Comparing the radars of the Su-15 with the F-105 – surely you mean the F-106 Delta Dart?
The avionics suite of the F-105 was developed for the nuclear strike role, although its radar did have some air-to-air utility.

I recall the missile was an R-60 heater, not a BVR missile.

I wouldn’t have thought so, the R-60 is limited to an airspeed of mach 1.7 or so, I think, when mounted on its carrier aircraft and FOXBATS wre recorded doing over M 2 in Desert Storm. It may have been the R-40T, the IR version of the AA-6 ACRID.
I doubt if an R-60 would have the explosive power to shoot down a Hornet so decisively – it’s a puny thing….

From:

http://zasch06.blog101.fc2.com/blog-entry-22.html

What is it, some sort of 5th gen?:confused:

Когда Су-24 приняли на вооружение, показатель его аварийности был 5-6 падений в год. В основном подводила техника. Характерные аварии: неисправность двигателя (они загорались в полете), отказывало управление. Бывали случаи, что одно крыло свою стреловидность изменяло, а вот второе… [6] Только 63-й БАП за 3 года потерял 4 самолета и 5 летчиков.
В 1998 году, выступая в Госдуме, заместитель главнокомандующего ВВС РФ Виктор Кот заявил, что «Су-24 на сегодняшний день являются наиболее аварийными летательными аппаратами в боевой авиации».

Russian to English translation
When the Su-24 have adopted, the rate of its accident rate was 6.5 falls per year. Basically summed technique. Typical accident: engine trouble (they caught fire in flight), loss of control. There were times when one wing would change its sweep, but the second … [6] Just 63rd BAP for 3 years lost 4 and 5 aircraft pilots.
In 1998, speaking in the Duma, Deputy Chief of Air Force Minister Viktor Cot stated that “the Su-24 to date is the most accident prone aircraft in military aviation.”

http://www.testpilot.ru/russia/sukhoi/su/24/su24_crash.htm

According to the article: 10 testpilots died while flight testing the basic Su-24 – another four died testing the Su-24M.

Is the Su-24 any safer, or easier, to fly than the Tu-22M? But it’s funny you should mention that, I read just recently (wikipedia of all places) that new pilots on the original Tu-22 ‘BLINDER’ had a hell of a time converting to it from any other kind of plane – they eventually had to carry out hour-building on the Su-17.

Pilots for the first Tu-22 squadrons were selected from the ranks of “First Class” Tu-16 pilots, which made transition into the new aircraft difficult, as the Tu-16 had a co-pilot, and many of the “elite” Tu-16 pilots selected had become accustomed to allowing their co-pilots to handle all the flight operations of the Tu-16 except for take-off and landings. As a consequence, Tu-16 pilots transitioning to the single-pilot Tu-22 suddenly found themselves having to perform all the piloting tasks, and in a much more complicated cockpit. Many, if not most of these pilots were unable to complete their training for this reason. Eventually pilots began to be selected from the ranks of the Su-17 “Fitter” crews, and these pilots made the transition with less difficulty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupolev_Tu-22

It is, to use the Russian word, a ‘Shagokhod’ (шагоход) a land vehicle which uses legs. In English you might call it a ‘Mecha.’ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walker_(machine)

Fresno…

I wonder if anyone ever tried to explain the existence of California to a Martian, would he/she/it remain a skeptic or become a firm believer?:confused: