Amazing Su-37 video

[Snakecharmer]

some of you might have already seen this......its crazy, If the Russians can get the Su-37 in production and maybe even export the type, western air forces are in for a major headache

http://www.webmutants.com/strategypage/SU37.mpe

 

[gf0012-aust]

One of the common mistakes that people make about airshow performances is trying to draw a parallel between an acrobatic manouvre and a warfighting capability.

Here are some simple sums to create a model of the cost effectiveness of establishing a solution without undergoing a critical doctrine or training change. (general costs and don't reflect real time costs of US and Russian aircraft/missiles etc)

Aircraft cost = $135 million and x it installed unit base eg 100 x $135million)
Radar cost = $5 million
Missile cost = $500,000
AWAC's cost = $100 million

Do you want to invest money in designing a new killer plane to defeat every flight enhancement (ie every few years, rather than every generation)?

Its far cheaper and more cost effective to enhance and integrate smarter missiles with the aircraft technology (eg thrust vectoring on the missile - which isn't limited to turn issues as it doesn't have a pilot), marrying it up to an AWAC's which can manage 350 incoming targets at once in concurrent time and has the luxury of also interacting with up to date ELINT and SIGINT platforms in low orbit as well (to detect other aircraft taking off from nearby bases etc)

Those airshow manouvres are stunning, but within two years of their first display, there was already air solutions defined to counter them.
Any ALI with thrust vectoring final staged by an AWACs buddied up with the initial launch platform is going to make life for these aircraft incredibly difficult.

Airshow manouvres don't necessarily translate into warfighting capabilities. Thats not meant to diminish what is an amazing demonstration of flight control, engine power and pilot management. But as a warfighting process, that pilot and plane are going to be highly at risk.

2-3 years ago that would be a challenge to "best". Not now.

edit: I changed the price of the aircraft to a current guestimated fly away cost for the Rafale. As an order of magnitude it brings the costs ino a greater perspective.

 

[Gremlin29]

gf0012 is quite correct. An impressive aircraft capable of impressive maneuvers and nobody can argue with that. Unfortunately the Su 37 is a day late and a dollar short when comparing it to the 4th generation jet fighters the west will be putting on the ramp in the next couple of years.

Once the Su 37 pulls up and begins it's rotation it will do things that you just don't do in an aerial engagement and live to talk about it.

1. You present the biggest possible target the aircraft can display to a radar guided weapon.
2. The aircraft essentially stops moving in all axis relative to it's position in space which will then provide an opponent with a nearly zero deflection firing solution (a fighter pilots dream come true) regardless of the opposition position of both aircraft.
3. Maneuvering is reduced to nearly zero. The aircraft is still capable of controled flight but is unable to vacate the space it is in on the grand scale neccesary to thwart an incoming missile threat. Again missile evasion depends entirely on being able to make the largest possible angle of deflection which in this case isn't happening. In other words, you need to put the biggest amount of space between you and where you were when the threat aircraft fired it's missile, increasing the angle of interception is as always optimal.

So ultimately the wonderful Su will be a serious predator on a battlefield populated with older generation aircraft, but it will be behind the power curve fighting a wealthier industrialized nation with state of the art aircraft. I still like em though, and would LOVE to have one in my hanger