Originally Posted by
III Corps
The Russians have had a hard time 1) buying new equipment and 2) bringing new hardware from testing to operational use. Unless Putin has found new sources of money (and maybe he is counting on the gas/oil reserves), it is unlikely the new Sukhoi will be on the front line anytime soon.
As for the F-22.. it is an orphan. As for the F-35... hmmm.. slow, short range, not very nimble, not stealthy. Good reason to remember the old axioms, "Never fly the A model of anything" and "The C model eventually demonstrates the abilities that the A was supposed to have."
I agree that the F-22 seems to be an orphan, but the F-35 , if it ever becomes to be (you can tell I have little faith in any present timelines) is already a leap in technology above the F-22 from the briefs that I saw. The potential of that aircraft, especially in the targeting systems and the amount of SA gathered and displayed, is far above anything flying right now. As for never flying the 'A' model of anything, i can partially agree except for later Lots of an 'A' model. I have quite a few hours in the 'A' model of Hornet and it was quite capable
The Russians have a history of being less impressed with fine details and being more interested in brute power, What hasn't been demonstrated is a trained crew -vs- trained crew to an equal degree. An example would be T-80 tanks in the hands of the Iraqis were no match whatsoever against western main battle tanks in Desert Storm. There is no deate that the T-80 isn't a good tank, but in the hands of children who don't know how to employ them to their advantage they were sitting ducks.
It will be interesting to watch if this airplane actually has an evolution in its' destiny. Sadly, I'll be watching this show from the sidelines
USMCFLYR