America's planes

[Uncle_Sam]

Hi,

I am new around here, but planes are my hobby (better say an obsession).

I see some guys are talking here about Russian superiority in some things, maybe this is correct in some cases, but I doubt it. Russia was always getting projects from the U.S. of A. (except is that MiG-25 who landed in Japan, but nothing good was found), Russia was getting (I can’t use any other word because of the policy) projects starting with A-bomb, America was shocked when saw the Russian A-bomb in 1949. They got some projects from Germans, too. The StG 44 now known as AK-47, they didn't make anything revolutionary!
DO NOT FORGET that the "Raptor" is plane old more than 15 (from some data shows 1981) years and the MiG-1.42 isn’t more than 10. Than what can we expect next from Area 51, 19, 20! Anti-ballistic laser on the "Jumbo jet", the EMP on the B-1, ... what’s next! Again after F-117 was shot down, unfortunately (to me, I don’t know about you), another superb aircraft has fallen into the Russian hands.
Frankly I don’t know what to think about “Raptor”, some say he’s bad, some say he’s superb…. I read some articles saying that the “Raptor” is complete junk, having so many technical problems, that he is obsolete before he got into the air force. I don’t know what to believe about that plane, he is giving me headache! On the other hand, they say totally opposite of that! That he has superior maneuverability, reaching high speeds, super cruise without afterburner, but these are the stories of official sites not some told-said, like those who are saying something against him, or simply a Russian propaganda.
But in mine opinion “Mikoyan & Gurevich” MiG-1.44 ain’t better than F-22, America’s planes were always far better since WWII, they were always copied by Russia, in the Vietnam war the F-4 eventually prevailed over MiG-21, and didn’t have any rival for two decades! Even the Russian pilots drove some Vietnamese MiG-s. But Russian tactics is “Quantity over Quality”, which was seen against the Germans in WWII, and another one send troops, who cares.
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And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave!

[djelfa]

The MiG 25 of Lietenant Belyenko did shed a lot of light on the capabilities of this aircraft and has probably prooved useful.

For starters, they managed to find out that it could only exceed Mach 3 in "clean" configuration (Mach 2.8 with missiles/external fuel tanks) and that it lacks manouverability and fuel efficiency.

The U.S was scared of the MiG 25, but once they got their hands on one, they realised that it wasn't really that good.

[Uncle_Sam]

Thanks, I didn't know his name.
But, what do you think obout "Raptor"?

[motorhead_6]

MIG 25 can only pull 5 gs. It might be able to exceed 5 Gs but not without the wings being ripped off.

[FoverF]

See, this kind of Russia-bashing really isn't any more informative than the America bashing we get here all the time.

Nothing revolutionary?

How about the first phased-array radar?
The first fighter with a 1:1 T/W ratio?
How about having helmet-mounted sights with off-boresight missiles while the USAF was still flying F-4s?
The first interceptor past Mach 2?
The first past Mach 3? (Oh, ONLY mach 2.8 while fully armed? That's still 600 mph faster than any other fighter)
How about having internal laser equipment on every ground attack aircraft?
How about having internal ECM on every tactical aircraft? How about having electro-optical systems standard on every fighter?
How about engines that require NO MAINTENANCE for 800 hours+?
I could go on, but suffice it to say, that Russia has made a lot of amazing technological advancements, and has made aircraft that were the best in the world for their time, just like America, France, England, Sweden, etc have all done.


-Also, the USAF/USN outnumbered the NVAF by more than 100 to 1. I would kind of expect them to win eventually.

And as for the MiG-25 being so unmaneuverable;
At Mach 2+ it will outmaneuver any other aircraft in the world, except for the MiG-31. The very few other aircraft capable of flying this fast while armed are also going to fly in a very straight line.

[djelfa]

FoverF,

It may seem that I was Soviet bashing, but I wasn't.

My reference to Mach 2.8 was made just to point out that the capabilities were overestimated. I fully agree that Mach 2.8 is a remarkable acheivement.

Overall, you have to admit that the MiG 25 was not as good as it was made out to be. You said yourself that the Iraqi airforce could barely tango with the Iranians.

[FoverF]

Oh, certainly the MiG-25 isn't as good as the west made it out to be.

But I was more reffering to Uncle_Sam's original post as being Russia-bashing.

And the Iraqi airforce's inability to outfight the Iranians had very little to do with their equipment, and more to do with a general lack of ability. Keep in mind that the Iraqis were driven from the sky by American fighters firing AIM-7 sparrows (which is no better than the AA-10s the Iraqis were carrying).