“Indeed the 2000-5 Mk.2 is more multirole however, I’m sure that you’re aware of role specialization vs. Jack of all trades, master of none (I was reading yours and Toms post on that Light Weight Mafia topic, which is pretty interesting).. but say if we follow the specialization approach like Tom said..then the Su-30MKI should be left as the air-superiority fighter with the Mirage 2000D handling the long range A2G weapons, etc. Hopefully the French “JDAM” that has been testing, will be included in the future.”

Well let’s say India moves in and buys the Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2…

It would likely be used as a striker the same way Israel, Taiwan and others use their F-16s for strike. Of course the Flankers would play deep strike in some units and others would be tasked with air superiority and such. And different Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2 squadrons would have different taskings such as anti shipping (possibly), different kinds of strike missions and such. With the AASM which is to enter service this year the Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2 would be a more capable all weather striker then the Su-30MKI even if it lacks the payload. So it would very much boost the InAF strike fleet.

The RDY-2 is a more modern and capable air to ground radar then the Antilope-5 and is also a BVR capable set able to guide the MICA-EM. There would still be a major threat from PAF fighters thus the Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2 would need those missiles in a shooting war if push came to shove.

“super expensive weapons like Apache etc. are out of the question. I have heard a price of $10mil a pop for the UAE black shaheen – any truth to that ?”

I have heard around 2 million a piece.

“israeli rafael LGB kits and maybe a version of the Popeye and KH-xx would be used instead.”

The SCALP EG happens to out range the Popeye and Kh-59ME by a wide margin.

“What weapons will the IAF seek along with 2000-5.. keeping in mind various programs that are going on.. budget and practical requirements..”

Well let’s see….

The Mirage 2000-5 Mk.2, which is currently the one on offer, comes with a large arsenal of weapons…

Air to Air Missiles
MICA EM/IR
R-550 Mk.2 (already in InAF service)

Air to Surface Missiles
SCALP EG (155-mile range)
APACHE (80 mile range anti runway missile)
AM-39 Mk.2 (Exocet)
AS-30L (already in InAF service)

Guided Bombs
AASM
BGL-1000 (already in InAF service)
GBU-24
GBU-12/22

Guidance Pods
Damocles
LITENING II (Already in InAF service very likely to be the pod they will use)
PDL-CTS
ATLIS II (already in InAF service)

“Yes, of course, buying from traditional allies is sucking up, just like spending money in shops owned by the people who burned down your house and confiscated your land is not sucking up. They bombed your country and called you war criminals but they are your real friends…”

From that I can gather that you are very anti American.

Serbia had that ass-kicking coming in the late 1990s. More like you have a chip on your shoulder about the USA.

And FYI Yugoslavia has used lots of American planes in the past so is that not a past ally as well. Unless you want to pretend those 230 F-84Gs, 120 F-86Es, 130 F-86Ds and over 110 RT/T-33s never joined the Yugoslav air force.

“What is the PK of the AIM-7M? It is crap.”

Well it has made more kills then the R-27R that’s a fact. Also it did a lot better of a job bagging MiG-29s then the R-27R as well.

“They were made NATO compatible because initially they were going to be used in the German forces.”

They acted as aggressors for NATO fighters not as a combat asset.

Serbia might as well ditch those expensive to run super sonic jets arm the G-4s with IR missiles and use those to patrol the skies. There is not going to be a war in that area unless someone steps out of line in which case NATO would show up. Serbia does not seem to have the money to keep a modern air force in the skies and they don’t really have much use for jet fighters.

More helicopters and a G-4 upgrade while ditching the MiG fighters woudl save a lot of money. And of course a G-4 upgrade keeps the money in Serbia.

“currently, china doesnt have many indiginous PGM projects working. that means that whatever PGMs the PLAAF have are russian or licenced russian stuff. so it makes sence to just use russian a/c that are (or soon to be) compactible with those weapons to deliver them, as opposed to wasting alot of time and money trying to intergrate the weapons on a chinese fighter that would probably be better off doing purely AA stuff anyways.”

Well the J-10 is kind of lacking in the air superiority load out only using 2 BVR missiles and 2 PL-8s and the Su-27SKs/J-11s are far better for that role in the first place with their bigger missile loads, longer range and high top speeds.

“Considering the whole Balkans region where Serbia is located, the country should in the future maintain an airforce the size that of Israel or Greece.”

Are you joking? Serbia can barely keep an air force up in the air now and you want an HAF or IDF/AF sized force.

You guys are just nuts.

“Even today, American GIs prefer to use Ak-47s in Iraq, as the weapon does not jam in a sandstorm like an M-16 does.”

Well that’s more of the fact the AK-47/AKM/Type 56 is better in a firefight then the M-9 handgun, a club or throwing handfuls of rocks.

“A historical Revisionist nonsense sold by German generals who blamed all their problems on Hitler, even when Hitler was responsbile for the good things as well as the bad.”

Yeah Hitler does seem to get blamed for every shortcoming in WW2 Germany.

“But when the lines became static at today’s 38th Parellel, the inferiority of Russian weapons became clear and Chinese died by the hundreds of thousands. Nearly all of the PVA’s casualties came at the end of the war.”

Well that was not due to the failure of say the PPSh-41 or Mosin Nagant. That was all about tactics. Of course there was a MiG-15 turkey shoot but that was not a battle for air supremacy over the battlefield.

“Firstly, the ‘FBC-1’ sucks arse. Second, it is a vastly inferior aircraft in all relevant maritime strike departments to the Su-30MK2.”

True. But the FBC-1 has a heavier/longer ranged anti shipping missile then the Kh-31As being carried on Su-30MKK-2s. But then again I would rather be in a Su-30MKK-2 then the FBC-1 if say a ROCAF Mirage 2000-5EI was up in the air.

“Taiwan ‘only’ got F-16As and E-2Bs if you look at the actual airframes delivered.”

The ROCAF got pretty damn good F-16s. Not like they got the same type the PAF/TNI-AU got. The airframe might be an F-16A/B but the heart/brains of the plane is an F-16C/D.

“but anyhow, i suspect that at the moment, the J10 is intended primarily to act as an air superiority fighter much like the Rafales at present. the J10B (twin seater) would most likely be used to create a more ground attack oriantated a/c, and more hardpoints could always be added to the wings or a tornado/typhoon style centre body quard hardpiont could be installed.”

I think the opposite. The J-10 would likely be employed as a fighter-bomber in my opinion. The Su-27SK/J-11s are there for the air superiority role.