Could this conceivably turn the tables on the US-Brazil relationship and give the latter impetus to demand a partnership in a new Monroe Doctrine? Brazil opts for the driver seat in South America and the US sits in position to be sole provider of support.

Quid quo pro. Face saving on both sides.

Haavarla, the force structure in place to support isn’t inherently larger personnel-wise than the Flanker and MiG-31 was designed to require less than the MiG-25P. If anything its a step back from what they had known using Foxbat.

I’m not suggesting MiG-31 is a good choice, merely eradicating the notion its a terrible choice. Its a region destabilizing force at the minimum.

I don’t think going for MiG-35 is a bad choice considering the terrain and conditions they expect to operate. I have a strong feeling the F-16’s will be relegated to the less harsh environments, the Fulcrum will form the backbone. If they opt for a Flanker that would upset their neighborhood, but it would be the best Russian kit available to them.

They are either going to have to buy a lot of Fulcrums or look into some kind of modern turbojet powered light fighter to fill the gaps. MiG-21 isn’t available and Yak-130 doesn’t much fill that hole. J-7 or a westernized FTC-2000 might. JF-17 would even be better. The turbojets are better suited for Iraqi’s harsh environments.

I’d pick Su-35 any day, MiG-31 can not be expected to do well vs fighters

???

Big radar, lots of kinetic energy, high ceiling, and missiles capable of look down shoot down from 75000 feet to hit nap of the earth cruise missiles…. Your statement made no sense.

plus you can add the Mig-31 insane cost of fuel and general operational cost for a small country like Iraq AF.

The only way Russia(and Kazakstan) can maintain their Mig-31 fleet is due to the surplus airframe canibalism. Especially the D-6 engines.

Where did you get those ideas? The core of the engine has a widespread use and Russia has hundreds of airframes in storage because it cannot afford to modernize them. It has nothing to do with fuel costs. The state has first rights to fuel in Russia. Some of its more sophisticated systems take less man hours compared to Flankers to keep up. The rumoured high costs associated with MiG-31 make little sense as the plane is pound for pound no more expensive than Flanker and it has similar lifetime maintenance schedules and ground crew size. By this insane logic the Su-24M wouldn’t be flying.

Its pretty obvious that the MiG-25’s SARH missiles were its biggest weakness. Not having a frontal-hemisphere homing heat seeker was its next strike against it. Being able to dictate the fight was its biggest strength. A modern opponent with active guidance missiles is not a sure kill for MiG-25. The MiG-31 isn’t so hampered.

Scooter, by your logic the India Rafale should use the same engine as LCA.

Which is exactly the fear of the state department, hence their reluctance to sell big. They should have kept the country segregated by ethnicity. Since Sunnis make up most of the Arab world and Iraq is ethnically Arab whereas the majority of Shia are Persian descent, it’s inevitable Sunni money will lean Iraq that way.

I see that most people dismiss the idea of J-8II. The export J-8T would give them an affordable platform for BVR missiles, precision strike, and ASuW. The platform isn’t a 9G turning fighter, but it’s capable of quite a wide range of ability and supports probe & drogue refueling. It’s a stepping stone to better platforms.

The 35 builds on the 29K success. Stick to the 35 from MiG if they won’t sell the Sukhoi.