[quote:af481c3b89]Aging IAF shoots down USAF top guns
CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2004 11:44:04 PM ]
WASHINGTON: Did the Indian Air Force really outperform American pilots and planes during recent India-US air combat exercises or is the USAF using the encounter to pitch for new generation fighter jets?
That's the question buzzing around in strategic circles after a recent article in a limited access US Air Force magazine detailing the "surprising sophistication of Indian fighter aircraft and skill of Indian pilots" demonstrated at the Cope India air combat exercise at Gwalior in February this year.
The exercise, in which US F-15Cs were said to have been defeated more than 90 per cent of the time in direct combat exercises against the IAF, "is causing US Air Force officials to re-evaluate the way the service trains its fighter pilots while bolstering the case for buying the F/A-22 as a way to ensure continued air dominance for the United States," a June 2 article in the magazine Inside the Air Force reported.
The magazine quoted US officials who participated in the exercise as saying it should "provide a reality check for those who had assumed unquestioned US air superiority."
On the face of it, the performance of the IAF, with its oft-reported air crashes in an aging, non-American fleet, might seem surprising. But US officials told the magazine that the Indians were much better than they had bargained for.
"What happened to us was it looks like our red air training might not be as good because the adversaries are better than we thought," the article quoted Col. Mike Snodgrass, commander of the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base, as saying. "And in the case of the Indian Air Force both their training and some of their equipment was better than we anticipated."
"Red air" refers to the way the US Air Force simulates enemy capability in air combat training. US officials emphasised that such simulation deliberately handicap US planes and pilots against the enemy because the service has assumed for years that its fighters are more capable than enemy aircraft.
In Cope Thunder, four F-15Cs were pitted against 10 or 12 of same model Indian fighters such as the Mirage 2000, MIG-27 and MIG-29s in offensive and defensive counter air scenarios. But the two most formidable IAF aircraft proved to be the MIG-21 Bison, an upgraded version of the Russian-made baseline MIG-21, and the Sukhoi SU-30K Flanker, US officials said.
"What we faced were superior numbers, and an IAF pilot who was very proficient in his aircraft and smart on tactics. That combination was tough for us to overcome," the magazine quoted a US airman who took part in the exercise as saying.
While acknowledging the performance of their Indian colleagues, who they will meet again in another air combat exercise in Alaska next month, the US airmen also made a major pitch for the F/A-22 aircraft that the US government has been slow to embrace because of its cost and lack of a perceived threat.
"The major takeaway for the Air Force is that our prediction of needing to replace the F-15 with the F/A-22 is proving out as we get smarter and smarter about other [countries'] capabilities around the world and what technology is limited to in the F-15 airframe," Col. Snodgrass said. "We've taken [the F-15] about as far as we can and it's now time to move to the next generation."[/quote:af481c3b89]
"In Cope Thunder, four F-15Cs were pitted against 10 or 12 of same model Indian fighters such as the Mirage 2000, MIG-27 and MIG-29s in offensive and defensive counter air scenarios. "
Certainly sounds like an even contest... :roll:
Dinesh
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Aging IAF shoots down USAF top guns
Yep, I read that... I'm sure that was forwarded a million times in the last week, and now everyone probably thinks that we can kick the USAF :D
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Aging IAF shoots down USAF top guns
AFP and Reuters follow-ups:
[quote:4981c272ad]Results of exercise with IAF wake-up call: US gen
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Posted online: Friday, June 25, 2004 at 0036 hours IST
WASHINGTON, JUNE 24: The US Air Force got a ‘‘wake-up call’’ in air-to-air training exercises with India earlier this year that showed the United States can no longer take air superiority for granted in a conflict, a top US general has said.
A study of the ‘‘Cope India’’ air exercise, conducted by the US and Indian air forces in Gwalior last February, is secret, said General Hal Hornburg, head of the USAF’s Air Combat Command.
‘‘But we have to learn a lot of things from that,’’ he told defence reporters here. ‘‘We have to learn if we want air superiority it doesn’t come cheap and it’s not automatic.’’
The Russian-made Su-30s are reported to have bested the F-15s in a majority of their engagements, much to the surprise of the organisers. It was the first time the two top-of-the-line US and Russian-made fighters have flown against each other in an exercise, an Air Force spokeswoman said.
It pitted F-15Cs from the USAF’s 3rd Wing out of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska against a variety of Indian fighters, not just the Su-30s.
Although the US fighters flew with certain restrictions that handicapped their effectiveness, the performance of the Indian fighters exceeded expectations.
‘‘In general, we may have learned some things that suggest we may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we once thought we were,’’ Hornburg said. The trade journal Aviation Week and Space Technology reported last month that the exercises showed the Su-30s had a clear advantage over the F-15C in a long-range fight.
The US and Indian aircraft were seeing each other at the same time with their radars but the Su-30 pilots were able to simulate-fire their Russian-made AA-10 ‘‘fire-and-forget’’ Alamo missiles first, the weekly said.
The exercise appears to hold lessons for the USAF in East Asia, where China is acquiring Su-27 and Su-30 fighters and AA-12 air-to-air missiles.[/quote:4981c272ad]
[quote:4981c272ad]America salutes air power, India cool
REUTERS FROM WASHINGTON AND OUR BUREAU IN NEW DELHI
June 24: A top US general has acknowledged that the American air force was given a tough time during exercises with the Indian Air Force and has called for induction of more sophisticated fighters.
General Hal Hornburg, head of the US Air Combat Command, said a US air-to-air exercise with the IAF in February, in which India used Russian jets to defeat ageing American F-15Cs, revealed “that we may not be as far ahead of the rest of the world as we once thought we were”.
The IAF is a little taken aback by the praise from the US military establishment after its first joint fighter exercise with the US Air Force (USAF) in 40 years.
An IAF contingent that includes Jaguar ground-attack aircraft left for Alaska today to participate in multinational exercises hosted by the US Pacific air forces.
“We always knew we were good, but it is only when the US says so the world takes notice,” an IAF officer remarked cheekily.
Earlier this month, a US military journal, Inside the Air Force, said the American air force had a lot to learn from its Indian counterpart. Now, the general has admitted that the Indians taught them more than a lesson during Exercise Cope India 04 from February 17 to 25 in Gwalior.
US defence officials have said Indian Sukhoi-30, MiG-27 and older MiG-21 jets, some armed with Russian-made AA-10 air-to-air missiles, got the best of F-15Cs based in Alaska.
Hornburg said in an interview with military writers that the air manoeuvres emphasised his service’s push for expensive, stealthy new F/A-22 “Raptors” being built by Lockheed Martin Corp. and F-35 joint strike fighters being designed by Lockheed with inputs from allies.
He declined to discuss classified results of the exercise but said: “Something like Cope India, when we find that some of our advantages aren’t as great as we thought they might be, leads me to remind people that we need to modernise our air-to-air capability.”
In Delhi, an IAF official said: “We have appreciated the compliments but we are being pragmatic. We have no doubt about the technological superiority of the US Air Force. The exercise in Gwalior was a low-level one and involved conventional fighter tactics.”
The US had sent five F-15C Eagles — air superiority fighters — and 130 airmen to participate in the exercise, the first involving fighters of the IAF and the USAF since Exercise Shiksha in 1963.
IAF sources said the Gwalior exercise involved two days of familiarisation flying, following which the aircraft engaged in three kinds of exercises: air offensive operations (including ground attack), protection of high-value aerial assets (like transporters and refuellers) and interception (part of air defence operations).
US fighters were never put in a direct and even face-off with IAF fighters during the exercises. Also, the IAF enjoyed superiority in numbers.
The USAF had had very little experience with aircraft like the Su-30 before. For the IAF, it was an opportunity to observe the F-15C, which are operated by the Pakistan Air Force.
One of the reasons the IAF is taking the praise lightly is that the exercise did not involve use of sophisticated technology.
“I think the US participants would have been a little surprised by the flying skill of our pilots,” the officer said. “But we are aware that their armaments and avionics are much superior.”
The officer said the exercise did not cover such aspects of modern air warfare as Beyond Visual Range flying and firing.[/quote:4981c272ad]
Source : http://www.telegraphindia.com/1040625/asp/nation/story_3414976.asp
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