FBW is an extension of the automatic mechanical lift and control put in planes since WWII.

The Kawanishi N1K2 George in the last years of the Pacific had combat flaps that came on automatically during sharp rolls and enhances it turn radius as well.

FBW uses a computer to do the same on a stable plane which is performing a maneuver or is carrying a load that is effecting its normal flight characteristics.

GD,

Most Indians don’t care about Olympics. Let them include Cricket and then we can talk…. :dev2: :diablo:

Okay, let’s not include something that the US, Russia, China and all the other major powers put great stock in every four years and concentrate on something ignored by the major nations outside of Britain and that is dominated by teams from Australia and South Africa :rolleyes:

Let’s talk about war record. After WWII, China fought the US in Korea and took land away from American forces (practically the whole of North Korea to be exact) and it fought the USSR to standstill without giving ground in either Ili region Xinjiang or in Manchuria. These were against the superpowers of their time. I won’t mention a minor and irrelevant conflict in the Himalayas where China took every piece of land in contention and then some.

There is no comparison.

A totally ridiculous and unlikely scenario.

1) Everything pales to absolute irrelevancy when compared against the Taiwan and certain US involvement on China’s east coast. There will be NO MKK to spare outside of the Taiwan Strait,

2) Even if there is a MKK or two from the small force of 120, there is no way to base them anywhere near the Indian Ocean,

3) There is no strip on Coco island. In fact, it has not even been determined that there is anything more than a guy and a radio receiver there. There is simply nothing important enough nearby to warrant anything more.

4) The Indian Ocean is an American lake. Any Chinese resources there will be overwhelmed. The Far East (including China) depends on the US Navy to protect the trade and oil corridors in international waters. If those trade routes are not protected by the Americans for China then war has already begun in the Taiwan Strait and every available Chinese resource must be there.

So there is no way that a MKK would ever be in the Indian Ocean because China cannot split it resources against an overwhelming American presence both there and in the Taiwan Strait.

As far as pilots for the MKK and MiG29 respectively: we have two third world nations but one which have created programs that can train people to compete with the US and Russia in the Olympics and the other who can’t even train enough people to win against the likes of Ethiopia or Sudan. There can be no question about the outcome.

In fact, history already shown us what would happen between the trained personel of these two nations in any competitive event. It ALWAYS resulted in the Chinese side completely dominating the other — whether in the performance of economy, sports or even more appropriate in this case, war. The 1962 Himalayan war is probably one of the most one-sided conflicts between so-called “major” nations since WWII.

So to believe that China (which has more budget, aircraft and outright resources and organizational abilities) would somehow spend less money and time in training its pilots is pretty much silly hoping. Again, there is no comparison between the two.

At any rate, this an extremely unlikely scenario because it involves a totally unrealistic assessment of India’s relevancy. It is like asking a person to use his bullets on a bothersome but emaciated cow eating his tulips in his backyard while lions and tigers are roaming outside his front door and threatening his family’s existence.

Thailand is a huge agricultural power and is one of the largest rice exporters in the world and is a top poultry exporter too (people tend to forget about duck and geese.)

MANY countries conduct trade on a barter basis including the US. The US had paid China for oil in the 1980s (before China became an oil importer) with tons of wheat and corn.

From an economic standpoint, there goods and currency is the same. Before we forget, currency is nothing more than a representation of goods and services.

That was a picture of the Kunlun II at the Beijing Aerospace show. It claimed that is currently the world’s most advanced military turbojet which is a rather dubious achievement since the West and Russia had gone exclusively to turbofans since the late 1970s.

Off the top of my head, I couldn’t recall a new Western military turbojet since the F-5’s J-85 series.

The Kunlun, even more than the WS-10A which Sens tries to smirkingly make fun of, is from the 1970s and 80s.

But the fact is most of the world are not even close to building American and European 1970s and 80s stuff. So China’s turbojets simply give China self-suffiency not any sense of parity with the West. If the PRC is cut off from the world, it could still produce Kunlun-powered J-7s and J-8IIs.

The CFM-56 is named by the Chinese BBS as the underlying tech that the Chinese used as the foundation of the WS-10. The Chinese boards had claim this even while Jane’s and other Western publications speculated that it was based on AL-31.

All evidence point towards the American civil engine as inspiration since the WS-10 program began in the 1980s and the original WS-10 had been ground tested in prototype form since the early 1990s.

The WS-10A was first mentioned on the web around 1998 as the version that will first be flown.

Another Chinese turbofan, the WS-11 had its origins in the Garrett that powered the original K-8.

Until 1989, tech transfer such as the CFM-56 and Garrett was done with one eye closed by the US government under Reagan. It was an unwritten rule that the technology would change hand to strengthen China against the USSR.

China, for its part, closed down much of its own projects in anticipation of moving country’s technical base (not just the military’s but civilian) to US and western technology. In fact, China’s government controlled airlines were allowed to go completely over to Boeing and killing one of the great technical achievements in Chinese aviation, the Y-10 transport (this was a 707 Chinese passenger liner that made over 100 flights in three prototypes.)

1989 of course changed all of that.

It looks like the previous reports that the Nigerians might be looking at the F-8IIM are incorrect.

Nigerian defense ministry had announced the procurement of a 15-plane squadron of new F-7 variant called F-7NI. I would imagine it is based on the F-7PG.

From Flight International:

http://www.flightinternational.com/Articles/2005/08/02/Navigation/193/200660/+Nigeria+rebuilds+air+force+with+%24220m+deal+for+F-7s.html

Nigeria rebuilds air force with $220m deal for F-7s

China’s CATIC to supply strike aircraft and trainers, with shipments to start next year

Nigeria’s defence ministry has signed a contract worth more than $220 million to acquire one squadron of 15 Chengdu F/FT-7NI strike aircraft and trainers from the China National Aero-Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC).

The Nigerian air force will take delivery of 12 F-7NI fighters and three FT-7NI trainers under the deal, which details a unit cost of over $11 million. The service’s two-seat FT-7s will be shipped from China next June for reassembly in Nigeria, with the country’s first single-seat fighters to follow from October 2006.

Twelve Nigerian pilots, including four instructors, will travel to China early next year to undergo conversion training on the new aircraft, which is an extensively modified development of the veteran MiG-21 design already in Nigerian service.

A related armaments package accounts for around $32 million of the deal’s value, with this covering the supply of PL-9C short-range air-to-air missiles, unguided rockets and 250kg (550lb) bombs for anti-tank and runway denial missions. CATIC will deliver 20 live PL-9Cs, 10 training rounds, launchers and training and support services for the weapon for around $18 million under the agreement.

The acquisition supports an effort to boost the combat effectiveness of the Nigerian air force, which has been diminished through the removal of its Sepecat Jaguars and by the grounding of its 23 MiG-21s. Nigeria’s decision to buy F-7s rules out a proposed $160 million upgrade and life extension for the MiG-21s, which had been pursued by teams comprising Aerostar/Elbit Systems and Israel Aircraft Industries/RSK MiG.

The re-equipment process also involves a more than $70 million deal to refurbish five of theservice’s stored Alenia G222 transports and to acquire one ex-Italian air force example.

CRAIG HOYLE / LONDON

Absolutely no evidence of Russian involvement in any of the recent Chinese AAMs. The PL-4 was based on Sparrow. The PL-10 from Aspide. The PL-8 from Python. If there is any foreign influence in the PL-11 and PL-12 it would come from Aspide and Sparrow. AMR-1 was homegrown not Russian.

Again, a named AGAT official was quoted that they had no involvement in the SD-10 and has called the stories of its involvement in the SD-10 as “hot air” and “the fantasy of reporters.” Pretty clear cut and to the point.