![]() Shoulder and see his left vertical tail, and an F-16 Falcon pilot sits By contrast, an F-15 Eagle driver can look over his right Poor rearward visibility will prove to be anotherĪchilles heel in air combat as a Fulcrum pilot is blind from 5 to 7 Going to be much more proficient at what fighter weapons instructorsĬall "situational awareness", i.e. Three large multi-function displays in the F-18. Compare the single, small Su-27 display with the Prevent an understanding of the total air battle situation occurringīeyond visual range. The small, out of sight radar displays will What limitations do these cockpits impose on their pilots? SomeĬonclusions are obvious. Reclined, true, but not enough significantly to increase the Poor in the Fulcrum, and both fighters have almost no visibility to the Visibility looking out of the canopy is marginal in the Flanker, very The infrared search and track set does not have a separate display. EachĪircraft's head-up display is small, with a narrow field of view. Radar warning receiver (RWR) display is out of ready sight. Small, and not sunlight-proof or mounted under the glare shield. Flight and engineĭata are indicated by old style circular dials. Su-27 Flanker cockpits represent mid-1960s technology. To air combat and as measures of aircraft competitiveness in the airĪs seen at the 1989 Paris Air Show, both the MiG-29 Fulcrum and the State of the cockpit designs as indicators of both the Soviet approach Give us a clue on how feasible this change might be. Soviet air combat tactics? A look at current MiG and Suhkoi cockpits may Will there be aĬorresponding new "openness" and "restructuring" in Solution to the USSR's economic miseries is the introduction of Russian ineptitude in free-form air combat and the RussianĮconomy's failure in a free market world. It is not too great a mental leap to draw an analogy between Senior Soviet officers and in published works. This has been clearly stated in public by Theseĭisastrous defeats and humiliations evidently convinced the Russians Heads by their US Air Force, US Navy & Israeli counterparts. Warsaw Pact-trained pilots were handed their More to the point, Russian deficiencies in fighter pilot trainingīecame obvious in various engagements in the Middle East, the Their air defense shortcomings wereįurther publicized when a Cessna 172 landed unannounced in Red Square Such as various lost civilian airliners wandering around unimpeded over This was made painfully clear to the Soviets when their airĭefense system was confronted with unexpected and unplanned threats, Well? This approach to air fighting has one drawback - it doesn't Marxists-Leninist dogma by thinking for themselves on the ground as ![]() Thinking in the air, could they be trusted not to violate If Sovietįighter pilots, the cream of Soviet society, were allowed independent Each pilot must beĮmpowered to make his own decisions, instantaneously, based on aĭetailed knowledge of the overall air battle situation. To develop individual initiative and self-reliance. Than money may have been political currency. Saved Rubles to be used for more wings of interceptors to cover the Soviets have chosen to avoid spending money dogfighting and thus have It costs fuel, maintenance resources,Īnd with the inevitable crashes, it costs pilots and airframes. Proficiency in the real world ofĬontested air combat is expensive. Of a minimum of flying time, providing each engagement is scripted inĪdvance with a predetermined outcome. Secondly, a perceived highĭegree of proficiency in air defense is obtainable with the expenditure The Strategic Air Command and the Royal Air Force's V-Force. Effective air defense of the Sovietįatherland required protection from the deep penetration bombers of both The historical rationale behind this approach is complex, but was Intercepts are practiced with the controllers on the ground calling all Individual initiative is discouraged, and only set-piece air Umbilically tied to a ground-controlled intercept station by radioĭata-link. The West, is of a highly disciplined, defensive-minded airplane driver.įighters, in the Soviet tactical plan, are manned interceptors, The traditional image of a Warsaw Pact fighter pilot, as seen by APA style: Glasnost and the glass cockpit.Glasnost and the glass cockpit." Retrieved from ![]() ![]()
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