[Recon Dad]

Well.....well, just leave us hanging will you!

Journalism at its best.

[spetznaz]

Just came back from Dubai this morning from an investment seminar ...wish I had some time to visit the airshow and look at the static displays. Dubai always makes me gasp in wonder ...taking a drive through the Sheikh Zayed road even makes New York appear thirdworld ....the place is an architectural wet dream (not to mention the very weird realization that one can ski at the Mall of the Emirates ....snow in the desert. Ha!).

Anyways, I wonder if the Pakistani pilots will get debriefed by their Chinese masters after the dact?

[spetznaz]

oh, the face off I would have loved to see is the one between the Rafale and the Typhoon. A lot of debate about whether the close coupled canard of the Rafale is better than the more far flung set up in the Eurofighter. I'd put my money on the close coupled based on what I've read, which is interesting considering most say the Rafale is better a2g and Typhoon a2a. Well, while the Rafale is definitely better a2g due to its carry capacity, I also think it would be better a2a once mature ...and for a number of reasons .

As for the Raptor, I wonder if itsstealth was the silver bullet it would be at longer ranges of engagement considering all fighters would have been quite close. What I would really like to see is an engagement between a rafale with spectra active stealth starting at BVR against a Raptor. It would be interesting to see whether one of the best jamming/discrete systems would force the Raptor into the merge by making bvr Amraam shots useless.

Well, one can wish.. It would be interesting to see that.

[PreciousLiberty]

The reason the US has withheld the F-22 from such tests in the past is that it didn’t want potential adversaries getting information on sensor effectiveness (particularly IR sensors).

Figures that 0 wouldn’t have a problem with it...

[Psalm 73]

Was priveledged to be able to watch F-22s and F-15s dog-fight on Okinawa while I was working at Kadena Air Base - a sight to behold.

[flowerplough]

mock dogfights? If the F-22’s dogfighting, hasn’t it already failed as weapons-delivery system? Ain’t the networked F-22s gonna do their killing from clean over above another continent?