From my personal point of view, the Indian LCA is a very capable light aircraft, but does it have a chance of making it into overseas market?

I’m not sure whether those figures are correct or not but it seems that everything is in order, I thought the VNAF operate about 300 F-5s at the peak of its strength in the early-70s, but those numbers suggest something different, less then 100 F-5s.

After the Fall of Saigon in 1975, the Vietnamese People’s Air Force integrate U.S built planes into it’s own air force, and believe it or not communist pilots find American planes have much better handling then their Russian MiGs, which form the main fighting force. Rough estimates suggest that the VPAF have between 500-550 combat aircraft in it’s air force during the eighties, and most of these planes were operating outside Vietnam, in countries such as Cambodia where the Vietnamese were fighting the Khmer Rouge, and in Laos. By the early 1990’s all those planes were replaced by Su-22M/UB and more MiG-21bis, and as a result the VPAF have greatly reduced the size and have fewer planes.

Oh yes, does anyone have images of Sudanese MiG-23s?

According to one American source, the Chinese did not use combat aircraft against the Socialist Republic of Vietnam because they knew, that after the fall of Saigon in 1975, the VPAF have expanded its inventory of aircraft which made of modern U.S built planes, flown by combat-experienced pilots who have prevously fought in the Vietnam war against the United States.

U.S built F-5A/B/E/F are much better then Chinese J-6/7, and PLAAF pilots are not as well trained as the Vietnamese, so to put their pilots in the air and lose against the Vietnamese would be an embarrassment.

WACHENR0DER,

canpark is right… China’s and Vietnam’s ministers shake hands as though they are very good friends… but deep in their minds the Chinese is thinking “fcukin Viet”, and the Viet is thinking “fcukin Chink”

and recently China has formally complained and protested against Vietnam sending its own tourists to Nansha Islands.

Beside from complaining and protesting there is nothing the Chinese could do, in fact, I will rejoice the day when the Vietnamese beat the Chinese out of the Spratlys.

As for coastal patrol, I think an upgraded P-3 Orion is the best choice which also provide anti-submarine capabilities……………