Jump to content

Saudi Arabia to buy new build F-15's


Recommended Posts

I think all of the fighter dies, molds, etc are long gone. My guess is that they will be either a new batch of F-15S like they have, or possibly an "upgrade" to F-15K/SG standards. One thing is for sure, with the F-15S's just switching over, they will be GE powered.

Aaron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Wouldn't imagine they would be buying the F-15C/D, as the Saudi's are currently taking delivery of Eurofighter Typhoons which are far superior. As said more than likely to F-15S's or maybe Silent Eagle's

Link to post
Share on other sites
Wouldn't imagine they would be buying the F-15C/D, as the Saudi's are currently taking delivery of Eurofighter Typhoons which are far superior. As said more than likely to F-15S's or maybe Silent Eagle's

Not too sure about that one. I'd take a late model F-15C "Golden Eagle" with the AESA radar over a Typhoon anytime. Dogfighting capability is really cool but doesn't do you any good if you get an AMRAAM in the face from long range before you can lock on to your opponent. The C model is definitely getting up there but the current versions in USAF service have had some pretty impressive upgrades in the last few years.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Wouldn't imagine they would be buying the F-15C/D, as the Saudi's are currently taking delivery of Eurofighter Typhoons which are far superior. As said more than likely to F-15S's or maybe Silent Eagle's

The BAE won the Saudi Eurofighter contract as the result of a birbery scandal. Otherwise, it lost every international competition to the F-15 Eagle. Price wise, the Eurofighter is situated between the F-15 Eagle and the F/A-18 Super Hornet. The Eurofighter already lost out in the first round of the Brazilian contest and is not the favorite in the Indian MMRCA competition. The Eurofighter is having a hard time keeping up with the SH. So, what makes it a "far superior" fighter?

Saudi is an operator of both the Euro and the Eagle. One of the difference is that the Eagle already has an AESA radar that is operational and the Eurofighter's AESA is still in development and 2 years away. This may be one of the reason tipping the scale to the Eagle's favor.

If you read the statement by the spokesman for the Israeli Embassy in Washington carefully, you know that the deal cannot be for the Silent Eagle.

Link to post
Share on other sites

It will be for more `S` models, there was a preamble to this a couple of weeks ago.

Kei Lau- You may want to read the article you linked more closely as it relates to bribery in the 1980s, NOT the Typhoon buy.

Ian

Link to post
Share on other sites
Kei Lau- You may want to read the article you linked more closely as it relates to bribery in the 1980s, NOT the Typhoon buy.

Ian

The original bribery was related to the Tornado fighter deal in the 80's. The scandal broke in the mid 2000, but the UK government killed a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation under pressure from Saudi to continue the Eurofighter deal. The following is from the link in my earlier post.

The dismissal of the case was done on the grounds of national security. It spurred immediate allegations, however, that the Government had buckled to pressure from the Saudis, who were in the midst of negotiating a new contract for 72 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. The deal is worth at least £20bn. The Saudis had also threatened to stop co-operating on terrorism intelligence with the British Government. In the wake of the decision, the OECD launched its own investigation into the claims.

Ian - I don't know what Saudi government promised UK to terminate the investigatin. I feel it hard to argue that they are unrelated to the Eurofighter deal.

The Eurofighter was designed to be an Agile fighter and fulfilled the objective very well. But today's fighter buyer countries are more interested in AESA radar and network centric that result in better BVR capability for future air warfare. They also want more stealth if they can afford it.

Edited by Kei Lau
Link to post
Share on other sites
Not too sure about that one. I'd take a late model F-15C "Golden Eagle" with the AESA radar over a Typhoon anytime. Dogfighting capability is really cool but doesn't do you any good if you get an AMRAAM in the face from long range before you can lock on to your opponent. The C model is definitely getting up there but the current versions in USAF service have had some pretty impressive upgrades in the last few years.

Er, but Typhoon has AMRAAM itself? And will shortly have Meteor, which is probably the best non-Russian BVR missile there currently is.

Link to post
Share on other sites
Er, but Typhoon has AMRAAM itself? And will shortly have Meteor, which is probably the best non-Russian BVR missile there currently is.

Correct but last time I checked, the effectiveness of the AMRAAM (or any BVR missile for that matter) is still directly related to the radar that is providing the initial detection, tracking and guidance. The AESA radar in the upgraded F-15C's appears to be far superior to anything currently flying in the Typhoon or even planned in the next few years. As far as the Meteor goes, you can have the best BVR missile in the world but if you don't have the radar and other kit to employ it to it's fullest, it doesn't count for as much.

Ever wonder why Oman decided to opt out of that Typhoon purchase that the Brits previously announced in lieu of upgraded F-16's with AESA radars? It certainly wasn't because they are tight with money and trying to save a few $. Apparently in their view, an older design like the Falcon, with some modernized avionics must have an pretty significant advantage over the Typhoon.

Link to post
Share on other sites

The more I think about it, the more I think they will be K/SG standards. Why would Saudi invest in "last year's model" (the F-15S) when "this year's model" (the F-15K/SG) is so much better? However, I think they will be K/SG rather than SE because of a certain middle-East country who will throw a tizzy fit if the Saudis get thier hands on anything consider LO/Stealth, even though they are in the running for the F-35. Just my thought.

Aaron

Link to post
Share on other sites

Israel reportedly OKs U.S.-Saudi arms deal

lol

US to sell Saudis F-15 fighter jets

The US will sell Saudi Arabia F-15 fighter jets without long-range weapons and other advanced equipment as a result of Israeli pressure, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

Saudis Likely to Get F-15SG

Edited by Oroka
Link to post
Share on other sites
That is what I was pointing out.

So we agree then.

Ian

It was never any question on what scandal this is. Many people believe that the Saudi buy of the Typhoon is part of a deal that UK cancelled a mid 2000 investigation of the 1980 era Tornado scandal. It is the later point that you missed.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...