hroughout the year the Pentagon conducts many a military exercise with friendly governments. They are excellent ways in which to test our military capabilities and also help with our bilateral diplomacy. In recent weeks senior Air Force officers have been revealing information about one particular exercise and its outcome, that one might normally expect they'd rather keep under wraps. In February there was mock combat between the US and the Indian air forces over central India. With our equipment, experience and expertise one would expect that we would win handsomely, even against a proud and well-trained Indian force.
We lost! Not only did the American aircraft lose but they did so time and again; out flown 90% of the time. Salesmen at arms fairs have taken note. Military procurement agencies in several countries are beginning to wonder whether the outflanking of a US fighter by its Indian rival, in mock combat, might prove that we are not as far ahead of the rest of the world as we have for a very long while believed.
I read a story in the Financial Times of London headlined, appropriately, "America's Eagle is brought down to earth with a bump." So why would we want the world to know? Perhaps because the outflanking of a US fighter may not be all bad news for the Pentagon. If our top fighter, the F15, can be so readily defeated in combat maybe we need better equipment or the updating and advancing of our current aircraft. The exercise was known as Cope India. It was the first combat training exercise between the two air forces in four decades and it gave us the opportunity to go up against Russia's finest, the SU-30 Flanker (the latest of their fighters). There are other 'planes competing for the shrinking defense budgets of the world; the Eurofighter and the French Rafale. They too have reason to worry as China has purchased the SU-30 from Russia.
I would think the Boeing's sales staff will have quite a problem on their hands when they continue to pitch their product, the F15, to the Singapore Air Force and the South Koreans.
You know, war and preparation for war, can eventually become fairly expensive!