Youtube Vids of Talk on Su-30MKI at Red Flag

It was a talk given by a Colonel Fornof, the Director of the Requirements and Testing office at Nellis AFB and an F-15 pilot.

There is nothing here that is particularly sensitive, though it is very interesting.

The bullet points, or at least the ones that surprised me:

  • The pilots in the Su-30MKI’s did not use thrust vectoring well, so when they used it, they got hosed.
  • The French showed up, after having changed aircraft, from the Mirage 2000 to the Rafale, and were there for the electronic signals. They were sucking up radar data from that IAF, and did not tend to engage much.
  • The Indians had real concerns with foreign object damage with their aircraft, which surprises me, as the USSR designed its aircraft for austere basing, though it might have been because the engines had to go back to Russia if there was any damage…Something that the Indians might want to discuss with the manufacturer.
  • That for both the Su-30MKI and the F-22, if they go into post stall maneuvering with thrust vectoring, it provides an opportunity, which seems to give an answer about thinks like the Cobra maneuver: They are flight show BS, at least most of the time.
  • That the IAF’s upgraded MiG-21s are formidable aircraft, not bad for a roughly 50 year old design.
  • His admission that he does not think that the F-22 carries enough missiles

Links here, here, here, and here, and the videos are below.


Part 1


Part 2


A compare/contrast airshow demonstrations Su-30 vs F-22

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