Slater

If Pizarro comes back they'll be ready

Looks like they found a buyer: https://www.janes.com/defence-news/defence/latest/chile-buys-three-boeing-e-3d-sentry-aircraft-from-uk

There was apparently an AGM-12D Nuclear Bullpup. Kind of wonder how that would have been employed.

F-4 was "jack of all trades - master of none". Except maybe in Wild Weasel role. F-4G was pretty good.

With programs like the AH-56A Cheyenne attack helicopter, the contractor (Lockheed) was well on the way to solving the aircraft's problems but by then it was too late. The Army (and Congress) had lost confidence. And the price tag didn't help matters either. Also, by then the Bell AH-1G HueyCobra was proving it's worth in Vietnam.

Most of the world's tanks have been around forever - M1 Abrams, Leopard II, Merkava, T-72/-64/-80/-90 series. They just get continually upgraded. The Abrams' replacement was supposed to be a product of the the Future Combat Systems program. It was a tank much lighter and less armored than the M1. The theory was that it would survive by superior situational awareness and technology - essentially avoiding being hit instead of absorbing punishment like Abrams. The US Army's experience in Iraq and Afghanistan tossed that concept out the window, and Future Combat Systems proved to be a costly and embarrasing failure.

Some aircraft seem to have gotten relatively little attention from the press/media such as the T-7A Redhawk, P-8 Poseidon, and F-15EX. The USAF claims to have designed, built, and flown a prototype of the "Next Generation Air Dominance" fighter. For such an apparently important achievement, it has garnered few mentions in the press.

The US Navy seems to be somewhat lukewarm on the F-35C. They appear to be more comfortable with their F/A-18E/F aircraft, possibly because of their long operational history.

Has the door closed firmly on any future UK P-8 purchases?

Presumably all arrived on schedule? https://www.janes.com/defence-news/defence/latest/uk-receives-final-poseidon-mma

Here in the US there are still people who think that the whole program should have gotten binned from the beginning. It will probably continue to be a news item due to the aircraft's expense and the plethora of issues (some still unaddressed) that it has had.

Maybe the headline should have been: "Durability testing on F-35 ventral stealth coating commences"

For anyone that might be interested in declassified Vietnam War studies, go to the DTIC site and type in "CHECO" in the search block. https://discover.dtic.mil/

For those fans of the F-111, an old report on their activities during the Vietnam War. Has analysis of losses: https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/ADC007778.pdf

Israel requested six aircraft back in 2014, and they were expensive even back then: https://www.dsca.mil/sites/default/files/mas/israel_13-73.pdf