MKI is highly subject to FOD = FACT.
FICTION. It is as prone to FOD as any other aircraft including the Rafale. A vulture will not treat an aircraft in a special way if it gets sucked into the intakes.
MKI has slow launch times = FACT.
FICTION. 30seconds is as good as any. The 1 minute between take offs may have been assigned to IAF for a variety of reasons. One of them being we can outlast any aircraft in the entire exercise in terms of endurance.
MKI has poor maintenance cycles thanks to Russian orders = FACT.
Nevertheless, there were no breakdowns of the MKI and showed a 90% availability rate through out the exercise. Our operational MKIs show a high availability rate of over 90% as well.
MKI is slightly better than legacy aircraft on paper = FACT.
Agreed. Compared to a rich country like the US, we cannot upgrade our own systems as fast as theirs. Nevertheless, the MKI is meant to be upgraded on par with the F-15E and perhaps beyond that.
USAF pilots are better trained than IAF = FACT.
Agreed. They can throw more money at it as well compared to us. Also at Mountain Home AFB we sent mostly rookie pilots against American Top Guns. Victory or defeat were more because of man than the machine, as already mentioned by the Colonel. He said if the pilots had more experience, the MKIs would have beaten the F-15s.
Aggressor F-15s dominated MKI = FACT.
FICTION or pseudo-FICTION. If over 45 Aggressor F-15s can dominate 6 MKIs, then Rafales wouldnhave been dominated as well. If I remember correctly the MKIs were in the same team as the Rafales.
If you are talking about Mountain Home, then the aggressor squadrons are among the best fighter pilots in the world.
MKI was calling on contacts at least 22 miles out = FACT.
I have had this discussion before, not with you though. The MKIs needed verbal acknowledgement from American AWACS controllers in order to identify friend or foe. As mentioned by the Colonel, early on MKIs waited for confirmation before shooting. The AWACS controllers were slow in their duties. So, this resulted in more MKI losses. Later, the MKI pilots shot whatever was picked up on radar and then asked the controllers if it was a friend or foe. Blind as a bat they were. The blame squarely rests on the American AWACS controllers.
Without an IFF, if the Rafales had not been flying right behind us all the time(as said by the good Colonel), the MKIs would have shot Rafales as well.
With the Bars radar in training mode and surviving a massive electronic environment is in itself an accomplishment.
MKI has a HUGE RCS = FACT.
Agreed and has nothing to do with it. Rafale with drop tanks and MICA= HUGE RCS as well. At least enough for the MKI to lock on to the Rafale first.
Rafale pilots were cautious in a high frat situation = FACT.
I guess only Rafale pilots are cautious. The MKI pilots were probably sticking hands out of the canopy, waving and singing the national anthem.
The NATO standard IFF probably never played any role in frat for Rafales I guess. The French pilots could probably read the minds of aggressor squadrons and, "Voila, uuoou arr zeee enimee. Take French toast up vous azzz."
So, all the Frenchies have to do is to wear their underwear over the pants, put on a cape with a F on the chest and they wouldn't be any different from Superman.
Everybody is cautious, it is not some special French trait.
IAF pilots are very professional = FACT. MKI was not in the datalink = FACT.
Sums it all up.
I choose facts over opinions.
We are going to the red flag 2013, MKI pilots would have notched up a lot of flying hours by then. So, we will be in a better situation to understand the capabilities of the MKI.
