3 minute vid took a while for me to load...maybe it won't be as long for you. thanks to my dad. This is a video of an in-flight demonstration flown by the Russian SU-30MK fighter aircraft. You'll not believe what you are about to see. The fighter can stall from high speed, stopping in less than a second. Then it demonstrates an ability to descend tail first without causing a compressor stall. It can also recover from a flat spin in less than a minute. These capabilities probably don't exist in any other aircraft in the world today. Take a look at the video with the sound up: www.crazyaviation.com/movies/CA_SU-30.wmv This aircraft must be of concern to U.S. and NATO planners. I don't know which nations are flying the SU-30MK, but I hope China isn't one of them.
:?: Michael- This kind of aerial acrobatics is not exactly new- in 1996, at the Farnborough air show, a Sukhoi Su-37 stunned the crowd when it accomplished the manuevers you see in that video. Any plane that has thrust vectoring is able to accomplish this to some degree. The Su-37 has actually been around since 1988, and yes- it is a heck of a plane. The designer, Mikhail Simonov, actually challenged any US fighter pilot to a dogfight, claiming the Su-37 would defeat any plane/pilot. Of course, this was before the emergence of the Raptor (F-22), which as all you plane buffs know, does not "fight fair". The Raptor's avionics are so advanced, a missile from it would destroy the Su-37 before the '37 would even know the Raptor was in the vicinity. As far as the Chinese go- we'd better start worrying that they are testing anti-sat missiles. Our pilots will always have the advantage in the air.
You know, when I saw this video I thought...well, that's nice. Still can't pull off those kinds of maneuvers at supersonic speeds in a dogfight, can ya? I mean, how menacing is any aircraft that can drift like a leaf but can't make a missile miss? I agree about the Chinese anti-sat program. Not to mention, aren't they building their own aircraft carriers? Looks like they're pursuing dreams of projecting power such as the U.S. is capable of...does Taiwan have a future as a sovereign state?
M- The classic idea of the "dogfight" is unfortunately dead- today's modern air to air engagements are more like a sniper at work: one shot, one kill. The US does not want to fight fair, especially when it comes to air engagements- that's primarily one of the reasons we sent the F-117's into Baghdad at night. Today's fighter planes/pilots rely a little less on dogfighting skills, and somewhat more on the technology their planes are capable of- and if you know the F-22 systems (my dad is AF, Korean vet and still maintains "link") and the capabilities they have, well let's just say that the Su-37/Su-30MK (basically the same plane) stands no chance against it. The Chinese are indeed attempting to purchase/build aircraft carriers (though smaller versions of the "classic" carrier) and also submarines, destroyers, etc. They have exchanged technologies with Iran, India, and various other countries in the past- and there's no reason to suggest they will stop anytime soon, especially if their economy continues to grow exponentially.
KNAAPO manufactures the Su-30MKK and the Su-30MK2. Apart from India, the Su-30 currently serves or is on order for the airforces of several countries including the People's Republic of China, :shock: Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Algeria. In May 2003, the Royal Malaysian Air Force signed a deal to purchase 18 of Sukhoi Su-30MKM jet fighters worth almost $1 billion. The Su-30MKMs will be delivered in batches starting in early 2007. As part of the deal, the Russians will send a Malaysian astronaut to the ISS. On 14 June, 2006, the government of Venezuela announced the purchase of 24 units of the Sukhoi Su-30MK2. The first two Sukhoi Su-30MK2 arrived in the first week of December 2006, while the other 22 aircraft will arrive in 2007 The Mexican Navy's air arm has also announced plans to acquire around eight "Flanker"s; planned to be 6 Su-27s and 2 Su-30s. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I'd be more worried about the The United States Air Force ordering 750 of the F-22 Raptor. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: At US$120 million each
