Originally posted by American Mad Man
there is already a thread about the joint US india exercise, its called something like "US gets first exposure to Su-30". Any ways this should show
the need for the original 600+ Raptors we were supposed to get instead of the 250-300 we probably will get. Also keep in mind that the Indian pilots
were there best pilots, flying their best planes all while outnumbering the US (if I recall corectly).
According to Aviation Week, it was 2 on 2. The F-15 pilots were down on flight hours compared to the Indian pilots. However, the F-15 were supposed to
have the new radar system that will allow it to detect stealth cruise missiles etc. Also, In all likelhood, in real combat, the US pilots would have
the benifit of a AWACS plane.
That being said it could be a PR campaign by the pentagon to a) Get more Raptors, or b) hold the line on further cuts.