This is tragic happening. But there is a question, who in healthy mind will send a passenger plane with 300 civilians into area of active air war between Ukrainian air force and Novorussian air defense? There are daily bombing raids and daily missile and AAA fire on attacking planes. This is no place for civil planes. In time of NATO bombing in Serbia, no civil plane fly over Serbia. There is a big responsibility on those, who allow or send civil plane in area of active air war. In such circumstances no one on the ground would expect, that civil planes are in the air, because it is closed combat zone and air defense fire on anything in the air, specially when you don’t have your own air force. Ukraine closed this air space on July 8th, so what is civil plane doing there?

Any new about air combat exercise between Su-30MKM and F-22A? All is quiet. Does it mean F-22A didn’t pass the test?

http://rusvesna.su/news/1404041521

Black news for Ukrainian air force. Novorussian armed forces capture Ukrainian air defense regiment A-1402 equipped with Buk-M1.

Would Mi-28NEs they received ( i think at least 13 by now) make any difference as opposed to using Mi-35Ms while attacking ISIS in your opinion. Other other than a much costlier loss of a toy in case of crash or shot down.

Is there any obvious advantage Mi-28 has over Mi-35M in this kind of war?

Mi-28NE is better suited for night operations as pilot have his own EO ball for night flight, it have more powerful gun (30 mm versus 23mm), better armor, but not sure for ESM equipment.

Extra big windows and nose might be a hint. 🙂

VIP variant with heavy ECM?

What is going on here?

Difficult to say, but it looks like they modify 1 of standard Mi-24 helicopters in electronic warfare version or it is equipment test bed. It looks like it have Amulet defense suite installed in place of IR jammer and in wingtip pods and modified nose, which could have a radar inside. It doesn’t have guns, neither optical equipment, so this could be radar for low altitude flying. Interesting is its color with number 351 in place with old color, but without any other markings. Maybe special FSB version?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-taw6CZJfiI#t=55

Russians Go Slow, Sukhoi Fleet In Trouble (excerpt)

As I know HUD, MFDs and computers in Indian Su-30MKI are French and Israeli, not Russian, because India wants this foreign equipment inside. Is the problem in quality of western equipment or in Indian maintenance?

Stalin gave them hunger ( Holodomor ); http://www.unitedhumanrights.org/genocide/ukraine_famine.htm

True, but Stalin was Georgian and chief of Party in Kiev was Khrushchev, who was Ukrainian, when this hunger happened. After Stalin Khrushchev and Brezhnev were both Ukrainians.