Hind can carry 8 commandos with their equipment, and then provide fire support for them, it is flexible.

I don’t think so. Six at the most.

Beats me what could both intercept & engage it, laser perhaps

Aegis system using SM-3 has already ‘shot down’ a orbiting satellite. I think a Mach 6 target won’t be a problem. THAAD and S-400 should do the same.

Too many S-300, S-400, and Patriot around the world to allow any Mach 3 overflights. in fact, the availability of Nike-Hercules and S-200 since the 1960s already made such overflights difficult. No SR-71s ever actually overflew the territory of the Soviet Union during the cold war.

$192 million for 2x Su-27SK and 2x Su-30MKK – $48mil a pop
$355 million for 3x Su-27SKM and 3x Su-30MK2 – $59mil a pop
$473 million for 6x Su-30MK2 and loads of spares for the whole fleet
$56 million on A-A and A-G weapons

The unit price of these is not exactly cheap. I suspect this has much to do with few things:

– unusually low amounts
– upon having been denied ex-USAF F-16C/D fighters, TNI-AU don’t have many options
– they buy the fighters on Russian debt

Are these the same Flankers that Carlo Kopp on ATA is always talking about – quite a bogeyman to be afraid of, a 16 planes altogether?

The RAAF are probably not as concerned as Carlo…:rolleyes:

I disagree. Their prices are considerably cheaper than their western counterparts. Granted that they have reduced level of sophistication compared to UH-60M and the likes but for the transport job they still offer the best value for money..

Indian deal for 80 Mi-17s worth approximately US$662mil (2006) – $8.275mil a pop
Thailand deal – 3 Mi-17s for 950mil BHT – $10.05mil a pop

Mexican EC725 deal – 1.1 billion order for 50 machines – $22 mil a pop
Bahrain UH-60M deal – 9 UH-60Ms for $252 million – $28 mil a pop
UAE UH-60M deal – 26 machines for $808 million – $31.08 mil a pop
Indian AW101 deal – 12 VIP helicopters for €560 million – $58.8 mil a pop

The most expensive Mi-17s are those provided to Iraqi or Afghan AF, financed via US FMS (over $17.5mil). These are ordered and supplied in a quite strange way, via Arinc arms broker and Air Freight Aviation as a prime contractor who then buys from the Ulan-Ude plant for less than $10mil a piece. Makes you wonder why there is no one in Pentagon who can google the Mi-17 producers (there are as many as two!!), pick up the phone and call the Kazan or Ulan Ude plant directly 😎

I never said that the Mil heli was not still a cheap machine to buy, or that it wasn’t value for money, it is. But how long will will these cheap prices last, what with labour and production price in Russia rising rapidly? But there has certainly been a creeping rise in the price of Russian hardware in the last few years. The problem is, when the Mil-8 series gets too expensive for what it has to offer. If I’m not mistaken, they have resumed testing of the Mi-38 – no doubt it should be ready for service by the time the Mi-8 gets too expensive for its boots?

the AIM-54 Phoenix and R-33 Amos were the only AAM’s that I know of providing an active-radar targeting capability…

I believe the R-33 was in fact SARH guided all the way to the target – no little radar in its nose…

I’m sure it is part of a bigger support and spare parts package in the case of the Indonesian deal. And I have no doubt the Su-30Mk still works out, price wise per airframe, significantly cheaper than any F-15E derivative.

But there is a trend of new Russian aircraft being a lot more expensive than they were, perhaps, 5 years ago. Look at the latest prices for Mi-8/Mi-17 nowadays.

Do they? the old Soviet avionics weren’t renowned for their energy efficiency either, were they? All those lampochki!;)

First time I heard that Lewinsky gag – hah hah…