Message posted by Sundog on March 16, 2008 at 9:12:34 PST:

The Russians won't have an aircraft comparable the F-22 probably until some time around 2020 to 2025. Their PAK-FA will be sized between the Fulcrum and Flanker in size and it will not be capable of supercruise, at least not initially, due to limitations with their powerplant technology. BTW, that's what was said by Sukhoi engineers, not by me.

Cobra maneuvers look great at airshows, but aren't really viable in A2A combat, unless you think bleeding a massive amount of energy is a good idea. Afterall, the YF-17 performed the Cobra maneuver back in the mid 70's (I kind of figured that's why it was really called the Cobra Maneuver) and the Vista F-16 performed that maneuver, and more, as well. Notice you don't see the USAF scrambling to update their old aircraft with that feature as much as they are with AESA RADAR. That isn't by accident. ;)

In Reply to: Re: Soviet Stealth posted by Alex (UK) on March 03, 2008 at 13:45:07 PST:

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