So they must not be able to do anything right then eh?

Certainly they could not forsee the financial tsunami that is going to hit West.
They failed in there biggest test. I doubt they know any about IRBIS/BAR./TVC. Thats false belief is leading into not developing TVC along with cost associated with it.
I have read Putin statment a country intelligence should deal emerging financial threats inaddition to there usual work.

I would imagine organizations like the CIA, MI6, Mossad, etc.. might have something to do with that knowledge of capabilities, rather than surfiing open source websites.;)

These people cant find WMD and u want to go into Russian deep industrial/software capabilities which China with largest amount of money and decades of connection cannot replicate. It is Russians who are buying Industrial machinery from West at rock bottom prices which West developed at cost of fortune and improving there manufacturing capabilities. U cannot have bankrupt system depended on exporting machinery and want to gain competitive advantage.
When u have natural resource wealth u can exploit the rest of the world.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/world/20081107TDY07301.htm
Chinese town thrives on Russian wealth
Russians’ salaries were smaller than Chinese’s 10 years ago, but it’s now a few times that of the Chinese, thanks to recent economic growth,” a Heihe government official said.

You’re the one saying that they’ve been using them, and your link says that they’re building them. Which is it?

The link also said that they are building and overhauling Su-24 and Su-27SM. It is reasonable to assume that simulators are also provided with them for new cockpit and weopons training as they are describing past events.
I am just point out that Ruaf experiance and technical abilities to exploit Flanker are far higher than any export customer with Flanker. There is gap measured in decades.

http://www.royfc.com/news/mar/1703mar03.html
Flying “Blind” to Be Thing of the Past

Technical means and computer programs have been developed in Russia which allow crews to see the actual terrain under “blind” flying conditions. Their use may prevent catastrophes similar to the one which occurred in Iran with the An-140 airplane.

For several years now, a new generation of flight and controller simulators have been built in which an actual picture of the terrain is presented based on the use of the newest information technologies and pictures of the earth from space made for training.

All of this is done in such a way as it can be transferred on board an aircraft for testing in flight. Using the characteristics of bank, pitch, and heading, the computer builds a picture which the airman can see from the cockpit. The equipment allows the use of computer programs developed for a specific airfield.
Source: 17.03.03, Krasnaya Zvezda

I see you obviously were imagining those fancy simulators seeing as you have failed to provide any proof of there existance, what a suprise!

surely those things dont exist.

http://www.royfc.com/news/jun/1508jun01.html
Work is underway at its plants in Komsomol’sk-on-Amur and Novosibirsk on the upgrade and overhaul of Su-24M tactical bombers, the production and overhaul of Su-27SM fighters and the assembly of Su-34 tactical fighter bombers. The company also is delivering spare parts and components for aircraft equipment being manufactured for the Russian Federation defense ministry. New training classes and simulators are being assembled for flight training centers.
Source: 15.06.08, Sukhoy Aviation Holding Company

From wiki, I have this:

IISS is not always accurate that is why I asked.

This thing is clearly wrong or disinformation part of Russians. Russian Strategic airlift/Strategic Aviation/Number of large scale complex exercise where 40 to 100 aircrafts takes part throughout the year exceeds any other nation except US.
Just the factories that develop aircrafts make thousands of sorties on different airframes for new developments from engines to missiles to flight certification. They certainly have funds to do that.
Su-35 is competitive against 5th generation.

arms-tass.su
Chinese servicemen at the airshow in [Chzhukhae] manifest great interest in the fighter Su-35
New multifunctional fighter Su-35 will begin to be supplied to the Russian and foreign customers in 3-3,5 years, reported the previously deputy director of company “dry” and the leader of its representation in Peking Sergey Sergeyev.
On the stand “of dry” the visitors of exhibition can become acquainted with the mock-up of this new multipurpose super-maneuverability fighter of the generation “4++”. In its technical flight characteristics and combat effectiveness it approaches aircraft of the fifth generation

Exactly how far from shore will these tactical aircraft be engaging surface ships, and in what kind of numbers?

Kh-35 flys at low altitute of 1.5m. (there was video about it) and it has range of 130km (newer versions could be more). From low flying aircraft it is difficult to intercept at those ranges for SAM.

Let me get this straight- prior to the first day of war, you’re gonna use airlift to set up ground based radars, in a non-permissive environment?:rolleyes:

Pior to first day of war. U can expect Billistic missile attacks on airbase where AWACS is parked. It is large airframe its fight routine can be observed from long distances through ground based radar along with satellites. importance of AWACS is decreasing.

AWACS have a long range, so they don’t have to launch from a bordering nation airbase, and with tanker support, can remain airborne for very long periods.

It doesnot have long range if u want to loiter it. Not permananet like Ground based radar.

Fighters can detect low altitude targets, but….with a relatively narrow field of view compared with a dedicated AWACS’ search volume, and with far less endurance.

There are more fighters in a group. like 8 to 10 MIG-31 covering more than 1000km and that was 1980s capability. Now u expect it can sweep almost 3000 to 4000km.

F-15I is 92,000 lb or 41,731 kg MTOW. 😉

Any pix of even lifting 10 tons external. There is no space for anything beyond that in small airframe.