I mean the F/A-18 smokes that, you’re looking at at least 6 AMRAAMs for BVR against 2 maybe 3 much shorter-range Derbys, more equivalent to the 120C-5, that’s a range advantage of at least 60km, only if the Kfir manages to get to Python 5 range does it have a chance, but front aspect it will be easier to decoy and in a dogfight again the Hornet smokes the Kfir
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Hornet very slow so effectively range will be more even.
Kfir has good flight performance top, hornet only really good at low speeds
Aim120d would have a massive range advantage regardless of the launch platform.
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I think you’re missing the fact that the I-Derby-ER isn’t that good, it’s an export weapon, for countries that can’t buy AMRAAMs for either financial or political reasons, it gives 80% of an AIM-120C-5 for 1/3rd the cost, also the Hornet isn’t that bad with an interception type loadout, 4-6 AIM-120s and 2 AIM-9s whereas the C.10 can carry a max of 4 missiles, so even with 4 Derbys it’s at a disadvantage in a BVR joust despite it’s added speed the Hornet can engage from further and can always have a missile in the air allowing it to close distance much more safely, the Kfir has to defend almost constantly, and like I said once in the merge the Hornet wins
you put C-5s on the Hornet and maybe it’s a contest but Ds it really isn’t
fair enough. how much does an I-Derby-ER cost by the way?
really? i dont think it would have a range advantage if fired off a SLAMRAAM truck or humvee
lol, Hyperbole, but the difference between a Mach 1.8 Hornet and Mach 2.3 Kfir would likely not be as significant as the difference between the missiles themselves
yeah, probably. power of motor probably compensates for speed differmce
the next best comparison would be 2022 AV-8B+ but not fair to put subsonic attacker against AESA supersonic fighter
Best I can find, cost for export customers is 2.95mil for AIM-120C and 2.38mil for I-Derby-ER however that was from 981 AIM-120 vs 48 I-Derby-ER so even ignoring the likely discount on the AMRAAM the Derby is 80% the cost, but it is hard to say, as like I say, people tend to buy a lot of AMRAAMs and likely get reduced unit prices vs if they just bought 48.
1/3rd cost was a definite exaggeration, but I’d guess it’s closer to 60-70% on smaller purchases for 80-90% of the effectiveness and none of the US oversight
woah what the heck. something is off about those numbers. AIM-120D-3 costs just about a million apiece, there is no way a C-5 costs 2.95 million
It’s more expensive for export, the US gets them for about a mil other countries have to pay a pretty big markup usually
I doubt they have anything remotely planned or leaked, is there any yet?
oh ok, so in actuality, an AIM-120D-3 costs less than the I-Derby-ER, but just gets marked up for foreign sales?
F/A-18C and Su-30SM, Richelieu, XM246, Tracked Rapier, Badger IFV
thing is Israel doesn’t use the Derby, so we don’t know how much they’d have to pay for it, but for export yes the Derby is cheaper
Defense Security Cooperation Agency
Germany bought 969 AIM-120C-8s plus related equipment for $2.9billion
imagine the markup on an AIM-260
double to triple isn’t so weird, and with bulk discounts that the US most certainly gets it can be very hard to figure out what the actual cost is, but I’d expect when Israel for example buy the AIM-260 they’ll be paying 3x as much as the US, although the US provides military aid to Israel so like I said it gets confusing quick
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i think with the reveal of 6th gen Chinese jets, AMRAAM and JATM domestic prices will be lower than they would be, maybe even as low as 1.5 million for a 260, because they will make a lot more of them
It’s the economy of scale, the world is scared and arming itself, that means everyone wants missile, which means Raytheon can make a lot of them which is more efficient and therefore cheaper, so overall everyone pays a bit less, but that is only if they can keep up production, if there are too many missile sales without the production to match then the price may go up, even for the US
yeah, if they decide to go all out with AIM-260 and replace AMRAAM production lines with JATM ones on top of the brand new ones made for JATM, they could probably keep up with increased demand