Does anyone have any videos of the Rooivalk?

Are the pictures of the Sukhoi in US Navy markings real? If so when and where did they get them? I know that the US had some Mig29s, but didn’t know about the Sukhois.

What is the readiness status of the Polish Mig 29 fleet? Not counting the ex-German planes, how many of the 22 currently in service are airworthy?Are there still problems with getting spares from Mikoyan and Russia?

They ordered 48 F-16C/D Block 52s counting $3.5bn in total… Alone by looking at the (un)realization of US offsets, that was the worst thing they could order… Not speaking about the aircraft… For that money they would be almost reaching Rafale levels.

What happened to the offsets? I thought that one of the reasons for the F 16 contract was the offsets. Why is Poland buying the planes, but getting shortchanged? What happened?

air2air.net

You said that it takes one year for the refit. How many planes a year can the workshop do?

How does the EMB-145 Erieye (can’t remember the official designation) comapre to these two designs? What is it comprabale to? How many of the Boeings is Australia getting? Any other customers? Also, how many of planes of this type are required to have an effective force?

^ Lawn Darts for Italy! This is entirely due to the Eurofighter taking its sweet time. Originally discussed as a shirt-term lease for about 35 As and Bs, this is turning into something possibly permanent with the later C/D versions. (My opinion: watch out for further cutbacks on the EF from Italy.)

^ Surprisingly, Finland has a very capable and well-trained force of 63 F-18s, with a specialty in interception. No UFO flies over Finland (unlike Albania apparently) without a Finnish fighter on its a$$.

# Romania is attempting to retire the last of its Mig-29s (and Mig-23s) and go to an all Mig-21 Lancer fighter force.

Didn’t one of the F-16s in the Italian airforce crash already?

I read somewhere that Finland was supposed to have only 60 fighters. This was a limit set by some sort of a treaty. Does anyone have more info on this? (Might be a good quiz question for the guys that like to make up quizes. 😉 )

Any ideas what the Romanian Airforce will do after the Mig-29 is retired? Are they looking to sell them or scrap them? I read that the condition of the Mig-29 is rather poor.

I would have to agree that it depends on what exactly is needed. A Tiger might suffice for some, where as the Apache would be overkill. Cost also needs to be factored in. Not just unit purchase price, but overall operating costs. Does anyone know the price and operating costs of the different helicopters (Ah-64, Tigre, Mi-28, Ka-50/52, A-129, Cobra, Roovialk)? Personally, I do not like the Ah-64. I think that the Ah-64 is too expensive and eventhough it has the most combat experience (along with the Cobra), it sometimes performs very well and other times not so well (some one mentioned the 33 Apaches that were damaged during action in Iraq and that alot of them were out of action for a while. Also, Kosovo.) I know that these are just two examples out of many, but that’s still my opinion. The Cobra, is tried and tested, but limited in it’s growth potential. Still a very capable machine, but it is starting to show its age. The other designs, I do not know that much about them. However, based on the limited knowledge that I do have, I am impressed by the Roovialk and the Mi-28. Both machines seem that they can take a beating and keep going. What they may currently lack (if anything) in weapons and electronics can certainly be overcome in the future.