Sir - According to your report "Worth fighting for" (Flight International, 14-20 December, 1994, P40) the French air force is planning to buy Dassault Rafale fighters for use until 2055.
Although I have great respect for the aircraft that literally brought the house down on a US defence secretary, I wonder how many of today's Top Guns would care to face modern combat in fighters initially produced in 1935 - even with a mid-life update in the 1960s.
Has the technical development of manned fighters reached a plateau, as the steam-railway engine did in about 1910, or (happy thought) have the military decided that they don't really expect air combat in the next century?
Dr HUGH DAVID
Hastings
East Sussex, UK
Source: Flight International
