I will only say this, imo all this “China puts pressure/complaints/cries blablah ” is pure and absolute rubbish. Propaganda coming from various anti-chinese, US sponsored and incited corners. I mean, think with your brain (if you have one) for a bit. On one hand, you have CHINA, one of world’s 3 superpowers, with a superb military, with thousands of aircraft, quality and capabilities increasing every day. On the other hand you have Phillippines and…12 poor LIFTs. Do you think the chinese really CARE about those combat capable trainers? They wouldn’t care even if they’d buy 120 of them, not 12…

you just had to bring in the US didn’t you

plus you can add the Mig-31 insane cost of fuel and general operational cost for a small country like Iraq AF.

The only way Russia(and Kazakstan) can maintain their Mig-31 fleet is due to the surplus airframe canibalism. Especially the D-6 engines..

Nah, the Foxhound have its Place in Russia due to their enormous land areal, and their own backyard when it comes to maintaining their big jets..
It makes no sense for any other AF to operate the Foxhound.
Like obligatory says, much better to get the Su-35S.

are you saying Kazakhstan (with an h)
should get rid of its Foxhounds? lol

It was an Iraqi AF MiG-25 that scored the only A2A kill against a U.S. fighter, during the first Gulf War.

this is not a complete list but the things Iraq shot down with their MiG-25
gulfstream – 1981
c-130 – 1983
c-130 – 1986
F-5 – 1986
F-5 – 1986
F-4 – 1985
F-4 – 1985
F-4 – 1986
F-4 – 1986
mig-21 – 1986
F-18 – 1991
predator – 2002

Iraqis claim 23 kills with MiG-25s however.

The F-20 is actually a less capable aircraft to the F-16. It didn’t meet USAF requirements and wouldn’t have been accepted – just like the aircraft it was developed from, the F-5. Unlike the F-16, the F-20 had no potential for development and growth.

i agree. US made a right choice with F-16.
however question is.. what was the radome size of the f-20 compared to f-16 or gripen? it seems that its nose limited the size of the radar

Has the Fulcrum every shot down a Western Fighter………..:rolleyes:

well skoooter

well a Foxbat shot down a western fighter..
an Iraqi one too!

maybe Iraq should consider the Foxbat.. or better yet the Foxhound..that’s like going from a quarter pounder to a triple quarter pounder..
it’d look something like this

very zexy

Pls read Your own link Bacon.

“Hanoi has demanded an annual fee of $500 million for the lease of the base. The owners of the base rejected Russia’s proposal to write off the lease amount from Vietnam’s $10 billion debt to the USSR.
The Vietnamese even threatened to give the base to China or the U.S., but this, of course, was an empty threat. Finally, in early 2000s, Russia has officially left the base.
Since then, the Vietnamese converted the military airfield into a civilian airport and deployment of a mixed regiment of military aviation is now likely there. In addition, the Vietnamese are not ready to place military bases of foreign states in Cam Ranh.”

It’s all about the Naval Base and Russia givin support & repairs for the Navy.
So pls post this in the Sub forum Naval thread.

thats just one of many news on the bay.
you’re also picking the wrong quotes. the rejection of Russian lease was in the late 90s. what you quoted is the background but I can understand its news to you since your interest is limited to one single country.
other stuff Russia and VIetnam are building together at the bay
http://thediplomat.com/flashpoints-blog/2013/10/08/with-russias-help-vietnam-adopts-a2ad-strategy/

you guys made some good points on UK, France, and China being unable to supply for whatever reason. maybe a new thread on which is the best Russian aircraft to get is appropriate