Swiss: Cancelled
India : Cancelled
Brazil: Cancelled
Lybia: Cancelled
Netherlands: Cancelled

All due to financial crisis. :diablo:

Video from Severodvinsk: Launch of the VIKRAMADITYA

http://www.zvezdanews.ru/video/day_events/0024221/

The degree of “stealth” Sukhoi is working on to me is open to great debate based on the speculation out there so far. Whether the PAK/FA can have the same sort of all-aspect stealth capabilities that the F-22/F-35 have is to me open to great debate. Remember this is Russia’s first significant foray into this kind of design. One could argue that America is at least on it’s 3rd full generation of stealth airplanes with the SR-71 being generation 1, then the F-117/B-2 and now the new fighters representing the third generation. It is a hard pill to swallow that Russia will be able to achieve in one generation what America took three to achieve.

With all due respect, this is plain wrong. Europe could certainly, with the political will, develop a platform that could give the F-22 a run for it’s money. Only Western Europe has the requisite skills in airframes, composites, avionics, engines and systems integration to pull this off using only their own resources. It would be a huge expense, but do not say that it could not be done.

You are contradicting yourself in your own post:

First, you are doubting Russia’s ability to match the F-22’s stealth capabilities because it has not much experience in the stealth field.

Next, you say that Europeans (who also have no experience in that field) can field something that can match the Raptor.

S-300P systems are deployed at sites by variant. You won’t find S-300PT and S-300PM components at the same location. There is a degree of backwards compatibility with the missiles and the hardware components. You will find S-300PS and S-300PM batteries close to each other, but they’re at separate sites.

Why are there so many empty sites? Probably because they:

1. Don’t have the money to keep them all manned

2. Have sold off some of the systems to places like Belarus and Kazakhstan

3. May use a lot of those sites to relocate systems during wartime to complicate targeting

Want to see where they all are?

http://imintandanalysis.googlepages.com/SAMSiteOverview.kmz

Download and open that in Google Earth. There’s almost 3,000 SAM sites in there worldwide.

I apologize for my off-topic question. I don’t have Google earth on my laptop and I am overseas on a business trip.

Apart from Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan are there any ex-Soviet union countries that have the S-300? I am thinking of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

SOC,

Why are you assuming that the Iranians will be launching from the westernmost part of their country?

How about a launch from Eastern Iran (around Mashad on your map)? Would you please redraw the red line for such a scenario. How does that trajetory compare with a Russian launch from western Russia?

Thanks in advance.

There is no such thing as an invicible wonder-weapon system, S-300 or otherwise.

There were no S-300 in Georgia. Only the search radar (two of them) was sold to Georgia by Ukraine. But no S-300 missiles or launchers.

These radars were used as part of the Georgian early-warning and integrated air defense network. It is my understanding that the photo of the one I posted was destroyed by Russian long range artillery (to be confirmed).

BTW, most sources believe that the single Backfire lost over Georgia was due to a BUK missile (also supplied by Ukraine). this particular radar may have been used to acquire the target.

Hopefully we will get more information with time.

In my opinion, the Georgian airdefenses were far better equipped than most people expected. No S-300 but, BUK and OSA supported with a good radar network and some help from Ukrainian experts is a dangerous barrier.

It is worth noting that the PAK-FA is suppose to be a Strike Fighter somewhat along the lines of the F-35. Not a purely Air Superiority type like the F-15C or F-22A.

Is that your personal guess or do you have a source?

I tend to agree with you however. Stealth is more valuable for strike missions than pure air superiority tasks. That would make sense for the RusAF.

“I do not think they would buy more Flankers since the J-10 is as good as the Flanker, to say the least.”

Whatever he meant by that is not whatever you perceive which is not whatever I understand….

And by the way, your title does not mention the journalist’s perceived superiority of the J-10 over the F-16.

from the article:I reckon it will beat F-16C or MiG-29/SMT easily.

But of course, patriotic Sferrin will not mention that in his post’s title.

😀