CV32

From Defense Aerospace 30 Day Countdown Begins For Launch of First Astute Submarine (Source: Royal Navy; issued May 8, 2007) Four years late, and $1.8 billion over budget, the Royal Navy’s Astute-lass nuclear attack submarine will finally go afloat on June 8. The Royal Navy’s largest and most powerful attack submarine, the first-of-class Astute, is now entering the final stages of preparation for the launch which will take place at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness on 8th June, 2007. With just one month to go before the submarine emerges from the 25,000m² Devonshire Dock Hall build facility, much of the hull is still shrouded in coverings to allow work to continue on applying more than 39,000 acoustic tiles that will mask the vessel’s sonar signature but and help to make Astute the most stealthy submarine ever operated by the Royal Navy. Commodore Steve Lloyd, Director of the Defence Equipment and Support Submarine Production Team said; “Work is on schedule to deliver the first of the Astute class to the Royal Navy in August 2008 with an in-service date of January 2009.” Design and construction of the Astute Class is the most challenging engineering project in the UK and has been described as “more complex than the space shuttle”, involving over 1 million components and the production of over 7,000 design drawings. The Astute class is the largest, most capable and widely deployable attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy. It has improved communications systems to support joint operations and an enhanced ability to operate in shallower littoral environments compared with previous classes. As well as supporting the deterrent, Astute is designed to undertake a range of other tasks including support of land forces, land attack using Tomahawk cruise missiles, and intelligence gathering. Once deployed, Astute is designed not to require refuelling throughout her full service life - in excess of 25 years - and can patrol for 90 days, remaining undetected thousands of miles from home and hundreds of metres underwater. BAE Systems Submarine Solutions is the prime contractor for the Astute Class of nuclear-powered submarine, responsible for the design, build and initial in-service support of the three 7,800 tonne vessels - Astute, Ambush and Artful - currently under construction at the shipyard. (EDITOR’S NOTE: According to the Daily Telegraph, May 9 edition, the Astute-class SSNs have the following capabilities: - It will be able to sit off coasts undetected listening in to mobile phone conversations; - It can insert Special Forces by mini submersibles into enemy territory; - It is armed with 38 Tomahawk cruise missiles and/or Spearfish torpedoes; - It will carry the latest Block 4 Tomahawk cruise missile, which can loiter over a target and can be reprogrammed in mid-flight by commanders. "It can also find out what is going on and report back to op commanders without anyone knowing we have been there." - It is the first submarine not to have a conventional periscope. Instead a fibre optic tube - equipped with infra red and thermal imaging - pops above the surface for three seconds, does one rotation and then feeds an image in colour that can be studied at leisure. - Its nuclear power plant has the acoustic signature of a torch battery and is the size of a family car.) (ends) Countdown Begins to Astute Launch (Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued May 8, 2007) The Royal Navy's largest and most powerful attack submarine was unveiled today, Tuesday 8 May 2007, one month before its launch, and one year before it heads to its base port at HM Naval Base Clyde. HMS Astute, the first of her Class, is being built at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and will be launched on 8 June 2007. Although still shrouded in coverings to allow work to continue on applying more than 39,000 acoustic tiles, she is still an awesome sight, almost half again as big as the Royal Navy's current fleet of attack boats. The tiles will mask her sonar signature and will make Astute the most stealthy attack submarine ever operated by the Royal Navy. However that's not the only amazing fact about what is a truly amazing submarine: - She will never need to be refuelled – her one nuclear reactor has been designed to serve for the boat's 25 year operational life - Despite her size, she can operate closer to shore, providing huge firepower for shore based operations - Again, although she is bigger, she has a smaller crew – and for the first time, each crewman will get his own bed instead of hot-bunking - Her design is more complex than the Space Shuttle - She can circumnavigate the planet without surfacing – in fact, she is faster under water than on the surface - Her captain sleeps only 10 metres away from her nuclear core – which is more complicated than a nuclear power station. Astute will be followed in a 22-month rolling programme by Ambush and Artful – at a total cost of £3.6 billion. All three, along with subsequent boats, will be based at HM Naval Base Clyde, where work has already started on the construction of a £150 million state-of-the-art jetty, named the Valiant Jetty, which will be home to the boats. HMS Astute is due to arrive at the Base next Easter after a year of trials (technically she does not become an HMS until after her formal launch). The Astute Programme Director at HM Naval Base Clyde, Captain Peter Merriman, said: "Astute will be the largest, most capable and widely deployable attack submarine ever operated by the Royal Navy. She is designed to undertake a wide range of tasks, including support of land forces and land attack using Tomahawk cruise missiles." Specialist engineering involves: - Nuclear engineering: providing safety and performance improvements to a state-of-the-art pressurised water reactor that is fuelled for life - Systems engineering: integrating the thousands of sub-systems that require up to 100km of cabling, 23,000 pipes amounting to10km of pipework, and over 5 million lines of software code – plus managing the supply chain, which consists of over 30 main suppliers - Marine and mechanical engineering: providing solutions for the propulsive power train, auxiliary systems and life support. Astute must be quiet, vibration free and robust enough to withstand a nearby underwater explosion - Hydrodynamics and control engineering: the design of the submarine hull, hydroplanes and control systems to provide control of depth and good manoeuvrability. The submarine must maintain neutral buoyancy and is literally 'flown' underwater - Human factors: ensuring that every system is safely operable and maintainable in all conditions by a relatively small complement compared with previous nuclear powered submarines.

Hmm, tough one. Helo insertion into an enemy occupied and defended area where they are more familiar with the terrain than you. Recipe for trouble. Recon, recon, and more recon. Coupled with perhaps a diversion or deception maneuver ? Last resort, overwhelming area suppression in the chosen LZ ?

HCDB-070507 Ships: Alkmaar (Latvia) MCM - Latvia Osprey (Intl) MCM - Intl Type 331 Fulda MCM - Lithuania

A new version of the Harpoon Commander's Edition (HCE) Database (HCDB-070507) is now available. Get it in the Download section. New additions (or overhauls of existing entries) include: Ships: Alkmaar (Latvia) MCM - Latvia Osprey (Intl) MCM - Intl Type 331 Fulda MCM - Lithuania Enjoy.

From Foreign Affairs, May/June 2007 issue Summary: By rushing into Iraq instead of finishing off the hunt for Osama bin Laden, Washington has unwittingly helped its enemies: al Qaeda has more bases, more partners, and more followers today than it did on the eve of 9/11. Now the group is working to set up networks in the Middle East and Africa -- and may even try to lure the United States into a war with Iran. Washington must focus on attacking al Qaeda's leaders and ideas and altering the local conditions in which they thrive. Read the remainder of the article at the link above.

Interesting story, though of course all submarine disasters have been ripe targets for conspiracy theories. One glaring error, as well. The Scorpion was actually found in the Atlantic, southwest of the Azores. I understand she was enroute from Rota (Spain) to Norfolk.

Link to CNN news story. Dear Southern Neighbours, A piece of free advice. If we happy go lucky Canadians really wanted to conduct cross border espionage, it would be via the beer and hockey markets, not our funny looking currency. P.S. Don't be so paranoid ! Relax, have a beer and watch the game !

I have the solution: sniper team. Equals good forward recon, and goodbye Kornet missile team(s).

Wherefore to now, Pete ? Now that the Rangers are playing golf ?

From Navy Times Nimitz set to replace Ike in Persian Gulf area By Barbara Surk - The Associated Press Posted : Sunday May 6, 2007 15:42:51 EDT DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Navy said Sunday it was replacing an aircraft carrier now departing the Middle East as part of the Bush administration’s stepped up military presence in the Persian Gulf area. The aircraft carrier Nimitz and the accompanying ships of its strike group were expected in Mideast waters within two days, replacing the departing carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, said Navy Cmdr. Kevin Aandahl of the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The San Diego, California-based Nimitz will join the aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, now on patrol in the waters of the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Both carriers, with about 80 aircraft apiece, are backing military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as assisting with U.S. boardings of civilian vessels in search of smugglers. The February arrival of the Bremerton, Washington-based Stennis was the first time since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 that America operated two aircraft carriers in the Gulf region. Aandahl said most carrier deployments in the Gulf last six to eight months, meaning the U.S. will keep two carriers in the region at least through the summer. Many see the increased military build up as way to impress on Iran that the four-year slog in Iraq has not made America vulnerable. “It’s to tell Iran, we’ll continue to monitor you,” said Adullah al-Shayji, a security expert at Kuwait University. Arab governments have signaled their unease with the aggressive U.S. presence in the Gulf, fearing any U.S. attack on Iran would bring reprisals on their soil, home to several American bases. But Gulf leaders also remain deeply worried about Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is aimed at bolstering its electricity supply, but that Washington suspects is cover for weapons development. In March, the Stennis and Eisenhower took part in a U.S. demonstration of force off Iran’s Gulf coast just four days after Tehran captured 15 British sailors and marines whom it accused of straying into Iranian waters. The United States maintains nearly 40,000 troops in Gulf countries other than Iraq, including about 25,000 in Kuwait, 6,500 in Qatar, 3,000 in Bahrain, 1,300 in United Arab Emirates and a few hundred in Oman and Saudi Arabia, according to figures from the Dubai-based Gulf Research Center. Al-Shayji also said the energy-rich Gulf Arab countries were still too weak to provide for their own security and rely on the United States to counter traditional rivals in Iraq and Iran. “That’s why we continue outsourcing security to the U.S. and other foreign powers,” al-Shayji said. Each of the carrier strike groups carries more than 5,000 sailors and Marines along with an air wing of F/A-18 Hornet and Superhornet fighter-bombers, EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft, S-3 Viking anti-submarine and refueling craft, and E-2C Hawkeye airborne command-and-control planes.

From DefenseNews Posted 05/07/07 12:36 U.S. House Panel Pushes Nuclear Surface Ships By CHRISTOPHER P. CAVAS The prospect of the U.S. Navy once again using nuclear energy to propel its larger surface warships edged a bit closer to reality May 3 with a push from a powerful congressional subcommittee. “We are requiring that new classes of major surface combatants are designed and constructed with integrated nuclear power systems,” Rep. Gene Taylor, D-Miss., chairman of the House Armed Services seapower subcommittee, said during the panel’s markup of the 2008 defense authorization bill. Taylor’s predecessor as chairman, Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., echoed the call. “Nuclear propulsion is simply the right thing to do,” said Bartlett, now the panel’s ranking minority member. Both lawmakers have strongly supported nuclear power as a means to reduce the military’s dependence on oil for fuel. At their request, the Navy produced a study on the viability of re-introducing nuclear power into surface ships — a capability the service stopped buying in the mid-1970s. Most observers expected the Navy study to repeat the assertions made since those years — that the dramatically higher cost of buying nuclear-propelled surface ships outweighed tactical advantages. But appearing before the committee March 1, Delores Etter, the Navy’s top acquisition official, surprised onlookers with her testimony that the high cost of oil is making the nuclear option more economically viable — at least for some ships. Nuclear power remains far too expensive for small vessels like Littoral Combat Ships and amphibious ships, the Navy said May 3 when it briefed the media on the alternative propulsion report. But for larger warships with greater electrical power requirements — those around 20,000 tons or greater — the premium for installing nuclear power rather than traditional fossil fuels starts to go away when the price of oil hits $70 a barrel or higher. Oil is about $65 a barrel today, but was around $74 when the study began last August. “Ships with constant high demands for energy may benefit from nuclear power,” the report said. Taylor and Bartlett specifically are looking at the CG(X) cruiser to be built with nuclear power. The Navy has been conducting a wide-ranging design study of the ship, which is to carry a large and powerful radar system and missiles for ballistic missile defense. The Navy plans to build 19 of the cruisers starting in 2011. The nuclear power option is included in the study, the Navy said. Enthusiasm for the notional CGN(X) is said to be gaining inside the Navy, but publicly, top Navy officials are less eager. “I’m not comfortable with the requirement to be at this point,” Adm. Mike Mullen, the chief of naval operations, told reporters May 3 when asked about the committee’s nuclear-power requirement. “There’s still a lot of work we’ve got to go through.” “I would prefer the opportunity to go through and properly consider and evaluate the alternatives that we’re going through right now,” Navy Secretary Donald Winter said after a Hill appearance with Mullen. “Only when we complete those evaluations will we be in a position to determine whether or not there’s value to the Navy for going nuclear or conventional.”

Its the rain. They're terminally depressed, and the readily available BC bud doesn't seem to be helping much.

Not much redundancy built in there. Only a pair of 2,000 lb Mk 84's for the above ground targets at Natanz ? Either its not terribly important or there's something skewed in that assessment.

My bro in law hates the Senators, but he hates Jersey coach Lou Lamoriello even more, so its been entertaining to watch this series with him.

From Defense Aerospace Super Hornet Acquisition Contract Signed (Source: Australian Department of Defence; issued May 3, 2007) Defence has established the first contract valued at approximately AUD$2.9bn with the United States Navy for the acquisition of 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets and associated support systems. Additional cases will be established later this year for weapons acquisition and sustainment of the aircraft. The total program investment is approximately $6 billion over 10 years, which includes acquisition and all support costs as well as personnel. Australian personnel will begin Super Hornet training in the United States in 2009. The withdrawal of the F-111 is expected in 2010 with the F/A-18F Super Hornets to be operational that same year. The F/A-18F Super Hornet is a highly capable, battle proven, multi role aircraft that is currently in service with the US Navy through to 2030 and will ensure our air combat capability edge is maintained through the transition to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter over the next decade. The Block II Super Hornet has considerable similarity in support, training and tactics to our current fleet of F/A-18 and therefore allows a relatively rapid and low risk transition for our current air combat force. The Super Hornet will be based at RAAF Base Amberley. Local Industry participation will be a key factor in developing the through life support concepts for the Super Hornets. Defence is engaged with the USN to ensure that the maximum potential of Australian Industry Involvement is achieved.

From Army Times Soldiers warned about sensitive info in blogs By Lolita C. Baldor - The Associated Press Posted : Thursday May 3, 2007 5:58:22 EDT WASHINGTON — The Army is taking stronger steps to warn soldiers they will be punished if they reveal sensitive military information on Web sites or blogs. While the possibility of punishment is not new, the Army spells out in recently published regulations the range of actions if soldiers “fail to protect critical and sensitive information.” Some Web logs, also called blogs, raised alarms this week, suggesting the Army was cracking down anew on soldiers who have blogs. But the bulk of the regulations released April 19 mirror rules published in 2005 that require soldiers to consult with commanders before “publishing or posting information” in a public forum. The regulation is not as explicit as the one put out by commanders in Iraq two years ago that requires soldiers in war zones to register their blogs with the military. Army Maj. Ray M. Ceralde, who worked on the new regulations, said Wednesday the intention of the 2007 rule is not to have soldiers clear every public posting with commanders. “Not only is that impractical, but we are trusting the soldiers to protect critical information,” he said. He said there is no effort to block soldiers from setting up or posting comments to blogs. “We’re not looking for them to seek approval each time a blog entry is posted,” Ceralde said. The rules, he said, do not affect personal, private e-mails that soldiers send. “Soldiers have a right to private communications with their families,” he said. Instead, Ceralde said, soldiers are expected to consult or clear with commanders when they start a blog, in part so they can be warned about the information they cannot publish. Ceralde said Army leaders wanted to emphasize the importance of maintaining operational security. Soldiers will be punished if they publicly reveal sensitive information, such as troop movements, planned raids, travel itineraries of senior leaders, or photographs of casualties, new technology or other material that could compromise their location. The rules say solders can be charged with violating a lawful order, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. He said unit commanders have the authority to set up more restrictive requirements — such as requiring that individual postings be reviewed — if they deem it necessary. As before, the regulations require that soldiers tell their family members and friends to protect sensitive information. The military set up the regulations in 2005, as blogs and other Web postings became more popular, particularly among service members who were deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Nice find, Pete.

Stanley Cup goes to war

From Aviation Week Next decade's AF bomber to be subsonic, manned Michael Fabey/Aerospace Daily & Defense Report The U.S. Air Force's long-range strike aircraft set to be deployed by 2018 will be subsonic and manned, said Brig. Gen. Mark Matthews, director of plans and programs, headquarters, Air Combat Command, Langley Air Force Base, Va. But it would be wrong to characterize the aircraft as being entirely devoid of current technology, Matthews said May 1 during a panel discussion "Return of the Bomber: The Future of Long Range Strike," presented by the Eaker Institute, the research arm of the Air Force Association (AFA). "There is new technology associated with this," Matthews said. For example, the Air Force is looking at technological advancements in low observability, sensors and engine development, he said. The 2018 deadline for a new bomber aircraft was set by the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) to address a perceived gap in strike capability. In later years, the Air Force is slated to procure and deploy more advanced bombers. The service is looking now at some directed energy technology to make the aircraft more survivable, Matthews said. For now, the Air Force must concentrate on developing an aircraft that can penetrate enemy territory and persist and survive there long enough to deliver an effective payload. To do that, Matthews said, the service had to make tradeoffs. One of those was the supersonic speed. "Id love to have the world," he said. "But I can't afford the world." And the Air Force can't afford to lose a new bomber to such things as crosswinds or dynamic flight conditions. The technology just isn't there yet for an unmanned aircraft to meet the necessary criteria, said retired Gen. Gregory Martin, another panel member. However, Matthews said there is still room for "optionally manned" possibilities. One option that is likely not on the table, according to "Return of the Bomber: The Future of Long Range Strike," an AFA special report, is an FB-22, or F-22 Raptor bomber variant. "The QDR-backed move to build a 2018 capability signaled the end of the FB-22 initiative, at least in its old form," said report author Rebecca Grant, president of IRIS Independent Research Inc., in Washington, D.C. The Air Force could revisit an F-22 variant plan, Grant wrote. "But, for now, that's separate from the 2018 bomber."

Hopfully you'll get to see that game on the tube, Pete.

Careful, lest I unleash the bear cavalry ...

From Air Force Magazine, May 2007 May 2007, Vol. 90, No. 5 FDR Shatters the Illusion “The Quarantine Speech” President Franklin D. Roosevelt Address at the Dedication of the Outer Link Bridge Chicago Oct. 5, 1937 By the 1930s, many Americans had come to believe that the US should have kept out of World War I. Isolationism was strong. In 1935, Congress began enacting neutrality laws to prevent entanglements in response to fascist aggression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, grew fearful that isolationism, far from keeping the peace, was clearing a path for militarism directed from Rome, Berlin, and Tokyo. FDR’s concern spilled into view after Japan attacked China in July 1937. A few months later, he delivered a dramatic speech in Chicago, warning that aggression was like a disease and peaceful nations should “quarantine” aggressors. This pivotal speech sparked a national uproar, forcing FDR into a tactical retreat. However, the President had broken the isolationist spell. The real world had again intruded into American thoughts, and, soon, the nation took its first steps toward arming for war. ... The present reign of terror and international lawlessness began a few years ago. ... Without a declaration of war and without warning or justification of any kind, civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered with bombs from the air. In times of so-called peace, ships are being attacked and sunk by submarines without cause or notice. Nations are fomenting and taking sides in civil warfare in nations that have never done them any harm. Nations claiming freedom for themselves deny it to others. Innocent peoples, innocent nations, are being cruelly sacrificed to a greed for power and supremacy which is devoid of all sense of justice and humane considerations. ... If those things come to pass in other parts of the world, let no one imagine that America will escape, that America may expect mercy, that this Western Hemisphere will not be attacked, and that it will continue tranquilly and peacefully to carry on the ethics and the arts of civilization. ... The peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality. Those who cherish their freedom and recognize and respect the equal right of their neighbors to be free and live in peace, must work together for the triumph of law and moral principles in order that peace, justice, and confidence may prevail in the world. There must be a return to a belief in the pledged word, in the value of a signed treaty. There must be recognition of the fact that national morality is as vital as private morality. ... There is a solidarity and interdependence about the modern world, both technically and morally, which makes it impossible for any nation completely to isolate itself from economic and political upheavals in the rest of the world, especially when such upheavals appear to be spreading and not declining. There can be no stability or peace either within nations or between nations except under laws and moral standards adhered to by all. International anarchy destroys every foundation for peace. It jeopardizes either the immediate or the future security of every nation, large or small. It is, therefore, a matter of vital interest and concern to the people of the United States that the sanctity of international treaties and the maintenance of international morality be restored. ... How happy we are that the circumstances of the moment permit us to put our money into bridges and boulevards, dams and reforestation, the conservation of our soil, and many other kinds of useful works rather than into huge standing armies and vast supplies of implements of war. I am compelled and you are compelled, nevertheless, to look ahead. The peace, the freedom, and the security of 90 percent of the population of the world is being jeopardized by the remaining 10 percent who are threatening a breakdown of all international order and law. ... It is true that the moral consciousness of the world must recognize the importance of removing injustices and well-founded grievances; but at the same time it must be aroused to the cardinal necessity of honoring sanctity of treaties, of respecting the rights and liberties of others, and of putting an end to acts of international aggression. It seems to be unfortunately true that the epidemic of world lawlessness is spreading. When an epidemic of physical disease starts to spread, the community approves and joins in a quarantine of the patients in order to protect the health of the community against the spread of the disease. ... War is a contagion, whether it be declared or undeclared. It can engulf states and peoples remote from the original scene of hostilities. We are determined to keep out of war, yet we cannot insure ourselves against the disastrous effects of war and the dangers of involvement. We are adopting such measures as will minimize our risk of involvement, but we cannot have complete protection in a world of disorder in which confidence and security have broken down. ... Trust between nations must be revived. Most important of all, the will for peace on the part of peace-loving nations must express itself to the end that nations that may be tempted to violate their agreements and the rights of others will desist from such a course.

Cross posted from the Current Events forum (yep, I get to do that) ... The May 2007 issue of Air Force Magazine contains the annual USAF Almanac 2007, which is a collection of PDF documents detailing the US Air Force in facts and figures, its organizational structure (including reserve components), and USAF installations worldwide. Its a great source, especially for database work and PBEM/MBX wargaming. You can find it here.

The May 2007 issue of Air Force Magazine contains the annual USAF Almanac 2007, which is a collection of PDF documents detailing the US Air Force in facts and figures, its organizational structure (including reserve components), and USAF installations worldwide. Its a great source, especially for database work and PBEM/MBX wargaming. You can find it here.

From Flight International DATE: 01/05/07 SOURCE: Flight International Japan asks USA to ease fighter export restrictions By Siva Govindasamy Conditions could be lifted as Washington looks to help ally and keep F-22 in production Japan is asking the USA to ease restrictions on the export of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor, and to provide information on it and the Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as part of its search for a new generation of multi-role combat aircraft. Sources in Tokyo say that prime minister Shinzo Abe raised the issue in meetings with US president George Bush in Washington DC last week, and Japanese defence minister Fumio Kyuma will bring it up when he meets defence secretary Robert Gates on 30 April. This is sought as part of a replacement exercise for Japan's ageing McDonnell Douglas F-4 fleet. Industry sources, however, say that while Washington could release information pertaining to the F-35 in the next few months, it could take a little longer over the F-22. The US Congress has imposed restrictions on the export of the F-22 due to its highly sensitive equipment, although this could be reviewed as Washington looks to help a close ally and Lockheed seeks to keep the fighter's production line open. Japan is also one of the few nations that could afford the $200 million F-22. A review of Japan's pacifist constitution could also help Tokyo's case. Current interpretations of the post-Second World War constitution forbid such a role, with the country's military only allowed to exercise self-defence. A change could help convince the USA that Japan, which along with Australia is its closest ally in the Asia Pacific region, should get access to top-notch military hardware such as the F-22. Whether Congress eases restrictions on the Raptor in time, however, is in doubt. Japan would ideally like enough information on both aircraft to include them in a request for proposals by the end of 2007. It plans to award a contract by the end of 2008 and start taking delivery of the new fighters in the 2009 fiscal year. It is also likely to seek information on Boeing's F-15 and F/A-18, the Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon.