Maybe Zhuk-A is the FGM-29 radar?…this have been discussed some times before.

I read don’t remind where, that the AESA radar for MiG-35 was a version of the MiG-E’s AESA one, MiG-E is the RSK MiG 5th generation fighter project showed to Indian guys last December…

It’s very possible, that what its refered as “Zhuk-A”, is a verssion of the definitive radar intended for MiG-E project.

Hope if PiBU could resolve this, because he wrote about the Zhuk-A some time ago.

Ok the Dr Carlo Kopps file is here, where it mentiones Su-27IBs in their ASW role will be able to carry upto 72 sonobouysin their conformal weapons bay underneath theiir belly

Yeah, maybe this time Dr Kopp could better sing and dance talking about /non-existant/ Novella/Sea Dragon derivatives suites for “intended” Su-27IB’s clones called Su-32FN that didn’t exist, and chose if the aircraft could carry 72, 192 or 2232 sonobouys when nothing was ever tested…but “announced” :D…

This reminds me of his DSM KAB-500Kr…he never heard of EO Correlation of Image?…

Interesting account

LUFTWAFFE TRAINS WITH ISRAEL
By Raimond Schulz

For two weeks in September Decimomannu, Sardinia was the setting for an exercise unlike any other. At the invitation of Fighter Wing 73 “Steinhoff” (JG 73 “S”), five F-15D Baz and five F-15I Thunder belonging to the Israeli Air Force relocated to the sunny Mediterranean island.

Originally this encounter was to have taken place at the Germans’ home base of Laage in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania as part of a planned “Steinhoff flag exercise”. However, the encounter was thwarted by infrastructure measures that could not be postponed. In consultation with Fighter Wing 71 “Richthofen”, a routine deployment to Decimomannu was then upgraded at short notice to include MiG-29 and F-15 as well.

As a result there was a unique opportunity for dissimilar aircraft combat training (DACT) in the Air Combat Manoeuvring Instrumentation (ACMI) designated area in the west of Sardinia. The entire exercise project received an added boost by the deployment by NATO of an E-3A AWACS from 3 Squadron at Geilenkirchen to Decimomannu for 11 days.

To make the best use of the flying days, three exercise missions were carried out on most days. Thus in the morning block, there would usually be four F-4F’s pitted against four F-15D’s, followed by four MiG-29’s against four F-15I’s and finally either two or four F-4F’s against two MiG-29’s or two F-4F’s. The same block was flown in the afternoons, except with F-15D’s replacing the F-15I’s.

The F-15’s did not take part in the midday block, as the Israeli pilots usually flew twice a day and their intensive debriefings would last over the midday period.

In the huge exercise area situated above the Mediterranean it is possible to fly almost entirely without the customary restrictions that beset the Luftwaffe in Germany. For example, supersonic flight below FL 360, the discharge of flares and chaff and the use of jamming are all allowed.

After a short pre-flight briefing in the morning, the AWACS would be the first to take off and would then await the fighters from a position in the north of Sardinia. Details of the planned air battles were transmitted by German ground control intercept controllers, who were also present, by radio to the E-3A. The international crew on board the E-3A then led the flights into the airspace with callsigns like Audi, Porsche, Cobra and Turbo and directed the intercept missions. With the various tactics, it was often necessary to use the fuel-guzzling afterburner, so that the fuel seldom lasted for more than two intercepts per mission.

Despite their age, the Richthofen Phantoms were in isolated cases able to hold their own against the much more agile MiGs and Eagles, especially in the use of long-range AMRAAMs. With good planning, imaginative tactics and flying skill, they even brought off one simulated “kill”. Thus, different variants of altitude separation, different and alternating speeds and criss-cross flight profiles were used to confuse the enemy radar so as to make it impossible to launch any missiles. On the other hand, the F-4F was hopelessly inferior when it came to dogfights.

But the MiGs stood up better against the relatively young Israeli F-15 crews. No doubt this was due to the fact that their crew had accumulated more flying hours on the Russian aircraft than an eastern bloc pilot would ever normally have achieved in his entire flying career. Moreover, most of the pilots had taken part in more air battles against other aircraft types in DACT exercises than any other European jet jockey. Only the US aggressor pilots could possibly hold their own.

Both the Fulcrum and the Eagle have a helmet-mounted sight that is the envy of the Americans, and the Elbit DASH system on the F-15 is regarded as probably the best in the world.

The Boeing F-15I is largely based on the American F-15E Strike Eagle, as a consequence of which it too has the APG-70 radar, albeit a slightly constrained export version. However, the Israelis have installed a lot of hardware and software systems of their own, including highly effective electronic warfare (EW) equipment. With the highly agile Python 4 missile, they can even fire around corners.

One ambitious scenario involved twelve aircraft defending high-value airborne assets (HVAA). In the morning, the Israeli F-15s succeeded in successfully protecting the NATO AWACS simulated in the north of the exercise area against attacking Phantoms and Fulcrums. In the afternoon, four German F-4F’s attempted, not quite so successfully, to shoot down the MiGs and Eagles in an unequal contest.

The entire exercise was a fantastic experience for all the crew involved. Now that the MiGs are to be sold to Poland, sadly, from a German point of view, air combat training with this combination of planes will never take place again.

A GDR pilot has to keep strict parameters during an intercept-run, which were noted. In doing so he was preoccupied to stick to these and watch his instruments, that no alteration to adapt to a changing situation was allowed. Doing service in the DHS will reduce you to a robot in some way. Not trained to adapt to a changing situation in an instant can end in desaster, what sometimes happened.

This looks as PVO-pilots making elevation rides as described not only by Zuyev, but by some other non-soviet pilots too…

If you read Zuyev’s first story about his last air-to-air combat sortie on VVS FA IA you will see a very different pattern of training.

Sens, did LSK/LV trained on DACT?, like JG-9’s MiG-23MF/ML doing ACT against JG-3’s MiG-21MF and so?…

At least since mid 80s this was an ocurrence on GSFG’s 16VA between MiG-23MLD and MiG-29s…in other zones (don’t known if in the Group this was practiced) there were even mixed tactics of MiG-23MLD/MiG-29 for BVR combat…

Owe you an answer but for later, nice to see you have Zuyev book, because even if its dated is a good reading!…did you have Aviatsia i Kosmonavtika issues of the 80s?…I have like half of the whole published editions of that decade…very very intersting changes you could note from the pens of those Soviet Pilots…

Oscar I and II should be nice 🙂
Victor-III would be oh so cool too ;)…

BTW, wich Russian Magazines about modern (70 to now) submarine themes do you recomend me?…

What about discussion forums on russian?

Thanks 🙂

There are enough airframes at Lukhovitskiy for that…

But…

Recently 20 MiG-29 from Russian Air Force arrived at Lukhovitskiy for “upgrades”…mmm… 😀 ?

Maxpain:

Wich book do you use as source for the 971 nomenclature?.

Thanks :)!

Also I have doubts about Akula-II using MGK-500 Skat-KS sonar suite…Skat-KS uses ANALOG processing of the sound signal and it’s used in Victor-III, Sierra-I and some other boats…Akula uses the MGK-540 Skat-E with advanced digital processing 🙂