# USAF pilot on SU-30MKI



## Crimmsy (5 Nov 2008)

For the airpower enthusiasts out there, here's a blog post with a couple youtube videos of an American F-15 driver discussing some observations of the Indian AF's Su-30MKI's at Red Flag this year.

Link



> If you have any interest in tactical aircraft at all, you must watch these two videos. Learn details about the Cope India fiasco, problems with Russian fighter jet engines, how the F-15 can defeat the Su-30MKI's vectored thrust, and why the Indians apparently won't be asking for more 1 v 1 dogfights with the USAF.


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## CougarKing (7 Nov 2008)

Here's a related article from _Flight International_....  

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/06/318506/video-us-red-flag-pilot-candidly-assesses-su-30mkis-limits-rafales-dirty-tricks.html



> *US Red Flag pilot candidly assesses Su-30MKI’s limits, Rafale’s dirty tricks
> By Stephen Trimble*
> 
> US Air Force pilots flying Boeing F-15s “dominated” and “amazed” Indian Air Force Sukhoi Su-30MKI pilots in a recent exercise, but still expect that legacy F-15s and Lockheed Martin F-16s will swiftly lose their competitive edge to the Russian export fighters.
> ...


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## FoverF (10 Nov 2008)

...USAF pilot who makes a number of telling errors, and does a very poor job of building credibility with me ...

ex, Flankers do not use Tumanski engines (rather Saturn-Lyulka, IIRC), MiG-21 Bison does not use an Israeli radar (Phazotron Kopyo), his critique of the IAF babying their engines does not seem to appreciate that they were operating on an extended several-weeks-long deployment, at the end of a VERY long logistical tail. 

The following is a post from Bharat Rakshak (Consortium of Indian Defence Websites), claiming to be sourced from an IAF member at Red Flag, which de-spins/contradicts many of the remarks made in the video:



> On Ex Red Flag-the You Tube video- The other side of the Coin!!
> Posted by: *** ***
> Date: Wed Nov 5, 2008 11:51 pm ((PST))
> 
> ...



I make no guarantees as to the author's identity or their points' validity, but I wasn't terribly convinced by the guy in the video either.


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