UAE reported to be in negotiations for Su-35s

originally posted by: nwtrucker
a reply to: Zaphod58

Hmmm, they're covering all the bases, aren't they....

Who are they defending themselves from with all this airpower, I wonder?

Iran and, Iraq & Arabia if ISIS wins.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: justwanttofly

Add in Western systems, and it's going to get even better.

Disagree with that ... to be honest, I think a huge part of the magic behind the Su-35's are the Russian pilots themselves. And I don't see any advantage of "western" systems ... from a military point of view, I'd rather have an old style radio, than a modern one on a battle field.

a reply to: bjarneorn

You see a advantage with pilots that get a fraction of the training time, operating systems that are frequently half as reliable. And yes I'm speaking from first hand experience.

originally posted by: Zaphod58
a reply to: bjarneorn

You see a advantage with pilots that get a fraction of the training time, operating systems that are frequently half as reliable. And yes I'm speaking from first hand experience.

We have a joke here ... when yanks go fly, they spend hours to comb the plane for dust ... it may interfere with their flight. When the Russians fly, they take a glass of vodka, laugh and throttle up. The Americans, "used" to be like that ... flew in anything ... now ... I wouldn't call them if I needed them.

Sure, you have a point ... but it's like with those radios ... when it comes down to it, I'd rather trust those rusty old radios ... they'll work in anything.

Understand what I'm saying.

a reply to: bjarneorn

Gravity is still gravity. Fancy or simple, the mechanics are still the same.

There may be some truth to what you say, yet all I have to do is watch some night landings in rough seas on carriers to know fancy or cheap equipment, U.S. pilots still have a big pair of brass balls.

There are thousands of them out there retired and active. Some of the best units are national guard. Airline pilots full time and jocks for the sheer fun of it.

Take the top 10% of yours vs the top 10% of the U.S. drivers?.....

Maybe you should drink better Vodka.....

a reply to: bjarneorn

Western aircraft may be harder to maintain, but they have a much better safety record. I've talked to Russian pilots, and they have had some interesting things to say about Russian aircraft. They have to drink the Vodka to get on the plane and be convinced to fly them.

originally posted by: bjarneorn
Sure, you have a point ... but it's like with those radios ... when it comes down to it, I'd rather trust those rusty old radios ... they'll work in anything.

Mentalities like this are why humanity has always prepared for its last war. People thought machine guns were junk in World War 1. The mentality was that machine guns and artillery were honourless contraptions that had no place in war. True wars were fought by horse and bayonet, small arms being just a fad. Halfway through they found that early adopters of technology had a ridiculous advantage, and the race was on to produce as many of the new toys as they could.

In World War 2, everyone started with full-power battle rifles until the late war when they realized that the Germans were really onto something with this Sturmgewehr idea. Close range fighting demanded more bullets in the air with less power, and it took years before the commanders got it into their heads that the technology had been in their hands and they hadn't paid any attention to it. It took 18 years before the US even got their head around this idea.

Don't pooh-pooh technology because you don't understand what it can do for you, otherwise someone else will figure it out first. Fight the next war, not the last one.

a reply to: Zaphod58

They don't understand. I believe you were the one telling the story of the Russian Helicopter leaking hydraulic fluidwith rags tied to try and stop it

a reply to: Crumbles

That's someone else, but I've related a few stories told me by Russian pilots that had my jaw almost on the ground.

That's a blow to Eurofighter. They'd been hoping to re-open negotiations for the deal that fell through a couple of years back.

a reply to: Zaphod58
Numbers vs cost. A whole lot of pretty good planes vs. a few really good planes. You might lose more, but you can afford to if it means taking out high value targets.

Wasn't that the Soviet paradigm?