Search the Community

Saab Gripen ‘Rips Apart’ Chinese J-11 Fighters In War Games; Experts Call Them ‘Sitting Ducks’ For Rafales. A “dogfight” between Saab Gripen and the Chinese J-11 fighter jets game provides lessons to militaries around the world on how to get the better of Chinese warplanes. https://eurasiantimes.com/saab-gripen-rips-apart-chinese-j-11-fighters-in-war-games-experts-call-them-sitting-ducks-for-rafales/ Details of the Exercise Falcon Strike 2015, held at Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base for two weeks in mid-November 2015, the first-ever joint exercise between the Chinese and Thai air forces, were revealed in 2019. While the Chinese PLA Air Force (PLAAF) brought J-11 to the wargame, the Thai Air Force deployed Swedish Saab JAS-39C/D Gripens, though it also operates the American F-16s. What astounded the military experts is that a 25-year-old fighter overpowered the relatively younger Chinese J-11 aircraft especially during the beyond-visual-range (BVR) engagements. This humiliating defeat by the Gripens exposed the reality of China’s air-warfare capabilities, with experts commenting on J-11s not having a chance against the muc advanced Rafales that the Indian Air Force is operating. Gripen Vs J-11 The Saab JAS 39 Gripen is a Swedish fourth-generation single-engine multirole fighter jet that took its first flight in 1988 and entered service in 1996. With a speed of Mach 2, the Gripens have been sold to six nations across Central Europe, South Africa, and Southeast Asia. The C/D model that the Thailand Air Force operates, is a NATO-compatible version with extended capabilities in terms of armament, electronics, etc. which can be also refueled in flight. On the other hand, China’s J-11 fighter is based on the Soviet-designed Sukhoi Su-27. The J-11 is a twin-engine jet that took its first flight in 1998. With its multiple variants and upgrades like the missile approach warning system (MAWS), the improved cockpit displays, and fire control systems for R-77 or PL-10 missiles, the J-11s have become a significant part of the Chinese Air Force with more than 400 in service while the Navy operates around 70 of the fighters. The EurAsian Times earlier reported how China is continuing research and development of the J-11 fighter, which might affect the future of its J-10 aircraft. SAAB Gripens Destroy Chinese J-11s Across seven days of the exercise, the Chinese jets gave a subpar performance, leading many analysts to cast doubts over China’s aerial capabilities. During the first two days of the war game, the powerful J-11s shot down 16 Gripens in a visual-range battle with no loss. Reports suggest that the Thai Gripen was armed with AIM-9 infrared-guided missiles and an internal cannon for close-range combat while the J-11s were armed with infrared-guided short-range missiles — the PL-8s. However, on the following days, as the game shifted to beyond-visual-range engagements, the Gripen armed with AIM-120 medium-range missiles proved to be a far better fighter than the J-11 with its own medium-range missiles, possibly PL-12s. The Gripens shot down a total of 41 Chinese J-11s at a loss of six fighters. The final tally after the completion of seven days stood in favor of the Swedish fighters as it shot down 42 J-11s at a loss of 34 only. Interestingly, military analysts observed that Gripens outperformed the J-11s in terms of the range given how 88% of the Thai kills occurred at a range of at least 19 miles, while the Chinese scored just 14% of their kills at the same range. The Gripens also scored 10 kills at a distance of more than 31 miles where the J-11s scored no kills. The Aviation website Alert 5 noted how the Chinese pilots had poor situational awareness. “Too much focus was on the front of the aircraft rather than all around. In phases of the war game where J-11s escorted other planes, there was a lack of coordination,” the website said. “Chinese pilots were not experienced in avoiding missile shots, their responses were too mechanical and [they] could not judge correctly the evasive techniques for missiles with different ranges,” Alert 5 added. India Rafales The struggle of Chinese jets against the fourth-generation Gripen has thrilled Indian military analysts given the Indian Air Force now hosts two squadrons of the 4.5 generation French-made Rafales. Amid the ongoing standoff between India and China at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh, experts have started speculating how Indian Rafales will fare against the Chinese aircraft, especially with their fifth-generation J-20. The Rafales are combat-proven multirole aircraft that have been used by the French Air Force for its missions in the Middle East while the J-20 has not been deployed in any conflict zones as yet. With a capacity of carrying six AASM missiles, the Rafales outflank the J-20 in terms of weapons, fuel, and combat experience. The EurAsian Times earlier published a report in which Former IAF pilot Vijainder K Thakur compared the stealthy J-20 to Indian Rafales, in case of potential aerial combat. “The stealth advantage of the J-20 would give it a ‘first see, first shoot’ advantage in BVR combat over all Indian fighters except for the Rafale,” he said. However, he added that against the Rafale which is equipped with low RCS, Spectra self-protection suite with RF cloaking, and Meteor 150-km BVR missile, J-20 will find it extremely hard to defeat the fighter.

Weapon of the future, today: Russia unveils ‘Checkmate’, new 5th-generation lightweight stealth fighter, unmanned version in works https://www.rt.com/russia/529762-check-mate-fighter-stealth-jet/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2021/07/18/russias-new-fighter-breaks-cover-its-got-stealth-written-all-over-it/ https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/20/russia-unveils-new-fighter-putin-hails-countrys-air-power.html

New arms race. https://www.airway1.com/five-southeast-asian-nations-are-considering-acquiring-the-su-57-fighter/

TAIPEI: A Taiwanese air force pilot was killed and another was missing on Monday (Mar 22) after their fighter jets disappeared in a suspected mid-air collision off the island's southern coast, officials said. The two F-5E jets disappeared from radar around 3pm (0700 GMT) around 2.6km off the coast of rural Pingtung county, the National Rescue Command Centre said. They were among four F-5Es that took off around 30 minutes earlier for a routine training mission, the centre said, adding helicopters and coastguard ships had joined the search. One of the pilots was found unconscious in the sea but could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at hospital. Rescuers were still searching for the remaining pilot. Police confirmed they found a seat with parachute attached on a local highway. The apparent collision was the third such incident in the past half year, at a time when the Beijing-claimed island's armed forced are under increasing pressure to intercept Chinese aircraft on an almost daily basis. While Taiwan's air force is well-trained and well-equipped, mostly with US-made equipment, it is dwarfed by China's. Beijing views the democratic island as its own territory and has never renounced the use of force to bring it under Chinese control. The official Central News Agency said the air force had now grounded the F-5 fleet that operates from the Chihhang air base, where the aircraft are based. The US-built F-5 fighters first entered service in Taiwan in the late 1970s and have been mostly been retired from front-line activities, though some are still used for training and as a back-up for the main fleet. Another F-5 crashed in October, killing the pilot. The following month a much more modern F-16 crashed off Taiwan's east coast, whose pilot also died. In January of last year, Taiwan's top military official was among eight people killed after a helicopter carrying them to visit soldiers crashed in a mountainous area near the capital Taipei. The incidents have raised concern about both training and maintenance, but also the pressure the air force is under to respond to repeated Chinese flights near the island. Taiwan's Defence Ministry has warned Chinese aircraft, including drones, are flying repeatedly in Taiwan's air defence identification zone, seeking to wear out Taiwan's air force.

A couple of years ago, we witnessed a race between a Porsche 911 GT3 Carrera Cup car and a Boeing 747 have a go at each other on Changi Airport's runway. With more than 400bhp, the Porsche managed to win the jet. Now, it seems like someone managed to get a Lamborghini Huracan and a Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jet together on a empty runway. Watch the video to find out whether a 5.2-litre naturally aspirated V10 pushing 602 horses and 506Nm of torque, can keep up with a fighter jet. http://dai.ly/x24lfki_%D1%84%D0%BE%D1%80%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%B6-2014-%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2-%D1%81%D1%83%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0-fast-and-the-furious-2014-fighter-against-supercar_auto

If you're looking for an ideal car for a drag race, we suggest that you take the 2013 Nissan GT-R into consideration. We wouldn't recommend it for nothing, it's even faster than a fighter jet - the Hawker Hunter, in this case! Well, that's true provided the jet doesn't take its wheels off the ground. When you take a look at the specification sheet of the new GT-R from the Japanese automaker, it

[extract] We have seen Top Gear