United States is deceiving India
In the end of July media sources reported that US Lockheed Martin held talks with the Command of the Indian Air Force and allegedly agreed to discuss the deliveries of the American 5th generational combat aircraft JSF (F-35). Now the naïve journalists and "independent" observers interpret possible consequences without knowing that these interpretations are far more important for the US than the consequences. The above talks and respective media campaign are nothing but a far sighted PR aimed at assisting the main goal – selling F-16I fighters in the expected Indian tender. Claimed sale of the 5th generation technologies is a downright lie.
In the past decade US has perfectly mastered a primitive, but very efficient method of psychological warfare. First US makes an absurd statement it needs to achieve a goal. For example, Iraq (or anybody else) has nuclear weapons, US needs strategic defense in Europe against Iran and North Korea, the terrorists (if they blow up aircraft not above the US) are fighters the for democracy and human rights watchers. Between two sane persons such a conversation is hardly possible at all, but on the political level it forces another party to react to such ridiculous statements, thus creating a context extremely advantageous to the party-initiator.
It seems that such methods might work well in the commercial sphere too. First the US claims it is ready to discuss selling the 5th generation aircraft and technologies. Who can recall a precedent when the US sold its latest technologies to anybody? Leaving alone the third countries’ tenders (like in the Turkish helicopter one) in the past several years there have been noteworthy conflicts between the US and its allies (UK, Japan, Australia, European nations), when the latter accused the US of not willing to share the 5th generation aircraft technologies. Neither achieved anything. US does not share its latest technologies even with its military allies and the countries-partners of the JSF program.
Putting F-35 and the Indian light multi role fighter in one context is nothing but a clever marketing, or deceiving the customer, to put in more straightforwardly.
Technically F-35 can hardly be regarded as a match of F-16I or Russian Mig-35, the expected participants of the tender. It is an aircraft more often compared with the heavier versions – PAK FA (Russian 5th generation aircraft) or Su-30MKI (generation 4++). Noteworthy, India already participates in the PAK FA program on equal terms with Russia and already operates Su-30s, which did an outstanding record during the mock fights with the American and European matches.
Last time Su-30MKI engaged UK Royal Air Force Eurofighter "Typhoon" fighter in a mock aerial combat for the first time as part of the Anglo-Indian Exercise "Indradhanush 2007". Six Indian fighters as well as several European "Tornados" participated in the tests. The operational aspects of the exercises involved one-versus-one air combat as well as mixed-mission, multiple-aircraft sorties. The organizers of the meeting did not announce the results of the mock fights. Indians pilots were awarded the prize "Spirit of the Meet" for having demonstrated impressive flight abilities of the aircraft. It turns out that giving honourable prizes is less image-ruining for the western aircraft makers than keeping the records of the mock fights.
So far, all test fights have been unreservedly in favour of Russia/Indian pilots operating Russian or Russian-Indian made aircraft. It was recorded during several Indian-American air force joint combat exercises in Gwalior.
Indian media sources quoted Makhmud Makmakhon, Deputy Chief of India Air Force Staff, who said that the Americans expected from Indian pilots the actions in terms of the western doctrine of fighting aircraft application, but they chose the Soviet model, and as a result gained the upper hand over the opponents. Finally, the absolute superiority remained on the side of the fighters of Sukhoi Company. They won each two from three battles, in which they took part. During the dogfight the less manoeuvrable US F-15C had a few chances to survive. Thus, under the Indian command reports, Americans were shot down not less than 20 times.
The victories of the Russian fighters over the US matches have been recorded since August 1992 when the delegation of the Russian Air Force including pilots Alexander Kharchevsky and Georgy Karabasov first time ever came to the Lengly American Air Base with a friendly visit. Two two-seat Su-27UB aircraft and Il-76 military cargo aircraft were included into structure of the command as technical support. During the visit Russians offered training air fight. The Americans politely refused to hold it exposed to the public attention, claiming that their air base was located in the area of intensive air traffic and high density of the population, in spite of the fact that the air base, certainly, had had its own air zone closed for flights or temporarily closed for flights of civil airline planes. Finally, the Americans organised so-called joint manoeuvring in the Atlantic Ocean.
