Nope we did not built any. We did refurbish ´RD-33s, but at first it was a huge problem getting replacement parts on time from Russia. Later that changed, yet the MiG-29 was still more expensive to operate then the F-4.

India will have to make their own parts. They will operate the MiG-29 much longer, then Russia.

(And I was not talking about countries that are under a embargo)

4000 hours is quite short. An F-4F had 3000 hours. EF has somewhere around 8000-12000 hours.

And it says nothing about the spare supply. AFAIK the MiG-29 were troublesome in that regard till the end of their operations in Germany. I just hope the Indians will buy huge stocks of spares, cause they need them in the future, as the only operator of the type.

But just looking at the aircraft (and forgetting the marginal carrier) the MiG-29K is a very good plane.

Well, on the other hand a display team is a luxury if the combat soldiers are suffering from a lack of spares and support.

Imh0 the post shows that morale must be low in the RAF.

Descubierta – aren´t those ex spanish Navy ships ??

I wonder were they would get the Saab 2000 airframes from. Is it not out of production?

nice pics. Btw. I hate you for being in such weather. (j/k)

Hello Seahawk, Flex, interesant posts, I salutes you 🙂 🙂 🙂 !!!!!!

Nothing new, it sounds like Boeing advertising……. 😮

Well it might surprise you but in fact many of the facts advertised are true.

“RAM itself only plays a VERY MINOR part in the design of the Raptor”

Are you sure??????, when people -even experts- talks about Raptor always said RAM here, RAM there…….you know……. then you come to say all the opposite…… :confused: :confused:

I´m very sure about it. RAM has matured a lot since the first applications on german submarines during WW2. However RAM is not yet available in a form that can be used to construct load bearing elements of an airframe. You can add RAM elements to the load bearing structure, but you can not make the whole structure from RAM. Furthermore adding RAM also means adding additional material which means additional weight. On the Raptor RAM has one significant advantage over older materials in the fact that it needs much less servicing and care. It is leighter and much more resistent to external influence. But as a general rule RAM is only usefull to cover up certain critical areas in the airframe design that otherwise would ruin the RCS reduction. I mean an F-117 uses a lot of RAM, yet it is the airframe design that made the low RCS possible.

“RAM does not reduce the IR signature, in fact it does increase it, although only to a very small ammount”

So where goes the heat of the engine??????? let me see….maybe…….eh……uhmmm……………………..TO RAM? 😀

“Furthermore heat is transported from hot ections to cooler section through the use of the internal structures. Even the fuel tanks are used to cool certain airframe sections ” blablabla

Viewieng that in an overall perspective,well, maybe, maybe not (do you know about the 2th law of thermodynamics?????) even if the f22 is based in cuantical phisics –yes the raptor has extraterrestial tech-, you have components that increase the temperature and you have components that decrease,………..the overal result????? A MATCH!!!!

The raptor has that because an supercruiser plane have an high IR signature- a lot of fuel combustion to retain the “unnatural” supersonic speed- also draining heat from arround the engine drecrease the efficienc……… a better answer would be that the engine has a revolutionary axial compress ratio and an descompresed cover flow, i saw –in magazines- the raptor engine and its very very conventional –the only mayor stuff is the turbine adaptation materials at constant high temps-.

The engine heat is not reduced by RAM. RAM is radar absorbing material, it is not used to absorb heat. In fact it transforms radar energy into heat. During supercruise the Raptor is running the engines at around the same levels as current fighters use to achieve their subsonic cruise speed. Therefore apart from being larger the engines do not creat more heat then on a subsonic design. What creates more heat is the friction on the airframe. All exposed edges in the frontal section generate more heat because of the higher speed. And that heat is dispersed by using the structure and even the fuel tanks to cool down the hot spots. A technique Lockheed already used on the A-12/YF-12/SR-71. The engines are also well shielded. The nozzels are designed to reduce the IR signature too. The rear area IR signature of the F-22 will still be quite high, but so it is on the B-2 or F-22.

“. But the level of Stealth of those fighters is much worse, then that of the F-22.”

Yurofigter is average for stealth-at least it has low wing configuration, it makes the posibility for adaptatons, but that cilincrical fuselage dont help….
I think that is close a match obviously with raptor advantage, -read below-

EF or Rafale are not stealthy they are RCS reduced when viewed from certain (head-on)angles. The RCS is too high to be considered stealthy. Although I can confirm the RCS reduction on the RCS was not bad. The latest tests had some interesting results.
I wonder if Rafale is really RCS reduced when looking at the intakes. But that is another topic.

“And who said that the F-4 was a bad design should really read a lot more info about the mighty Phantom.”

I dont know, but i think never said that, every plane that reach active service has some merit, america has build some very goog planes –f 15, f 14, f 5, f 16(even with falcon stupid mistakes)-,f86,p51,etc……- the f4 reach service so is an good plane,but it seen that you are a little suceptible about the fantom, so i apologise ,i don want that the f22-35 thread turns in a f4 discusion-not yet-

The F-4 was not just a good airplane it was the plane that set the standards for the next generations of planes in east and west. The first truly omnirole fighter in history.