Hardly……………paper means little it times of war. :rolleyes:

OMG Scooter, it actually means much more than you think.

For the love of big space men in the sky, can we let this thread die already.

Show must go on 😡

He might know his aircraft, but he doesn’t know his ships…the “Ticonderoga” class CGs in his slide show were old Spruances with the VLS mod. To me, that sort of blunder undermines credibility. Not saying he’s not a nice and knowledgeable guy, but little things like that don’t inspire the most confidence in the message for me.

If we are to follow that approach then the credibility of USAF Colonel Fornof should also be questioned. When he made those mistakes like Tumansky engines on the MKI’s, Israeli radars on the Bisons that didn’t make him less competent pilot – just less informed on that particular matter.
As for Bill Sweetman, he is a journo and he has his area of specialization, like many of his colleagues have it and this “blunder” can be somewhat significant (in case he did this slideshow for people with knowledge on the matter) or fairly insignificant (if this slideshow was presented to a group of people who can’t distinguish a WWI type Dreadnought from an Arleigh Burke class destroyer).

Sorry guys but I have to hijack this new thread for a moment.

With all those Oscars given to the Slumdog Millionaire is the likelihood to choose an American type for MMRCA tender now any higher? 😀

Sukhoi confirms Su-35 deliveries to Russian Air Force in 2011

MOSCOW, February 19 (RIA Novosti) – Russia’s Sukhoi aircraft maker confirmed on Thursday that the advanced Su-35 Flanker multi-role fighter would enter service with the Russian Air Force in 2011.

“The current progress of the Su-35 testing program confirms the earlier announced timeframe for the deliveries of the aircraft to Russian and foreign customers in 2011,” the company said in a statement.

The first two Su-35 prototypes have successfully conducted 87 flights since July 2008, demonstrating the aircraft’s superior technical and combat characteristics. (Russia’s Su-35 fighter makes first demonstration flight – Image Gallery)

Sukhoi is planning to add a Russia’s Su-35 fighter to the testing program in 2009, and boost the current number of test flights to 150-160.

The Su-35 fighter, powered by two 117S engines with thrust vectoring, combines high maneuverability and the capability to effectively engage several air targets simultaneously using both guided and unguided missiles and weapon systems.

The aircraft features the new Irbis-E radar with a phased antenna array, which allows the pilot to detect and track up to 30 air targets, while simultaneously engaging up to eight targets.

It is equipped with a 30-mm cannon with 150 rounds and can carry up to eight tons of combat payload on 12 external mounts. (VIDEO)

The company earlier said it planned to produce the new aircraft, billed as “4++ generation using fifth-generation technology,” over a period of 10 years up to 2020.

The company is expecting to export at least 160 Su-35 fighters in the future to a number of countries, including India, Malaysia and Algeria.

http://www.en.rian.ru/russia/20090219/120219966.html

Somali pirates hijack German tanker and seize crew of 13

Somali pirates hijack German tanker and seize crew of 13

MV Longchamp, carrying liquefied petroleum gas, is third ship taken this year

Mark Tran, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 29 January 2009 14.01 GMT

Somali pirates in the Gulf of Aden hijacked a tanker and its crew of 13 today, despite an increase in western naval forces in the area. The German-owned MV Longchamp, carrying liquefied petroleum gas, is the third ship to be taken this year, a maritime group said.

The Longchamp was hijacked with a crew of 12 Filipinos and one Indonesian, said Andrew Mwangura of the East African Seafarers’ Assistance Programme. It was not clear where the tanker, which was flying the Bahamas flag, was headed. It has a capacity of 3,415 tonnes.

Gunmen have caused havoc in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, hijacking dozens of ships last year and collecting tens of millions of dollars in ransom payments. The attacks have raised insurance costs, prompted some owners to send their ships round South Africa instead of through the Suez canal, and triggered deployments by foreign navies.

Earlier this week, a French frigate arrested nine Somali pirates as part of the growing international effort to protect vessels from pirates.

Acts of piracy jumped 11% in 2008, driven by an unprecedented series of attacks by Somalis in the Gulf of Aden, the International Maritime Bureau said this month. About 20 warships from 14 different countries, including the US, are now patrolling the vast area of the gulf.

Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991 and its coastline has turned into a haven for pirates, who attacked 111 ships in the gulf last year and seized 42.

In the most dramatic hijacking of recent years, pirates seized the Saudi-owned supertanker Sirius Star last November. Earlier this month, five of the pirates drowned with their share of a reported $3m ransom after their small boat capsized.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/29/somali-pirates-hijack-tanker

So, since WWII you believe Russian/Soviet Designs have claimed more combat kills than there Western Counterparts???

Just so we are straight on the facts………:D

No Scooter, he doesn’t believe that. It would be logical that he agrees here with you but he just doesn’t take those numbers for granted as you do. What people here were trying to say is that those ratios could easily be misleading if you wanted to interpret performance of a certain aircraft.

Almost every aircraft built by the SU was developed for their VVS. Meaning that every aircraft developed was intended to operate as a part of a mix of planes (to augment each other for various purposes). They (Soviet jets) were not developed in mind as stand alone warriors as they have been mostly used by their external users.

As far as the maintenance issues are concerned, well I can’t claim for the others but I know for sure what a nightmare did the Yugoslavian Air Force had with their Fulcrums. They were bought in 1987 and were scheduled for their overhaul in 1997. But guess what – that has never happened as the country was under embargo and since 1991 those planes were suffering heavily. When pitted against the NATO in 1999 there were less than 16 Fulcrums against how many NATO planes? Around a thousand 😮
Every plane experienced malfunction upon taking off and they had to rely on the GCI.
To cut a long story short 11 Fulcrums were destroyed (in the air and on the ground). They didn’t achieve a single kill. So according to your logic this jet is completely inferior to any of its contemporaries that were fielded in the West:confused:

What kind of tactical nuclear weapons did the VVS deploy? What were their weights as well as the yield? Which were their carriers? Do the RuAF still uses tactical nukes and which planes are cleared for this?