Su-35 versus F-22 Raptor: Analysis from RUSI’s Justin Bronk
The most potent operational fighter aircraft in Russian service is the Sukhoi Su-35. We asked Justin Bronk, Research Fellow from the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), how it would fare in combat against the formidable F-22 Raptor operated by the United States Air force.
Are there tactics which would enable a Su-35 force to take on a F-22 formation?
Simply put – no. Whilst the Su-35 does have the hypothetical capability to detect the F-22 at close ranges using its IRST and potentially the Irbis-E radar, both sensors would have to be cued to focus on exactly the right part of sky to have a chance of generating a target track. By contrast, the F-22 will know exactly where the Su-35 is at extremely long range and can position for complete control of the engagement from the outset with superior kinematics. The Su-35’s only chance would be to absorb the AMRAAM and AIM-9 shots from the F-22’s and hope that they had sufficient numbers left to attack the tankers and airbases which the F-22’s rely on post-engagement.
How do the F-22 and Su-35 compare in terms of close-in agility/energy preservation/types of fighters (angles V energy)
The Su-35 can probably out-turn an F-22 in a horizontal fight at medium and low altitudes, but the need to carry missiles and tanks externally to be effective, as well as the brute size of the Sukhoi will ensure it remains at a distinct energy disadvantage to the Raptor in terms of energy retention and acceleration at all speeds. The F-22 also will not get into an angles fight with an Sukhoi – there is simply no need for it to do so.
How do they compare in terms of BVR engagements?
BVR engagements are all about situational awareness, positioning/energy advantage, and persistence in terms of fuel and missiles. In all but the latter category the Su-35 is hopelessly outclassed by the F-22 (as are all other operational fighter aircraft). Even in terms of missiles, the Su-35 can carry up to twelve to the F-22’s eight but combat practice, especially against stealthy targets, involves firing salvos of six missiles with mixed seekers so the Su-35 only really has two credible shots. By contrast the F-22 can get much closer without being threatened so even against the Su-35S DRFM jammers, it can fire smaller salvos with much better Pk.
(taken from full article here)
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You may also enjoy top WVR and BVR fighters of today, an interview with a Super Hornet pilot and a Pacifist’s Guide to Warplanes. Want something more bizarre? The Top Ten fictional aircraft is a fascinating read, as is The Strange Story of The Planet Satellite. Fashion Versus Aircraft Camo is also a real cracker.
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My favourite aeroplane in 200 words #43: Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-105
Sofia Kovalenok from the Monino AF Museum volunteer restoration team, and her responsibility the 105.11. She has sourced and restored missing cockpit equipment and applied the original markings to the spaceplane scheme with all the stencils (105.11 was repainted in silver, though originally it was white and black).
In 1965 the Soviet Union started a top secret project lead by the engineer Gleb Lozino-Lozinskiy. Known as ‘Spiral’, its aim was to build a spaceplane that could have been used for a variety of purposes including aerial reconnaissance, space rescue, satellite maintenance, and as a space interceptor to sabotage enemy satellites. Yes, I did say ‘space interceptor’, but let’s add another element of excitement: it was to be launched from the back of a Mach 6 mothership (to be built by Tupolev). Once thrown into the air by the mothership, its own detachable rocket would boost it into space. The MiG-105 was built as a research aircraft in support of the Spiral, to demonstrate landings (made on skids) and low speed handling. It made its first subsonic free-flight in 1976, taking off under its own power from an old airstrip near Moscow. It made only eight flights before the project was cancelled in favour of the Buran, a knock-off of the US Shuttle. Though the MiG-105 never made it into space, its sister, the unmanned БОР (‘BOR’) did. Now exhibited at the Monino museum, The MiG-105 is (like me) a Muscovite — which is clearly another reason to love this little flying shoe.
— Ria Timkin, Musician (you can support her music here. She currently has no songs about spaceplanes)
My favourite aeroplane in 200 words #42: Martin-Baker MB3
Despite never entering service, the MB3 has been indirectly responsible for saving 7553 lives (and counting). Friends and partners, James Martin and Valentine Baker had been designing unconventional monoplanes since the early 1930s. From the start they believed that aircraft should be as simple as possible. The MB3 was their response to a wartime RAF requirement for a fast, heavily armed, fighter. Formidably furnished with six 20-mm cannon, it was also designed for ease of maintenance and manufacture (unlike the Spitfire). Tests flights, which started on 31st August 1942, proved it was both highly manoeuvrable and easy to fly. Its top speed of 415 mph was a touch faster than the contemporary Spitfire Mk VIII. The main load-bearing structures were constructed of heavy tubing (or built-up spars) so it would have been able to survive greater battle damage than an equivalent stressed skin aircraft. It was not to be however: on a test flight on 12th September 1942, the engine failed soon after take-off, and the MB3 crashed in a field and killed its pilot, Capt. V Baker. Though the team had been investigating the idea of escape seats since 1934, it was Baker’s death that motivated Martin to focus exclusively on ejection seats.
–– Lucy Bentham
Fly the Rolls-Royce way to London
Navy Growlers draw massive sky penis
Those that argue that the US Navy is a phallocentric Freudian organisation were given succour today by photos circulating showing a massive sky penis reportedly drawn in the sky by pilots from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island—the home of the Navy’s fleet of EA-18G Growlers.
Image from @anahi_torres_ story shared by The Drive.
Top 10 aircraft camo schemes 2017
Chinese Z-8s have an amazing camo scheme but we couldn’t fit them on our list.
Modern military aircraft are all painted in a desperately boring shade of grey… well, almost all. Air Forces Monthly Editor Thomas Lovegrove teams up with Hush-Kit’s Joe Coles to dig deep, and uncover ten masterpieces of conspicuous inconspicuity.
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10. Antonov An-26 ‘Curl’, Kazakh Border Guard, ‘Chocolate pudding’ 
9. Northrop F-5N Tiger II, US Navy, ‘Rhythm of the Saints’
This Navy aggressor impresses with a wild dazzling stripe scheme.
8. Lockheed Martin F-16C Fighting Falcon, US Air Force ‘Arctic monkey’
7. Sukhoi Su-27UB ‘Flanker’, Eritrean Air Force, ‘Splinter faction’
African ‘phwoar-lord’.
6. ShinMaywa US-2, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, ‘Blue steel’
Smart as hell. US Pacific World War II style? 1950s US Navy chic? Steel blue with crisp red Hinomaru: perfection.
5. Grumman F-14AM Tomcat, Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force, ‘Shi-raz-clart Mehrabadboy’
A smart desert splinter scheme reminiscent of an airshow ‘Flanker’ of the 1990s gives this Iranian Tomcat a certain something. Smart white undersides.
4. Antonov An-22 ‘Cock’, Russian Air Force, ‘Insert heteronormative Cock joke here’
Attempting to hide such a massive airlifter is an exercise in futility. Still, nice Bond-esque scheme.
3. MD Helicopters MD500, Korean People’s Air Force, ‘Lime twizzler’
Crazy colours, turquoise belly. Job’s a good’un.
2. Grumman S-2T Tracker, Republic of China Air Force, ‘Return to the blue lagoon’
Carnival time, down in Taiwan.
- McDonnell Douglas F-4EJ Phantom II, Japan Air-Self Defense Force, ‘Digital Forest Ranger’
Spetsnaz Viggen. Disrupticon prime.
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This site needs your help to continue. Our site is absolutely free and we have no advertisements (any you do see, are from WordPress). If you’ve enjoyed an article you can donate here.
Have a look at How to kill a Raptor, An Idiot’s Guide to Chinese Flankers, the 10 worst British military aircraft, The 10 worst French aircraft, Su-35 versus Typhoon, 10 Best fighters of World War II , top WVR and BVR fighters of today, an interview with a Super Hornet pilot and a Pacifist’s Guide to Warplanes. Was the Spitfire overrated? Want something more bizarre? The Top Ten fictional aircraft is a fascinating read, as is The Strange Story and The Planet Satellite. The Fashion Versus Aircraft Camo is also a real cracker. Those interested in the Cold Way should read A pilot’s guide to flying and fighting in the Lightning. Those feeling less belligerent may enjoy A pilot’s farewell to the Airbus A340. Looking for something more humorous? Have a look at this F-35 satire and ‘Werner Herzog’s Guide to pusher bi-planes or the Ten most boring aircraft. In the mood for something more offensive? Try the NSFW 10 best looking American airplanes, or the same but for Canadians.
My favourite aeroplane in 200 words #41: Rockwell XFV-12
Argue with me, if you will, about whether the XFV-12 was an “airplane”, on the pedantic grounds that airplanes can leave the ground under their own power. Point out to me, kindly or with malice, that its 70s Kustom Van paint job, reminiscent of some early arcade cabinet or Sandy Frank sci-fi epic, is a gleaming disguise for the Frankensteinian joining of Phantom and Skyhawk parts, intended to save time and money during the US defence establishment’s post-Vietnam doldrums.
Don’t care. The love of warplanes is a vice, and the XFV-12, with its inability to carry its own weight let alone a bombload, is the aviation equivalent of a very tasty lite beer. Relieved of considering any moral dimensions, we can focus on the aesthetics of this hopeful monster, and fully appreciate its melding of the beautifully sleek with the slightly clumsy and the subtly alien. The rakish, confident twin tails, framing the slick landing gear enclosures! The huge yet somehow elegant diamondesque canards! The faintly toylike proportions and ever so slightly silly nose. I want to put on a PVC flight suit marked with Rockwell’s corporate-slick logo, climb into this plane, and blast off towards a future painted by Syd Mead, rising on a white-hot column of pure techno-fantasy.
(Rik Haines lives in Cascadia, uses unusual pronouns, and plays too much Kerbal Space Program.)
It also also makes an appearance on the 10 worst US aircraft here
My favourite aeroplane in 200 words #40: North American 0-47
“Favourites? Mustang, Spitfire, yeah…boring. Mythologies rather than experiences. The closest any of us have gotten to the royalty of the air are plastic models or a glimpse at an airshow.
Not me. As a kid, I spent hours surrounded by the scent of aluminium, old oil, and rubber… in my own plane.
It was an 0-47.
The 0-47 was so anonymous that the Army didn’t even give it a name.
No Storch, no Lystander, just an number. Starting with a Zed.
North American built 250, a tiny number… [for America]
No guns, it was designed to observe with a mile long greenhouse on top and a fat belly underneath with camera ports.
It was my airplane.
On a sleepy country airport one sat derelict axle deep in weeds. Just a mile of walking, carrying a camp stool for the missing pilot seat, my sister and my best friend could fly to Europe destroy the Axis.
The pilot’s stick still waggled the bare ailerons who, like rudder, it’s yaw buddy, had lost their fabric years ago.
The author (on the right)
No cowling, prop, nor glass in the canopy, but deep inside it’s green cavernous interior, sitting at the observer’s station, the two camera port doors could be cranked open pushing the weeds aside to reveal the Japanese fleet..
The 90 degree Oklahoma Summer, the sound of cicadas, and this thing that once flew, were a 10 year old’s perfect day.
There is a flying example in California. Now, for me as a pilot, the need is great…”
– Jack Murphy
An air force of my own #2: France 1937
“A faster version of the superbly agile MS 406 would be just the ticket.”
Could France have been saved from the Nazi invasion by a better air force? We put Greg Baughen in charge of aircraft procurement for the year 1937; with 80 years of hindsight can he save France?
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Air Force Procurement
Head of procurement: Greg Baughen
Occupation: Teacher turned author
Nation to defend: France
Year: 1937
In the mid- thirties France looked set to build the air force it would need in 1940. The disastrous BCR bomber-reconnaissance-fighter plane had been abandoned, there was talk of fleets of ground attack planes halting armoured divisions in their tracks, and General Denain, the Air Minister, was planning to build an entirely new sort of air force, with specialised fighter, medium bombers, ground attack planes, dive-bombers – and the target date for the new plan just happened to be 1940.
Unfortunately, these plans went up in smoke when the 1936 Rhineland crisis reignited fears about German bombers devastating French cities. Large long-range bombers to deter became the priority again.
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But what if Hitler had got cold feet and the Rhineland crisis never happened?
It’s no good messing with the impossible. Squadrons of weird Arsenal-Delanne 10 tandem biplanes, clever tandem engined Arsenal VB 10s and brutish Sud-Est S.E.100s may look good, but the air battles in 1940 were fought with planes that had their origins in the years 1933-1935, or upgrades of these, and that’s what we have to go with.
With a 352 mph top speed and superb agility, a ‘Super 406’ would have achieved parity with the best fighters in the world.
That means the fighter has to be the MS 406 – but not the 300 mph original version. By 1939 it should have been in production with a ducted Hurricane type radiator instead of the retractable system (worth an extra 12 mph), Szydlowski-Planiol supercharger —the 920 hp HS 12Y45 engine – (worth another 20 mph), ejector exhaust stubs (an extra 20 mph at 7,000 metres ) and two belt-fed guns in each wing, instead of a drum-fed gun. All these improvements had been trialled, tested and were available. They were all wasted on the Dewoitine D.520, which never reached its intended 354 mph top speed and didn’t reach the squadrons in time anyway. A faster version of the superbly agile MS 406 would be just the ticket.
What were the top 10 fighters at the outbreak of War? Answer here
Tactical force
The Bloch 151/152 was useless as a fighter but here is our perfect fighter-bomber. Very manoeuvrable at low level, extremely rugged and with two HS 404 20 mm cannon, a useful ground attack plane even without any bombs. Bloch were actually advertising it as a ground attack plane in 1937.
For tactical bombing, it has to be the cheap and very easy to build Potez 63. A lightweight design perhaps, but the Potez 639 version carried extensive armour protection for the crew, a 20 mm cannon for ground strafing and five internal and five external 110-lb bombs. Admittedly, there were problems fitting the bombs in the armoured fuselage, but reduce the bomb load and we’ve got a good low-level attack bomber.
How the Fairey Battle won the war here
The beautiful Amiot 570.
The same plane minus armour and with a bomb sight would do as a light bomber (the Potez 633). It was faster and more manoeuvrable than the Do 17 and had the same bomb load as the Blenheim. Range was limited, but the targets are the German panzers, not Berlin. This version was in production – but for export only.
No dive-bombers, shallow dive-bombing with the above is fine.
A long-range bomber is needed to keep the politicians happy. The Farman (SNCAC) 220 series looks horrible (there go my points for aesthetics) but carried an impressive 10,000 lb bomb load and ideal for indiscriminate retaliation by night.
Farman (SNCAC) 220
For long-range day bombing, definitely not the disastrous LeO 451. This was difficult to fly, expensive to build and, in 1937, could only get into the air with 1,000 hp HS AA engines that never worked properly. The much lighter, easier to build and cheaper Amiot 340 with the tried and tested Gnome Rhone Mistral Majors or even the Amiot 370 with the HS 12Y31 were much better bets (and wins me back some of my points for aesthetics). They flew in 1937, but Amiot had been working on them since 1933 and if Felix Amiot had not been in permanent dispute with the French Air Ministry, and the Ministry had not insisted on using the HS AA engine that didn’t work, a useful bomber could have been available even sooner.
Amiot 340
If we need an interim medium bomber, the French flirtation with the BCR planes means the cupboard is pretty bare. The Breguet 462 adaptation of the Breguet 460 BRC was probably the best bet (and certainly better than the disastrous Bloch 131). It flew a year before the Amiot 340, was capable of 250 mph and provided something like the capability of the Heinkel 111.
The Potez 63.11
For short-range observation duties the Potez 63.11 is fine, as long as it only has to peep over the frontline and not fly deep in the enemy rear. For deeper penetration we need fighter -reconnaissance planes, the Bloch 151/2 or MS 406 would be ideal. (In 1940 the French were planning to use the MS 406 for this, but simply didn’t have enough). For longer range reconnaissance we have the Amiot 340/350.
We also put modern RAF procurement in different hands, the result is here
The D.520, D.550 and Bloch 174 were fine planes, but couldn’t arrive in time. The previous generation, with less production capacity wasted on long-range bombers and artillery spotter planes and more on short-range tactical bombers and lots of fighters to escort them, (i.e. don’t turn over factories producing the MS 406 to the LeO 451!) and the French could have had an air force to match the Luftwaffe.
Our Verdict
Political considerations
Given that the ‘Armée de l’air du Greg Baughen‘ consists entirely of domestic aircraft this Air Force is going to play very well with French industrialists and nationalist types at home. However this France looks extremely isolationist which might not impress its Allies so much but hey, war’s around the corner, big deal. This air force would not involve any awkward legislative export or import considerations of any kind (unlike the supply of Soviet equipment to Republic Spain for example) and as such is a sure fire hit not to annoy anyone.
95/100
Aesthetic appeal
Amiot 370
Nearly all French military aircraft of the 1930s were hideous, including the ones that never entered service, so judging the aesthetic appeal of any French Air Force, real or imagined is a tough call. Nonetheless the inclusion of the Amiot 370 (an Art Deco masterpiece) and Baughen’s aesthetically pleasing alterations to the cuddly MS.406 show a genuine desire to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear or a Farman 220. Given the material available this is a sterling effort
90/100
Realism
The homework that has gone into this is nothing short of impressive, it would undoubtedly have been a more effective force to meet the German invasion of 1940, and on domestic aircraft production it is difficult to fault. However, the absolute omission of foreign aircraft (or engines) is perplexing. In reality, the most successful fighter over France in 1940 was the Curtiss Hawk 75, despite making up a mere 12% of the fighter force, Hawks were responsible for a third of all kills scored between September 1939 and the French capitulation in 1940. True, the French obtained these aircraft only after overcoming considerable objection at home (one Curtiss cost double an MS 406) and in America (the export licence was only granted after the personal intervention of President Roosevelt) so it could be argued that getting any more from the US would have been extremely difficult but there were other sources of decent aircraft available. Britain managed to find capacity to export Hurricanes for Belgium, Finland, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Romania, Latvia and Poland before the fall of France and it would not be hard to imagine a French order receiving priority over, say, Turkey, due to its strategic importance. Italian aircraft were also available – France actually did obtain five Caproni 313s and the UK had 300 Reggiane Re 2000s on order before Italy declared war in 1940. Even Germany had an inexplicable habit of exporting modern military aircraft to nations it would shortly invade. Anyway, brilliant, brilliant work on the French stuff but where’s everyone else? Je ne sais pas.
75/100
Imagination
As Baughen says ‘Squadrons of weird Arsenal-Delanne 10 tandem biplanes, clever tandem engined Arsenal VB 10s and brutish Sud-Est S.E.100s may look good‘ and indeed they do so where are they? Likewise where’s the plans for a presidential Latécoère 631? Or the fighter variant of the Bugatti racer? This Air Force is profoundly imaginative within the bounds of good sense but for entertaining, just-about-plausible craziness it’s a teensy bit lacking.
65/100
The Rise and Fall of the French Air Force: French Air Operations and Strategy 1900-1940 by Greg Baughen is out soon.
Greg Baughen has spent a lifetime researching British and French aviation history. Retirement has provided the opportunity to turn this research into a series of books. The first three on the history of British air power have been published , Blueprint for Victory, The Rise of the Bomber and The RAF in the Battle of France and the Battle of Britain. He has also published a reappraisal of the operational career of The Fairey Battle. “The Rise and Fall of the French Air Force 1900-1940” will be published later this year.
To support this site you may buy an aviation calendar here. It’s your support that keeps us going. Many thanks.
Thank you for reading Hush-Kit. This site is in peril as it is well below its funding targets. If you’ve enjoyed an article you can donate here.
Have a look at How to kill a Raptor, An Idiot’s Guide to Chinese Flankers, the 10 worst British military aircraft, The 10 worst French aircraft, Su-35 versus Typhoon, 10 Best fighters of World War II , top WVR and BVR fighters of today, an interview with a Super Hornet pilot and a Pacifist’s Guide to Warplanes. Want something more bizarre? The Top Ten fictional aircraft is a fascinating read, as is The Strange Story and The Planet Satellite. The Fashion Versus Aircraft Camo is also a real cracker. Those interested in the Cold Way should read A pilot’s guide to flying and fighting in the Lightning. Those feeling less belligerent may enjoy A pilot’s farewell to the Airbus A340. Looking for something more humorous? Have a look at this F-35 satire and ‘Werner Herzog’s Guide to pusher bi-planes or the Ten most boring aircraft. In the mood for something more offensive? Try the NSFW 10 best looking American airplanes, or the same but for Canadians.
