The Flanker Cy-30 and the Eagle F-15 C

Let us start by the historical sequence :

1-US Langley airbase in 1992:

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were no need for Russia and US militaries to hide from each other and as a result various common drills took place. Russia used to bring its own Cy -27 through Chukotka, Alaska and Canada to US Langley airbase in order to participate in drills with american F-15s. Air Force general Kharchevsky remembers: ‘We were really nervous about this drill, since according to the official published data, F-15 would easily beat our Sukhoys’.

At the command of the beginning of joint maneuvering of the Eagle, including full focal point, he tried to detach himself from Cy-27, however, according to Kababasov, this task for the F-15D proved impossible: using only a minimum or maximum mode (unshifted) our fighter without a special thrust hung on the tail of the "American", the engines of which constantly worked at maximum fasazhnom mode, at this angle the attack Cy-27 did not exceed 18 grams.

After the planes switched places, Kababasov moved the ore to full fosazh and began to walk away from the F-15D at an energetic turn with a set of heights."Eagle" pulled after, however, after 180 degrees, pilot Cy-27 to his surprise revealed that he was flying almost the same F-15. After completing half the full rotation, Cy-27 went into the tail of F-15 and "caught" it in the line. But the same Karabasov discovered that "knocked" not the F-15D, but flying behind the F-15C. Seeing his mistake, he left alone the "Eagle" and accepted for the one who, by the time, lost the Cy-27 from the view and asked the observer: "Where is Flanker?"…"He is behind you,"

2-The Air Force Station In Gwalior (India 2004):

Cope India Exercise are a series of international Air Force exercises between the Indian Air Force and the United States Air Force conducted on and over Indian soil. The first such exercise, which required many months of preparation, was conducted at the air force station in Gwalior from February 16 through February 27, 2004.

The exercises were won by IAF, with Indian pilots scoring 90% in the 2004 exercise « India’s Russian jets achieved a surprising 9:1 kill ratio against U.S. F-15s ». The pilots of the USAF, who participated in the exercise disclosed that their weakness was that they underestimated the Indian pilots and assumed they would use conventional Cold War tactics, but in reality, they were much more « unpredictable ».

Russian fighters equipped with the OLS-35 IR tracking ball allowed them to perform a trick called dropping into the Clutter Notch turning right angles to an approaching US fighter. What this does is nullify the Doppler return. The Indians flying these Russian built fighters turned side on and continued to observe their adversary whilst they disappeared off the American adversaries radar. Whilst neither side by agreement were allowed to simulate Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles had this been permitted the Clutter Notch technique would have broken radar lock for BVR missiles too.

3- Red Flag 2008 (India):

At Red Flag 2008, Indian Cy-30 MKI flew against USAF F-15s under specific performance restrictions, but in the article Dissecting a dogfight: Cy-30 vs USAF F-15 at Red Flag 2008, The USAF F-15 claims to have bettered Indian Cy-30.

IAF not keen on 1 vs 1 dogfights with the USAF. But the IAF indicated this was a very skewed view.

The IAF required 60-second intervals between takeoffs, compared with half that for other US air forces (due to FOD issues to the engines).

The American F-15 can defeat the Su-30MKI, the most advanced fighter in the Cy -30 series. The reason the American fighter pilot almost always win is because of AWACS.

The Su-30MKI with it’s thrust vectoring can probably outmaneuver an F-16C/E or an F-15C/E in close range, however if there is a skilled enough pilot in the cockpit of the Eagle or Viper and they have solid EWACs support, then I might give a slight edge to the US aircraft. But make no mistake, the Su-30, under-estimated in the West, is a fearsome jet that can take out an F-15 on a given day under the right circumstances.

Finally In a fair fight even the Cy -30 is more likely to shoot down the USAF F 15 fighter pilot. The Su 30 just like its older brother the Su 27 can can fly at an angle of attack of 30 degrees. The Su-30MK is a Flanker variant fitted with both canard forewings and thrust vectoring nozzles which have improved its agility. In “ Cy -30 MK Beats F-15C ‘Every Time'” published in 2002 on AW&ST, The Cy -30 consistently beat the F-15C in classified simulations. David A. Fulghum and Douglas Barrie reported that the Cy -30 used its maneuverability to beat the F-15 in several engagements conducted in a complex of 360-deg. simulation domes at Boeing’s St. Louis facilities.

Su-30MKI :

The Su-30 is a two-seat multi-role fighter variant of the Su-27, but was fitted with new avionics and had an added ground attack capability, Its reporting name in the West is Flanker-C. To date more than 200 of these aircraft have been built in Russia. Also India produces a version this aircraft locally under license.

The Su-30 use canards and thrust-vectoring engines for improved maneuverability. This aircraft also has a long-range phased-array radar. In terms of capabilities the Su-30 is broadly similar to the US F-15E Strike Eagle.

This aircraft is armed with a built-in 30-mm GSh-301 cannon with 150 rounds of ammunition. It has a number of underwing hardpoints and can carry up to 8 000 kg of ordnance including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles, cluster and laser-guided bombs, or unguided rockets. It is worth noting that the original Su-27PU had 8 hardpoints, while improved Su-30MK has 12. This aircraft has long range. With normal fuel reserves it has a range of 3 000 km and can perform a 4-5 hour combat mission. Furthermore it has an in-flight refueling probe, so the range can be increased to 5 200 km and flight duration to up to 10 hours.

F-15 Advanced Eagle:

It is an air-superiority fighter, designed to gain and maintain air supremacy. The Advanced Eagle also has a secondary air-to-ground capability. Upgraded Advcanced Eagles could complement F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II fighters. Though unlike these two fighters, the F-15 is not stealthy.

The Advanced Eagle has 2 additional underwing hardpoints increasing the number from 9 to 11. This upgraded warplane can carry more missiles. There are new quad hardpoints on each wing for AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles. So for a typical escort mission the Advanced Eagle can carry up to 16 of these air-to-air missiles, as well as four AIM-9X Sidewinder short-range air-to-air missiles and two AFM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles. Interestingly the F-22 Raptor can carry only up to 6 AMRAAMs in its internal weapon bay. The F-35 Lightning II can carry up to 4 of these missiles internally. Even though these advanced warplanes could carry some additional missiles externally, this would compromise their stealthiness and flight performance.

For precision strikes the Advanced Eagle can carry up to 24 small diameter bombs, a single GBU-31 or GBU-32 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM), or two AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles. The Advanced Eagle can be fitted with external fuel tanks for extended range. There is an M61 20 mm cannon for close-range combat.

Raytheon AN/AGP-82(V)1 or AN/AGP-63(V)3 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars are proposed as options. Another important upgrade is a Talon HATE sensors and communications pod. It allows the F-15 to receive sensor data from the F-22 Raptor. The Talon HATE is also an infra-red search and track sensor. Also this fighter can be equipped with digital Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing Systems for both cockpits. Other enhancements include a digital electronic warfare system. This warplane is fitted with two General Electric F110-129 turbofan engines.