Re: Fighter aircraft :market analysis by jon lake
Welll some interesting analysis summary
1) dwindling market
reduction in aircraft orders especially in case of typhoon,new procurements axed
2) restricted roles
multi role fightes have been popular for decades ,but the old orthodoxy of having air to air fighters that could deliver some air to ground effect is gradually giving way to a new expectation of dedicated all weather tactical fighter bombers that also have a robust air to air capabilty
3) the light weight contenders
f16 block 60 & j39 gripen NG forms the 2 main contender
4)the middleweights
f18 super hornet , dassault rafale & eurofighte typhoon forms the main contender
rafale is the closest rival to f18 superhornet with formidable air to ground capabilties & formidable high alpha manuveur capabilties
though both typhoon & rafale participate in libya rafale showed greater maturity & real multi role versatibilty 
4)fool's gold or quantum leap
lockheed martin is marketing heavily it's 5th gen f35 aircraft over 4th gen fightes but price esclation ,inabilty to supercruise & limited air to air weapons load is an obstacle to it's export potential
5) competition
more emphasis is given on UCAVS now days.USA relying more on it's allies to buy it's aircrafts & is facing stiff competition from
European aircraft manufacturer
6) looking east
russia has been resurgent & is building & exporting more capable su 27 & mig 29 derivatives meanwhile it has also started it's own
5th gen fighter programme T-50
china is making great strides too with it's 2 stealth prototypes J20 & J31
this is making life difficult for american 4th gen fighters & european canards fighters but only if their capabilities live up to the hype created by their appearance s
it is important to have same level of stealth & electronics ,datalink & avionics as AMERICAN 5th gen fighers
meanwhile SU35 has been inferior to F18 & much more inferior to typhoon & RAFALE in combat capabilty but it is more affordable
as compare to them
chinese have targetted down markets offering reduced capabilty at very low prices like J-7 &
planes like chengdu Jf17 are far cry from the latest version of the F15 , f16 & f18 in terms of avioinics sensors & systems
