 40 from that 2nd order of 20! That's all wishful thinking at this point. I wish it were true. Having 3-plus squadrons of that amazing fighter which consequently was also one of the earlier FBW platforms right after the F-16 would be amazing right now. Who doesn't love that machine. The delta platform is absolutely amazing that it can perform such tight maneuverability with just ailerons. At least the Rafale has extensive usage of its canards, but these -- along with the entire line of Mirages -- relied strictly on their ailerons for pitch and yaw and performed extremely well. It's truly incredible. I always hoped they would strike a deal with the UAE for their 2000s when the rumors about that were floating around. Or even with France on some of theirs before putting them into retirement. Alas, neither ever happened.

Indeed it was a wonderful machine..and still is in some specific roles..
Some of the UAE's Mirage 2000-9 will be a great addition..Since these machines have been upgraded to almost the Rafale level!!!..It is still possible in the near future..As soon as the UAE gets its F-35s ...

 

[Gomig-21]

Unfortunately, MICA is a very recent acquisition(Came in with the "I" Upgrade program)
Like the Mirage 2000 pre upgrade, she carried the Close Combat Matra Magic 2 for self defence.

That's what I thought. I was just wondering if there were any American missiles that found their way to the Indian Jaguars since the Brits use a lot of US armament, but most of the stuff was joint partnership with MBDA so it makes sense that it would deploy the Matra Magics in the 2. And I always thought it was so cool the way the Jaguar mounted pylons and fired missiles off the top of the wing lol. No one else did that as far as I know and I wonder why? Seems like the best place to do it.

Now it has (for all intents and purposes) a BVR missile with the ASRAAM

So they considered the ASRAAM (defined as a short range missile) as a BVR missile? I suppose 32 kilometres might be right at the point where you can't see things with the naked eye...

Prior to the Mirages getting upgraded(beginning this decade), the most lethal western origin fighter in the country(A2A) was the Sea Harrier

I forgot about the Harrier. Not much out there for an eventual replacement to that aircraft except for 1 model only. I think it's only a matter of time before the IAF gets the F-35B to replace these Sea Harriers that have a bit of age on them, yet are still going very hard, it seems. Good stuff.

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

That's what I thought. I was just wondering if there were any American missiles that found their way to the Indian Jaguars since the Brits use a lot of US armament, but most of the stuff was joint partnership with MBDA so it makes sense that it would deploy the Matra Magics in the 2. And I always thought it was so cool the way the Jaguar mounted pylons and fired missiles off the top of the wing lol. No one else did that as far as I know and I wonder why? Seems like the best place to do it.

Actually a weird solution derived from the EE Lightning's Drop Tanks on top the wings(Far more mental). Even loading and unloading is tricky thanks to the placement

So they considered the ASRAAM (defined as a short range missile) as a BVR missile? I suppose 32 kilometres might be right at the point where you can't see things with the naked eye...

I say that as the first IAF BVR equipped fighter was the MiG-23 with the R-23 which has comparable ranges to this(30 something KM)

I forgot about the Harrier. Not much out there for an eventual replacement to that aircraft except for 1 model only. I think it's only a matter of time before the IAF gets the F-35B to replace these Sea Harriers that have a bit of age on them, yet are still going very hard, it seems. Good stuff.

IAF hasn't operated Sea Harriers(Naval Air Arm property) and they went out of service a few years ago with the MiG-29K/KuB induction finishing.

F-35B will probably not come thanks to STOBAR Carriers so the only option is more K's.

 

[Gomig-21]

Actually a weird solution derived from the EE Lightning's Drop Tanks on top the wings(Far more mental). Even loading and unloading is tricky thanks to the placement

Yeah you can't just get 4 or 5 grunts to hand lug an AIM-9 or a Matra Magic onto a pylon under the wing like many AFs do lol. You have no option but to use that specially designed wheeled crane. It's still effective, though.

IAF hasn't operated Sea Harriers(Naval Air Arm property) and they went out of service a few years ago with the MiG-29K/KuB induction finishing.

I thought they operated off the Vikrant which doesn't have a ski ramp? Wouldn't they need another pure VTOL AC to replace it? Or are they modifying the Vikrant and adding a ski ramp to it?