I’m happy to listen to anybody who had direct experience in any of the WP air arms during the 1970s and 80s, if they can give us a better idea of the reality than my own perception at the start of the 1990s……

Steve Rush

My father is a helo pilot and during the commie years he was flying for the air force. And I tell you…no bird poop on helicopters. They were flying very often. The helicopters were in a very good state…ready for battle.

I’d say big problems, yes, they could have operated with a greatly reduced fuel/ weapon load 😮

RAF Harriers in Germany never operated from grass if they could help it. Plus did they practice it week in, week out and have the massive MT support required to kept up the required operational tempo.

Don`t try to minimize this advantage…might be small…but it exists. Western aircraft can`t do it at all. Anywayz you said “Plus the remains of the waves of WP attack aircraft would have had problems landing on their airfields after 400 odd Tornados had sprayed them with JP233 and MW1 from bases in Germany and the UK.” When they come back from battle…the planes are lighter. Why do you turn the words for your advantage?
And…those Tornados won`t be greated with open arms by the air defences, lol 😉

Harrier is a VTOL or STOL, if you want. Can take off real quickly or vertical…doesn`t need 1km of runway. So…no comparison here.

From pictures of the wind tunnel model, Shenyang have decided on the F-22 approach.

If you need to copy the external design, you might as well pick the winner of the American contest. Unfortunately, the YF-23 is has been assigned to the dustbin.

Of course, if the YF-23 blueprints ever came out, then it would be highly likely that China or Russia will attempt to build a variant of it. But if you are only going by external design, you will choose the F-22 because you would assume the US had researched and developed it to be the superior design.

US chose the F-22 because it suited better USAF`s needs. Perhaps another country finds out that the properties of a model based on F-23 suits its needs better than what a model based on F-22 oferes. If the F-22 is good for the Americans this doesn`t mean that it is good for other country.

I was under the impression that 4 V-12 were built. One crashed, 1 at Monino, 1 at Mil Moscow Plant…and one I don`t know.

LOL, I wasn`t that bored. What I thought was really impressing was the low pass and VERY tight turn upwords….and the thing kept going and going.

I try to be objective. F-22 has the best electronics suite on this planet. F-22 isn`t the most maneuvrable fighter on this planet. MiGs and Suhois don`t have the best electronics suite on this planet, although they`re very maneuvrable. I realise everything has pluses and minuses.

Let’s not forget what those M-1s, Leopard IIs, Challengers, Apaches, Cobras etc. would do to those armored forces either 😉

Let`s not forget their Soviet counterparts also. They`re not like…sitting around waiting to be hit. :rolleyes:
It`ll be a bloody war for both sides…with lots of losses. SAMs(whether WarPac or NATO) won`t sit around doing nothing..they`ll search the skies for any foe. I think the winner would be Jamaica 😉 and at the end of war we`re all going to live in Antarctica.

Anyways…I have my popcorn ready :diablo: just waiting for MLD to show up…and the show can begin. 😀

Hahahaa….man, that is the best!!

The key thing to remember here is that unlike totalitarian states, democratic governments do not have a monopoly on information. They cannot control the free flow of information any more than they can control the weather. This is of course why you see the US military embedding reporters in Iraq and other places, so as to help provide their own viewpoint into this stream of information.

That is theory.

I for one don`t really give a damn about what reporters say. They all got their biases…whether is pro or contra. They never report situation as it is (I had my share of events). Every power, whether democratic or not, controls the press. Tell me one nation in the world who has an independent press. There is none! Press is just another tool for the power to control the masses. It is a necesary evil.

If I was a totalitarian ruler, of course I would use the press to inspire patriotism to my people and fight the enemy.
“We blew a zillion enemy planes out of the sky *a small wrekedge photo* they`re almost finished. We can do it. Come, my people, fight to free our country”. Pretty patriotic, isn`t it?

If I was Bush, Blair or whatever, of course I would use the press to inspire something to my people to fight terrorism.
“And that`s why the United States will lead us all to peace”.

It is logical, isn`t it? Wouldn`t you do it? I would definetly use it.