“If they have Sukhois, why do they want Hornets? Or vice-versa? Both fill the same roles.
They are just complicating their support structure.”
I’d think so too.
Also, the article in post 6 refers to the F-18 as a fifth generation fighter which is just wrong.
I know the U.S. has much better service support, and it might be better to align with the U.S. for political reasons, but otherwise in a choice between the Su-30 and the F-18, the Su-30 should win. Then again, reliability of service support is important...
On the other hand, does the F-18 have more of a multirole capability than the Su-30?
I think the F-18 has a better anti-shipping loadout if you shell out for the Harpoons. That is about it.
The SuperHornet makes sense if you are talking about strike missions-the US has a more extensive & sophisticated array of PGMs that the Russians haven’t yet been able to match.It’s avionics are also a cut above...All this ofcourse,if Uncle Sam releases such systems for export to Malaysia.
The SU-30 could possibly carry upto 3 KH-31 and/or atleast 1 Yakhont/Brahmos supersonic anti-ship missiles.I’d take these over the Harpoon for most missions esp if I am an export customer.