Posted on 07/08/2013 7:13:17 AM PDT by lbryce
How much?
Great video. Some of the closeup shots did a disservice in illustrating this modern day’s superfighter abilities to returning to the acrobatics of a WWI biplane.
A great display of vectored thrust, only it didn’t show off it’s tail walking capability near enough to my satisfaction.
Meanwhile the F-35 program is mired in specification downgrade and cost reduction measures.
Mr. Kenny Bunk, you must be from Maine. LOL
Vectored thrust at the ass end of the plane.
Okay... It can dance... But let’s see it do it with a full load of weapons.
That thing maneuvers like a stunt plane. Hopefully its avionics and weapons systems are sub-par.
The very first mistake a US pilot can make is coming up against an experience Russion pilot in something similar and making the mistake he’s flying against a fricking Arab or something.
Same goes for their SAM radars on the ground, BTW. Their double digit systems are effing deadly.
The move starting at 2:45 is stunning to watch.
We are toast.
Who’s “we” comrade?
You got that right. Wow!
After reading “MIG PILOT” subtitled “The Final Escape of Lt. Belenko” and learning what the MiG-25 he defected with was THOUGHT by our Air Force to be ABLE to do, vs, what the technicians found when they disassembled it, my money sez this new Ruskie plane is basically a one-trick pony.
All the MiG-25 could do, because of humomgous engines, was take off and fly in a straight line like a bat out of Washington, DC, and at the end of the flight, both engines were totally shot. The Ruskies couldn’t mfr. good enough ball bearings to take that beating. I wonder if they can yet?
So the Ruskies are trying the same old play; 2 yards and a cloud of dust. Their plane has humongous engines, and can take off fast, and with no payload, do some low-speed aerobatics. Color me suspicious.
There's an old Russian saying that goes something like “innovation is the enemy of good-enough”. I probably mixed up some of the words but the gist is when is “good enough” good enough?
During WWII, the German's Tiger and Panther tanks were born-ass killers - deadly, every one. Russians approached this with pure numbers - cheap TU-34s produced in massive quantities. And they won it out.
Americans caught on later in WWII. Liberty Ships produced at the rate of one per day, and M-4 Sherman tanks that took on the Tigers and Panthers. On average, it took 4 Shermans to kill one. Three destroyed in head-to-head; the fourth snuck behind and delivered a killing engine blow.
One thing our military must never forget is that Russians are not Vodka swilling idiots. They have over their recent history produced some of the most elegantly simplistic and reasonable approaches to modern weaponry on this planet. An example is their jet engines on their fighters don't need daily FOD walks over the pad....they are designed to eat it and still function.
Compared to our politicized, over-bloated and bureaucratic acquisition systems, highly influenced by the House and Senate, AND the Executive political vote-getting whims, they excel.
All things being even I’ll take raw speed and power over tail-dancing ability.
>>The takeoff is the most spectacular I’ve ever seen.
I didn’t see anything on that takeoff that I haven’t seen thousands of times before. What am I missing.
An amazing aircraft in the hands of an incredible pilot. Beautiful!
>>We are toast.<<
Did you notice how absolutely filthy the exhaust trails were? They’ll never be issued permits to fly it in our airspace.
To think guys get paid to fly that gorgeous plane makes me jealous!
The 85mm in the T-34 could rock any German tank. It may not kill it first but it will make it back down until it can be killed. The Germans were counting on superior range but the Russians closed as quickly as possible.
Extremtly high AOA manuevering is and always has been the most important element in a dogfight. That said, few air-to-air kills were ever (even in WWI) the result of dogfights.
Great to see a Russian airshow routine that doesn’t end with an ejection.
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