Posted on 06/24/2004 4:47:01 AM PDT by CarrotAndStick
WASHINGTON: The IAF is off to Alaska for Cooperative Cope Thunder, its second joint air exercise with the United States Air Force.
The IAF group, ten aircraft in all, will enter Canada on July 2 and reach Alaska on July 7 for exercises that are slated to begin on July 15.
"The IAF has never been on such a journey and we just want to be careful getting our planes and equipment across safely," a senior IAF official said.
"This is a big honour and a big debut for us," the official said.
The IAF is in an upbeat mood after USAF officials showered high praise on the Indian service following the Gwalior exercises, crediting it with excellent skills and equipment.
"The Gwalior Cope Thunder was an eye-opener for them but we also learnt a lot and hope to see and learn even more at Alaska," the IAF official said.
The IAF threw its top-of-the-line fighter planes, including Sukhois and Mirages, at the USAF in Gwalior. The Jaguars are of relatively older vintage, but officials said they still remained very relevant.
The Indian squad has been drawn from bases in Gorakhpur and Ambala, and among the pilots are the top guns of the IAF, including some young flight lieutenants and flying officers.
There is also a large continent of technical and maintenance crew that keep the aircraft fit to fly.
The exercises will take place at the Eyelson Air Force Base in Fairbanks in Central Alaska, with the US squad drawn from the Elmendorf AFB.
And best of all, IAF pilots will fly for 70% lower salaries than their American counterparts.
Hey - let's have some fun and make some predictions. Judging from the last exercise, when the Indians "won" - earning high USAF praise for their planes, including their Mig-21's (fer'cryin' out loud), here's mine:
The Indians will fly Sopwith Camels and kick our F-15's all over the sky. Then the Air Force will turn right around and tell Congress "Seeeeeeeeeee.....we told you we need the F-22."
That being said, we do need the F-22. As nice as our aircraft are and as technically advanced as they have been, they are getting old. The newer Russian aircraft are very comparable, if not better in some aspects. The same is certainly true for the new Eurofighter. And now with the Chinese buying large numbers of the latest Russian aircraft, we need the F-22 more than ever.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to maintain our air superiority. I also cannot stress how valuable our pilots are and how we should supply them with aircraft that give them the best opportunities of completing their missions and returning home.
People note the high cost of developing and fielding an aircraft as advanced as the F-22. Yet, they don't note the high cost of pilots. And in times of war, nobody mentions how expensive the F-15, F-16, F-18, or the F-117 were when, having beaten the odds and the enemy, they're returning home from a successful mission.
"And best of all, IAF pilots will fly for 70% lower salaries than their American counterparts."
Are you suggesting we "Outsource" our pilots? ROFLMAO
We really do need the F-22.
Completely agreed. The F-22 is a breakthrough in aviation and electronic warfare. The super-cruise features and vectored-thrust make it an impressive piece of aviation machinery. Its stealth and EMCON EW package is what truly makes this a spectacular and deadly bird.
This will ensure our air dominance for another 25-50 years. If we don't ensure air-dominance, that means our grunts on the ground don't get back-up. If you keep up with these conflicts in Afghanastan and Iraq, you will see what makes us so effective with out high losses is the ability to call in CAS as needed. We would have many more dead troops if we didn't have this ability.
The F-22 has proven itself against F-15Cs (the top fighter in the world) showing that it can approach, attack and kill before the F-15s even knew the Raptor's were present. This will probably be the last manned aircraft anyway.
Not denying that. But as a USAF veteran - I don't like us arranging to be humiliated by the likes of the Indian Air Force in order to make an F-22 sales pitch - and that's what I think is happening.
"by the likes of the Indian Air Force"
And just what do you have against the Indian Air Force?
I have nothing against Triple-A baseball.
You should know - triple A seems to be your expertise. I only deal with major league, and don't plan to waste my time any more.
btt
Don't go away mad, Dinesh...
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