It say TU-300…

What sort of drone is it?

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=-13159

I find it to be a Tu-243, launched from SPU-243. Or is a Tu-300 and Tu-243 practicly thesame thing?

You don’t get it do you?

Their priority is defence at the moment. They could rush an F-22 copy into service but they don’t need an F-22 copy. The F-22 is designed to fight in someone elses territory to gain air superiority to start the process of rendering the enemies air defence network obsolete. It would start with cruise missile attacks on all the long wave radar sites because they can detect and track stealth aircraft and potentially guide fighters to interception range. Long wave radars normally being easy to spot from satellite because of their size. Step two will be the F-22 goes in and clears the skies of enemy fighters or any enemy AWACs or other aircraft that dare to get airborne. It would also likely try to take out as many large SAM sites as it could as well as command and control sites where possible. After these targets are dealt with less stealthy aircraft can operate and it would jsut be a case of hitting military and civilian infrastructure till they capitulate.

The Russians don’t need that. What they need is a fighter than can deal with a F-22. They need a fighter than can effectively stop a cruise missile attack to protect the long wave radar sites. They need a fighter with the sensors and the weapons to engage a radar and IR difficult target like and F-22 or B-2.
The only reason the Russians would need an F-22 copy is to be able to export it to allies so that they can defend themselves from the selfappointed world policemen.

The reality is that if the F-22 ever started operating in Russian airspace the Russian solution would be Topol, not a fighter. So there is no hurry to rush a plane into service. If they take their time they will end up with a better solution to their problems than a mere copy of an F-22 would provide them with and at a more reasonable cost too.

Keeping up with the joneses is what bankrupted the SU. They would be a little foolish to go down that path again.

Finally I can see someone who thinks as I think, nothing to add there.

Yes, indeed

…
During one incident in the early 1980s, an American AH-1G Cobra was flying along the East German border when a Hind was ordered to intercept it. The two helicopters played a game of chase along the border, with the U.S. pilot constantly pulling into a sharp climb to force his faster opponent to overshoot him. Eventually the Hind pilot pulled back too hard and his aircraft started to tumble. He pushed his aircraft into a dive in order to recover, with the intention of pulling back sharply before hitting the ground. When he pulled back hard on his stick, the main rotor blades struck the tailboom of the Hind and the helicopter crashed, killing all aboard. This problem—the Hind’s tendency to damage itself catastrophically when the rotors hit the tailboom—has long plagued the aircraft.
…

http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Rotary/Hind/HE18.htm

Do not ask me if this site is good enough to trust.

Can someone provide some info about how many croccodiles have been built and how many have been downed (afganistan, chechnya, olso outside russia’s conflicts) and how many still are in service.

ok, thanx for clearing it up for me

Yeeh!!, finally a text in dutch!! , It is very pity Belgium still flies the F-16MLU and only 60 will be in service starting from the year 2007.As I am sitting here in Brussels I can only dream fliying a more advanced jet then the MLU.