SFers? FA-18s on patrol 10/6

[bleachit]

last I knew

Lockheed Martin and Boeing (which aquired Mcdonnell Douglas) are pretty much it for big military aircraft contracts in the US.

Northrop Grumman may still have some stuff, but not the big contracts ie: F-22, f-35, which I think Lockheed Martin won and contracted work out to Boeing for the f-35.

I believe they collaborated on the f-22 to win that contest.

[Steelrat]

What about the Mig-29?

The Su-37 has been FAR more successful than the Mig-29 on the export market. In the one time the 29 has gone up against the 37, in the Eritrea and Ethiopia conflict, the Ethiopian 37s mauled the 29s. Plus, there have been significant upgrades to the 37s, with some of the newer types being very deadly indeed. The 29 just hasn't seen the same product development. Not that its a bad fighter, just not as good as the 37.

Plus, don't believe all that crap the Germans spouted off when their East-German hand-me-down 29s were used as aggressor aircraft. All they had to do was dogfight NATO aircraft, so that was all they practiced for. Plus, their only real advantage was the AA-11 and HMS. Now that the US has a similar system, I'm betting the results would have been a lot different. Plus, the 29's engines are known to crap out completely in very short order. Makes for a lot of maintenance headaches.

Also, for those in the know, what do you all think about COPE India? I think it was 50% underestimating the Indians, and 50% taking a dive to prop up the "we need the Raptor" argument. Why else would they not have sent the AESA 15s?

[rkjunior303]

The Su-37 has been FAR more successful than the Mig-29 on the export market. In the one time the 29 has gone up against the 37, in the Eritrea and Ethiopia conflict, the Ethiopian 37s mauled the 29s. Plus, there have been significant upgrades to the 37s, with some of the newer types being very deadly indeed. The 29 just hasn't seen the same product development. Not that its a bad fighter, just not as good as the 37.

Plus, don't believe all that crap the Germans spouted off when their East-German hand-me-down 29s were used as aggressor aircraft. All they had to do was dogfight NATO aircraft, so that was all they practiced for. Plus, their only real advantage was the AA-11 and HMS. Now that the US has a similar system, I'm betting the results would have been a lot different. Plus, the 29's engines are known to crap out completely in very short order. Makes for a lot of maintenance headaches.

Also, for those in the know, what do you all think about COPE India? I think it was 50% underestimating the Indians, and 50% taking a dive to prop up the "we need the Raptor" argument. Why else would they not have sent the AESA 15s?

I actually read up on the SU and the MIG and realized I had them mixed up.. While the 29 was a decent aircraft, the 27 was the "big-dog".