Iran is reportedly about to ink the deal with Rosoboronexport (Russian arms export entity) to acquire 250 Su-30MKM Flankers and 20 Il-78 Midas tankers. Guess they're finally ready to retire their Tomcats.
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Iran seeking Su-30 fighters and Il-78 tankers
- Thread starter HeyJoe
- Start date
It'll be weird getting into a war where air superiority isn't taken for granted.
Dogfights over??
There were mulitple engagements during Kosovo flareup in 1999 (8 years ago)involving coalition forces. Last Navy engagements resulting in aerial victories were during Desert Storm 16 years ago, but aerial encounters ensued afterwards during OSW.
24 Mar 99 - F-16 downed MiG-29
25 Mar 99 - J-22 Orao downed
26 Mar 99 - F-16 (Dutch) and 2 F-15s down 3 MiG-29s
MiG-29 after close encounter with AMRAAM
There were mulitple engagements during Kosovo flareup in 1999 (8 years ago)involving coalition forces. Last Navy engagements resulting in aerial victories were during Desert Storm 16 years ago, but aerial encounters ensued afterwards during OSW.
24 Mar 99 - F-16 downed MiG-29
25 Mar 99 - J-22 Orao downed
26 Mar 99 - F-16 (Dutch) and 2 F-15s down 3 MiG-29s
MiG-29 after close encounter with AMRAAM
Grant
Registered User
I very seriously doubt they would make that kind of buy, they don't have the money. And don't tell me they do, you aren't paying close enough attention to current event if you think so.......
Look for a more realistic purchase of newer SAM's, better investment on their part.
There were mulitple engagements during Kosovo flareup in 1999 (8 years ago)involving coalition forces. Last Navy engagements resulting in aerial victories were during Desert Storm 16 years ago, but aerial encounters ensued afterwards during OSW.
24 Mar 99 - F-16 downed MiG-29
25 Mar 99 - J-22 Orao downed
26 Mar 99 - F-16 (Dutch) and 2 F-15s down 3 MiG-29s
MiG-29 after close encounter with AMRAAM
Remind me what the F-14's got it in the Gulf War, a helo and a PC-7?
Remind me what the F-14's got it in the Gulf War, a helo and a PC-7?
As promulgated by Topgun at the time, the fighter escort mission was to delay or disrupt adversaries from interfering with strike packages so lauding kill ratios or victory tallies are fine for properity or garnering chest candy, but not at expense of disrupting the strike package. in Desert Storm, the Air Force F-15s did well, extremely well with a weapon system optimized for the fight (our bad not to have been as far along with same technology with F-14 or F/A-18), but they also scripted the CAP assignments and ROE to their strengths thereby hamstringing Navy's opportunity to engage. I had to sit still during HVU CAP for EA-6Bs and literally watch F-15s be vectored right past us to take out a pair of MiG-29s. Note: scores of MiGs and other aircraft escaped to Iran during early weeks despite the presence of vaunted F-15 CAP stations so a literal wall of Tomcats was introduced on the Iranian border 24/7 and not a single Iraqi aircraft ventured east on their watch. Just like SEAD concept which you are so familiar, you don't always have to get a kill to be effective.
Postscript: our A-6 CO was of the opinion that fighter escorts were not required and only drew attention to their presence (many A-6 aircrews were of the Vietnam mindset that they wanted to go it alone). The first night of Desert Storm he was alone by choice and had a MiG-25 make runs on him from behind. Despite successful operation of his DECM gear, he was spooked after looking up in the burner cans of the MiG as it overflew him (it's possible that this same MiG gave up and then latched onto the VFA-81 Hornet that was downed that night). Meanwhile, we saw that Tomcat radar was like a flashlight with bugs. Wherever it was pointed, the "bugs" (MiGs) ran. In fact, the MiGs engaged by Hornets on Day 1 were running from a Tomcat hammer pince against their base. So the A-6 skipper decided he wanted Tomcats all around him from then on. He even said, I don't care if you ever down one, just keep them away from us, which is what Topgun had been preaching all along.
PS Only Tomcat "kill" was a helo. PC-7? Not Tomcats.
So the point was that the VF guys only got one kill.......same as the EF-111 guys.......but one less than the A-10 guys.........
Remind me how many times you all tried to use your AIM-54's in OSW?
P.S. For the rest of you unwashed, I am just needling HJ. Not only do you have to be good and lucky..........you gotta wear the 'right' uniform sometimes, even in combat.
Flathatter13
Banned
So the point was that the VF guys only got one kill.......same as the EF-111 guys.......but one less than the A-10 guys.........
Remind me how many times you all tried to use your AIM-54's in OSW?
P.S. For the rest of you unwashed, I am just needling HJ. Not only do you have to be good and lucky..........you gotta wear the 'right' uniform sometimes, even in combat.
Correction to the A-10 they did get a 1v1 kill, I know because the guy wouldn't shut up about it at Red Flag in '03. Was the best and only story of his "great" career, apparently as his story went some Iraqi genius in a M29 made a head on pass at him and well 3000 rounds later who do you think walked away from it.
Saw the guncam video. I will see if I can dig it up and post for anyone interested.
Well, he must be dreaming or embellishing because only two credited A-10 kills were against helicopters:
6 Feb 91 Bo.105c
15 Feb 91 Mi-8
A VF-1 Tomcat took out a Mi-17 on 6 Feb with a Sidewinder
An EF-111 did get chased by a Mirage F.1EQ that crashed trying to target the Raven, but last I heard, the crew has not been credited by USAF with the victory (heard community did not support the pilot's claim)
@ Flash, needle away my friend. As to OSW and AIM-54, there was a loading error with VF-213 that caused motor to not fire in an OSW engagement if that is what you refer to, but a MiG crashed due to fuel starvation running away so if you credit the EF-111, you need to credit that kill as well. It wasn't me so I don't care either way. As to loading and switchology errors, Air Force takes the prize in Persian Gulf with MiGs getting away as missiles dove for the dirt and other missiles zinging through formations. It's buried in their reports and success rates of missile performance. There's a reason you train with live ordnance and that performance proved it in both services.
Flathatter13
Banned
Wouldn't surprise me the guy acted like he shot down Saddam himself. Video was real but never indicated A/C type so just kind of listened to him out of the back of my mind. I can't 100% substantiate or deny so I leave to the facts that can be documented because we all know how "kill" stories go, especially at the bar during Red Flag.
The story I heard from a LtC F-111b pilot was that the EF was being chased and plugged the burners and outran the Mirage which later crashed due to fuel starvation, the EF pilot tried to claim it as a kill as a result which didn't go over. USAF states a kill is either destruction of enemy a/c by weapons systems or by causing to fly into the ground during direct engagement, not because your enemy was stupid and ran out of gas with you going the other direction at 500 kts