SayethWhaaaa

Why not a campaign between Oz and New Zealand. I mean, they (the Kiwis) had been begging to get their arses whooped for a long time now! What with their beautiful landscapes, pure white snow, funny accents, different belief systems and weak dollar!! THOSE BASTARDS!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!

More importantly, what are your settings with regards to flight model and landings? Easy? Normal? Hard? I know it sounds like a dumb question, but it's gotta be asked...

Makes me wonder why nobody got them! I'd heard Pakistan had been offered them in the early 80s... I dig the skins! I dig the Indonesian sk!!

That kinda sucks...

...don't mean to sound all patronising (if I do, by all means slap me upside the head! ) but in capable hands, emphasis on capable, the Sukhois ARE that good! Any AF with highly trained air crews and a full support infrastructure, I'm talking AWACS, ATA refueling, EW support - the works, who're flying Sukhois have the sharpest non stealth teeth on the planet. Just watch how the IAF have been applying them! BTW, I mean current or next gen Su-30/35s, not Su-27s etc. Okay, they're not stealthy, but neither is the F-15 and that plane has proven indomitable with comprehensive training and support infrastructure. I should apologise, I've been ragging on the SuperBug when really I shouldn't. It IS a capable plane, but it's optimised to the way the USN has required a multirole platform over the last 20 years. And this is it's major export problem. It's a jack of all trades, but master of none. It's got a decent carriage of weapons, a nice precision strike capability, good range, capable air to air ability, reasonably long legs, uses advanced technology and refinements... but compare it from category to category and it can be bested by another aircraft every time. The F-15C or Su-27/30 can better it's air to air capability for example, the Su-34/F-15E can better it's strike capability. Both have longer range too. Rafale, F-15E,Su-30/34 are or can use advanced technologies such as AESA, RAM coatings etc and so on. It's been fine for use in for the combat zones and deployments it's been used in so far by the USN, but in those situations, it's never had to compete with an enemy with a respectable airborne defense (When was the last time you heard of USN aircraft in hot OCA/DCA situations...? The first Gulf War?). Take it out of it's historical context and put it in a situation where it would suddenly have to face advanced F-16 variants in the Indian situation, or against the Su-27/30 family in the Malaysian/Australian situations, then you start to see potentially major mismatches that can't necessarily be compensated for by weapons systems alone...

Hehe, no I mean that the F/A-18E/F is one of the first names from US negotiators you'll hear where there are potential arms deals going through. I remember when that used to be the Viper. Don't mean to make it sound like they're pathetically desperate to sell the Superbug, but I picked up a book off of Amazon a few days ago and they said for an extra $20 I could get me a 'practically unused' SuperHornet!

There's no sale potential of the Gork to the PLAN on the cards if the deal falls through...?

Goddamn! Boeing is DESPERATE to unload the SuperBug, aren't they?? Ghost, you come up with the best defence-info tidbits! There's no sale potential of the Gork to the PLAN on the cards if the deal falls through...? It'd be interesting to see if a Su-27/33 is bought for the Kitty if the US deal goes through...

"Rhetorical eh...? ...Eight!"

He's done this a bunch of times since just before Hugo Chavez came to visit. By the way, big shout out to Perez Hilton for making the call about Castro's alleged death last year! Way to go tiger! I've got four words for you: "Swing and a miss."

There was something in Aviation Australia about them reactivating some Macchi MB-339s for conversion training. They used to have the ability to carry stores (they filled the LIFT/CAS/Ground attack role) and as far as I know, they haven't had the capacity removed, so technically... they could be considered to be combat aircraft. But the Kiwis are pretty steadfast about not maintaining a combat arm of the RNZAF. And strictly speaking, their P-3s aren't combat capable. They're used in the maritime surveillance role, not ASW or any offensive roles as such. AFAIK. It's kinda ironic about the scooters though. We got rid of them because the government/RAN didn't want to retain an offensive fixed wing capabilty (Great move guys, no really! :fuk: ), so we flogged them off to the Kiwis to supplant their scooters. Then in the mid to late 80 they kept a sqn here to train with the RAAF and RAN and then in the 90s our AF and Navy relied on the A-4Ks (some of which were originally RAN A-4Gs) heavily for dissimilar air combat training... Not bad for an obsolete jet.

These are the Kiwi Scooters, yeah? I'm guessing Woodbourne, Phil Goff and the stonewalling they're getting from the US. I can understand that though. Those are the pimped out A-4K Kahus. Those things are badass! They're comperable to Blk30/40 F-16s!

Nobody here can neither confirm nor deny that this is a question, nor if it can be answered...

Who was the smartarse (or possibly a trainspotter) who gave this one star??

They're currently refitting the Tommies they haven't cannibalised and the F-4 is supposed to have gone through a modernisation programme a short while ago. I'll let you guys decide on what constitutes an Iranian modernisation programme. But apparantly, and information is hard to get on this subject, but apparantly, the IRIAF is developing a pseudo stealth plane. Now, the story I've heard is that it's based on the new trainer that was unveiled on state run TV in mid to late 2006. But it's also, being said that, and this is the one I believe is more likely because of the informational blackout that surrounds it (I know it sounds like conspiracy nutjob-esque, but hear me out), they are also supposedly making a RAM coated, low RCS variant of the Suq that makes use of certain design changes, RAM coated and redesigned disturbed airflow intakes, new wing etc. That's what my friends at ASPI are saying, and there's supposedly an article coming up in AirForces Monthly, but it got me to thinking... What would be the point of 'stealthing up an F-5 series jet??? I mean, how are the weapons going to be carried? I have a million questions... most of them variants on "Why?" :yes:

I laughed so hard at that, I think I peed a little!

I hear that Libya might be getting up to 24 Rafales in their talks with the Frogs. Apparantly there's a massive modernisation program in the works and the French are cashing in big. This month's AFM has an article in it too, I think... might be last month's.

Consequently, does this mean if I'm using something like this when playing BF2, I have to think like someone who has a head injury?? :biggrin:

How awesome is this?! "Think in Russian" Indeed! http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23257591-29277,00.html I gotta have a crack at this!!

Finally got home to give this a crack, and what's the first thing this smartarse here does?? I pike my A-4 into the ground...

Oh, I dig that there are vipers with AESA, but I don't think the RAAF could seem themselves 'slumming it' in F-16s somehow. There's nothing wrong with the 'pig' that a little RAM coating and duct tape won't fix. They still kicked arse at Red Flag! One a different subject, at one point I had even heard talk from my former colleagues that the Mirage 2000D was being considered until Dassault made it clear that they were looking to shut down the Mirage 2000 production line. That could have been interesting too...

The Bug wars... Read it when I was a teenager. I can't be arsed explaining it after a few hours at the pub, so bust it here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bug_Wars It'd prolly have to be a CG job... thing is, I hate CG films. Freespace and/or Freespace2 would be sweet, so long as they don't let Freddy Prince Jr near it with his kiss 'o death!!

Apparantly the RAN was looking at buying a Forrestal class back in the late 60s. That would have been an interesting what if...

It's scary to think that for that amount of cashmoney, we could have had a fleet of new-build Seahawks or extra NH-90s (or whatever they're called.) I still maintain (despite how much I'd love to see Su-34s in RAAF colours!) that the F-15E would have been the way to go. Hell, even Rafale would be a great second choice. Cost was sited as one reason for not going down the Eagle path... and since we already have a plane called wedgetail, they couldn't figure out another 'eagle' name to apply to it!. AESA was another (apparantly we can ONLY get it through buying the F/A-18F. So what are the Singaporean F-15SGs packing then??) I couldn't get over the fact that the Dr. Nelson, who's as much a doctor as Dr. Teeth from the Muppets is, was describing the SuperBug as being a "stealthy" plane. I know there's degrees to stealth and that it's RCS has been improved when compared to the legacy Bugs, but stealth is pushing it a bit... That's like saying Amy Winehouse is only "a bit" of a skank...

Just heard one of the pilots rescued has died... http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23250762-2,00.html That sucks hard!