You still don’t get it that the F-16 itself is just as old as the F-5.
These are 1970s fighter jets, though still quite capable if you have the budget to upgrade them.
Furthermore Kenya was indeed very lucky to get those F5s the time they did because a few years later Jimmy Carter signed the 1977 Presidential Directive number 13 which tied all U.S weapon exports to U.S interests e.g human rights record of the export country.
Due to the prevalence of brutal dictators in the 1970s in countries that had recently gained independence PD 13 for instance said that the U.S will never again sell weapons to dictators that will in turn be used on the population. The U.S would also never again sell a new weapon to a particular country that would make that country a small superpower within that region.
For instance the U.S cannot sell a new superior weapon to Kenya that her neighbors don’t have or cannot match. That is why Kenya never acquired other newer fighter jets more potent than the F-5.
You can’t just walk over to the U.S and ask for an F-16, even if you have the money hutapewa tu hivyo. The U.S govt and congress will assess so many aspects before they make that sale unlike in the 1970s when Kenya acquired the F5s.
Secondly there are only 25 countries that have the F16 and just looking at those countries one would immediately understand why they specifically have that jet and why others don’t. Similarly only a few countries about 35 of them own F5 fighter jets.
These are controlled products.
You can’t just walk over to Washington as if it’s a mall and walk out with 5 of them!
First of all what do you intend to do with those products who are you invading?
Look at how Azerbaijan has destroyed Armenia ruthlessly… questions are today being asked about who gave them those drones!
You are forgetting one thing not all f16s are the same there is a wide gap between f16 block 70 and the first version that was launched in 1979 the f16 A/B. So saying that all f16s are old is not true
Do they fly that much? I understand that if they flew alot then their airframes would come under a lot of stress. And just flying one of these jets costs the Kenyan taxpayer a lot of money per flight possibly 300k on fuel plus corruption tax.
I guess replacing them is a decision the generals will have to make. Will they resell them and to who?
Do you work with these jets to be in a position to know these problems intimately?
Remember if they buy new crap they will have to retrain the pilots for billions so it would be cheaper to buy something with a similar cockpit layout.
Can they be modified into drones?
The U.S is known to purchase old F5s , upgrade them and use them for training exercises against the F35. They intend to buy 22 F5s from Switzerland for this purpose:
Good Question there …
Think out of your box for a moment ..
The SWISS have come up with a novel Idea …
A small , specialist , professional military leadership team is spread across all 26 Cantons with a population of 9.5 million.
Every able bodied Citizen Male ( 18-55 years old ) gets 2 Weeks of Military Orientation every year and is part of the Land Defence Unit in the area of residence.
They get to keep their combat rifle and uniform at home on the ready.
At Call Up , each combatant reports to the Unit Commander , receives ammunition and instructions and is ready to roll.
So …
Any potential Invader will have to deal with highly motivated , mobile , knowledgeble units , fighting on home turf defending their families and homes …
( .. this is 1 reason that even Hitler avoided war with the Swiss - the second reason is the highly mountainous geography would have slowed his armoured brigades and led to very high casualties … )..
Sweden , Norway , Finland and even Israel have adopted this strategy …
On the matter of the F5 Upgrade …
Northrop did develop the very capable F20 Tigershark but US DOD internal “Politics” killed the project in favour of the more expensive F16 Falcon.
Northrop tried to go it alone but again US DOD Vetoed sophisticated weapons and avionics being installed in the aircraft as it would undercut F16 sales and production ( ..far cheaper and just as potent …)
Ive known about the TigerShark for ages. Hence why I said KAF try and build it better. We don’t need F16s the F5 is a pretty good platform to build upon. And with some ingenuity and brains we can design it to be better than an F16. And comes with just as much electronics hardware.
As for the armies. Each country has its own military configurations we cannot just copy another’s.
In Kenya’s case we need to update our standards to be able to absorb more men and women into the service. We haven’t had a military strategy for years it seems like we’re running on Autopilot.
With about 5-8 Customers , Northrop would be ready to re-start production on a far more improved [ and possibly cheaper ..] version of the F20 TigerShark.
Monday, February 13, 2012
EXCERPTS:
Kenya armed forces have acquired Russian made BRDM-3 armoured and combat helicopters.
Kenya has acquired eight Russian made BRDM-3 reconnaissance vehicles and three helicopter gunships.
The reconnaissance vehicles were acquired from Russia’s top arms company Rosoboronexport after Kenya sought to purchase 88 of these vehicles for a total cost of $105.6 million in August 2011.
The helicopter gunships were delivered to the 50th Air Calvary Division in Kenya on January 3 this year from the Russian state owned corporation Rosoboronexport which is an intermediary for all imports and exports of military related hardware.
A Kenyan senior military officer confirmed that delivery of the aircraft and said that the orders were placed several years ago.
The delivery dates were late 2011 and January 2012.
The latest military purchases come after Kenya was put on the international limelight in 2007/8 following the hijacking by Somali pirates of the MV Faina carrying 33 T-72 tanks destined for Kenya but which were suspected to be en route to South Sudan.
Kenya insisted the tanks were for its own use although it has not filed an annual arms purchase report with the United Nations.
Hii issue ya Kenya owning Mi 28’s ilikuwa disapproved kitambo sana brathe. Ni pang’anga tu.The only countries in africa with Mi 28 are North African … I think Algeria and Egypt. Search any credible source.
Sawa boss … amini vile unataka lakini Kenya haina Mi 28’s. The manufactures did … their was this debate going on in a bunch of forums back then on this … it emerged as mere speculations not listed in janes defence nor global power or any other credible defence platform. Never spotted nor acknowledged and the pics that showed some with Kenyan regalia turned out to be photo shops. Hii case ilimalizwo kitambo.
Kenya would need to sign a massive deal with Northrop to even get this Jet approved for manufacturing and the United States Airforce would include it in its current aviation fleet.
I’d like Northrop to release modernized version with a new design.
