Thailand Moving to Upgrade its F-16 Fleet

RTAF F-16A

As Thailand invests in its future air force, which includes 4+ generation JAS-39 C/D Gripen fighters and S340 AEW air control planes, it still needs to pay attention to its 18-plane supporting fleet of 1980s-era F-16A/B Block 15s. A September 2010 request would bring those aircraft near F-16C/D Block 50 standards via a mid-life upgrade, giving the RTAF a secondary fighter force with full day/night and adverse weather capabilities.

Stealthy JASSM Cruise Missiles for Finland’s Hornets

Finnish F/A-18D

In 2007, Finland wanted Lockheed Martin’s stealthy AGM-158 JASSM cruise missiles, in order to arm its F/A-18C/D Hornet fighters. Despite a history of good relations, in 2007, the US State Department said no.

Fast forward to 2008. The Russian invasion of Georgia, and Germany’s response, upset more than a few calculations in the region. As NATO weakens, the Nordic nations appear to be moving toward an informal defense compact of their own. Finland, whose memories of Russian invasion are still vivid, repeated its request for stealthy cruise missiles – with 2 alternative buys waiting in the wings. In 2011, Finland finally got what it wanted: approval to buy Lockheed Martin’s JASSM. Now the missiles have to be bought, and integrated with Finland’s Hornet fleet.

Rapid Fire, June 10/13: New Space & Old Estimating Games

• POGO’s Winslow Wheeler has just finished dissecting the F-35 program’s official costs, in a series for TIME’s Battleleand. Agree or disagree, it’s a substantive criticism. Summary? “PAUCs based on unachievable production numbers, APUCs derived from learning curves that never happen, URFs that assume that purchasers want to buy airplanes they cannot operate, prices translated into obsolete dollars, convenient declarations of savings to be realized 25 years from now, predictions proclaimed to be as reliable as a coin flip.”