Simulations may be interesting, but they don't take into account the most important and most frequently ignored factor of aircraft performance - the aircrew. The type and quantity of training that US aircrews enjoy is orders of magnitude above what the next closest competitor nation gets.
Actually, and while this may be an issue of semantics at this point, simulations do indeed take into account the performance of an aircrew. Your post indeed identified some of the factors that affect the outcomes of a simulation between red and blue.
The training the US receives in almost all cases (read, different communities) is superior to our opposition. I would strongly disagree with anyone saying that
all training is better since we don't have that much intel on everyone. That said, US aviation is, in my opinion, head and shoulders above others.
That factor is well documented in simulations. Training and preparedness is a large part of what affects it, plus things like living conditions, morale, etc, etc. Unfortunately, that is also the toughest part of running a simulation. We are very capable of predicting the response the US will have, however it is really hard to always predict the opposition's response.
The best example I have off hand is the first Gulf War in that we were expecting a significant amount of losses, but we weren't expecting the Iraqi's to essentially lay down, hence relatively few losses.
The fact that there was no mention of Naval forces in the air supremacy simulations makes me wonder about the future of Naval Aviation. Just curious on some thoughts and not trying to make a point one way or another.
Fyi, simulations exist for practically everything. However, as Scoob alluded to, there are levels of confidentiality that exists for platforms that aren't always revealed. That also applies to simulations, especially those involving the military.
Also, simulations can be tailored for just about anything out there, and while not always the case, some simulations can be run to reinforce a point of view (i.e., trying to get a government contract, proving the usefulness of a specific platform, etc). So, while the data you have may not identify a Naval contingent per se, chances are one does exist.
Man I love being an analysis nerd....
