[sci.military] Su-27 vs F-15...

ESVENSSON%brage.qz.se@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (04/11/90)

From: ESVENSSON%brage.qz.se@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU




 Thomas J. Kopp - Carroll College, Waukesha, WI
        tkopp@carroll1.cc.edu    uunet!marque!carroll1!tkopp writes:

>"Good" for the Eagle and "Very Good to Excellent" for the Flanker.
>
>Anyone who has information on which plane *REALLY* has an upper hand, please
>comment.

According to what I've heard, the cockpit in the F-15 is much better, the
Flanker being in the F-4 class. Electronics-wise, the F-15s radar is propably
much better. The Flanker has a IR search device that the F-15 hasn't. Thats's
a point in favor for the Flanker. I think it's safe to say that you can't ,
with unclassified material, say which one's best. Although one should remember
that the F-15 is about twenty years old. The Flanker ( and the Fulcrum) was
designed with F-15, among others, in mind.
One rather interesting point is the MTBF for the russian engines. As their
life is much shorter than western counterparts, (about 1000 hr/engine) one
should expect their engines to fail more often. This can influence the
performance of the aircraft a lot.
And, as always, it's the pilot that makes the differance.

Erik Svensson
Guided Weapons Division
National Defense Research Establishment (FOA)
Stockholm, Sweden

All opinions are mine and mine alone. FOA doesn't pay me enough anyway.