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F-15 vrs Су-35: делайте Ваши ставки господа авиаторы, политологи и финансисты :)
Приветствую !
Russia, U.S. In Dogfight For Korean Fighter Order
сабж, господа-товарищи :)
Defense Week April 2, 2001, Pg. 3
By Mohammed Ahmedullah
-In the first direct competition between Russian and U.S. fighter jets for a major international deal, the Boeing F-15K is battling the Russian Su-35 for a sale to South Korea worth an estimated $3.5 billion.
In the middle of last year, Seoul began taking bids to supply 40 to 55 fighters for a program called project FX. Besides the F-15K and Su-35 (which NATO calls the Flanker-C), the short list comprises the French Rafale and the Eurofighter consortium's Typhoon.
The South Korean government is expected to announce the winner later this year. Boeing's F-15K is the Korean variant of the F-15E Strike Eagle. The Russian Su-35 is the latest plane in Moscow's armory and has not even entered the Russian air force yet. Both are multi-role fighters with enhanced air-to-air and air-to-ground combat capabilities.
"The Su-35's list price is $35 million," said Mikhail Pogosyan, General Director, Sukhoi Design Bureau, in a recent interview.
He said the Russian offer will be a combination of barter with capital and consumer goods, hard currency and debt write-off. Moscow owes Seoul in excess of $2.8 billion, a debt incurred by the then-Soviet Union.
"I am not at liberty to disclose the exact offer," he said. "But I can tell you it will make our plane substantially cheaper, about 40 percent, than any of the competitors."
Youth vs. experience
The Su-35's superior aerobatics has captured the imagination of air-show visitors all over the world. Sukhoi Design Bureau hopes that, and the price, will help the company notch its first sale to a customer that largely buys U.S. defense hardware.
Seoul's current combat aircraft fleet consists mainly of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets locally made under license from Lockheed Martin. The South Koreans designate the planes KF-16s. On the other hand, the Boeing F-15K is the latest upgrade of the F-15E, a tested warhorse with Gulf War and Kosovo experience. By contrast, the Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon are both new. The French air force ordered the Rafale last year. The German, British and Spanish air forces are finalizing their requirements for the Typhoon.
Russian touts new aircraft
"The real contest," claimed Pogosyan "is between the Su-35 and the F-15K.
The Sukhoi scores over the U.S. plane in speed, maneuverability, weapons carrying capability and target acquisition.
"The Su-35 can do Mach 2.2 top speed while the F-15K performs in the Mach 1.6 to Mach 1.8 speed range," he said. "Our plane has an ultra sensitive radar which gives it exceptional coverage besides the ability to track and kill very small flying objects like UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles].The engines on the twin-engine Sukhoi are of the thrust-vectoring type, which enable great agility at all speeds. The Su-35 was designed in the 1990s for service well beyond 2015. The American plane, a product of the early 1980s, is nearing the end of its product life."
Pogosyan's claims were stoutly refuted by Boeing. The company's military aircraft division spokesman, Todd Blecher, said of the cost difference between the two planes: "It is difficult to determine the real cost of the Su-35. Whatever the reported acquisition cost, the total Korea would pay to own and operate the Su-35 would be when maintenance, modifications, support, training and weapons costs are taken into account."
On Russian claims of the Su-35's superior radar coverage, Blecher said: "As we understand it, the performance of the Su-35's radar is not equivalent in any way to the capability offered by the F-15K's APG-63(v)1, the world's newest fighter radar."
He said that the F-15 tested thrust-vectoring nozzles several years ago. Those were deemed operationally insignificant when measured against the weight and cost they add to an aircraft. It is an interesting developmental technology but has yet to prove reliable or effective enough, he said. But should Korea decide it wants thrust vectoring on its aircraft, the technology can be added to the F-15K, he added.
Boeing begs to differ
Blecher also said that the F-15K offers the same war-fighting capabilities as the Russian Su-35 plane. It can simultaneously track up to 15 targets while engaging any six at up to 225 miles. And the Boeing aircraft can carry a full complement of air-to-air, air-to-ground and anti-ship weapons. Crucially, Blecher said, the F-15K is a combat-proven aircraft that has continuously benefitted from the improved technology and insights generated by combat.
Moreover, he said, the F-15K is compatible with all current and projected Republic of Korea Air Force systems, which allows South Korea to avoid the additional costs of integrating its inventory on a non-standard platform. The F-15K is compatible with the systems Korea's allies would use to help the Republic in a future conflict. And the F-15 is substantially more reliable than the Su-35, he said.