notorious_eagle
PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
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It would be appreciated if you could elaborate on bold parts......I guess USAF aren't smart enough as they have shown a lots of interest in MBDA Meteor......and perhaps would possibly induct them aswell.
They did show some interest but no contract was signed, they eventually went with the AIM120D which available right now as compared to Meteor which will be available in 2015. Knowing how capable Raytheon is, i am willing to bet by that time they will have a superior BVRAAM already operational. But if you want me to expand more on the American weapons system, sure i can.
BVR: AIM120D, simply the best BVRAAM in the world. The sheer testing this missile has been put through should tell you volumes of its capabilities, only BVRAAM in the world to be tested against live aircrafts.
WVR: AIM9X
SEAD: AGM88 HARM
A2G: Mavericks, JDAMS, GBU 10 and 12
ASM: Harpoon II
These are some of the mainstay weapons i have named from the top of my head, you are more than welcome to Google more.
As you can see, no country in the world comes close to the US when it comes to weapons systems. Fact is, Europeans can simply not compete against the US as they simply don't share the same threat perception as the US, this is why they are reducing their defence budgets and the effect is trickling down on their militaries. Another very important factor, the economies of scale. The sheer numbers of weapons systems that the US companies produce makes them much cheaper e.g AIM120D costs $700k as compared to MBDA Meteor which costs a million pounds.