Indian Sukhoi's enroute to Red Flag '08

 Red Flag '08

Philip Stevens reports: Exercise 'Red Flag 08-4' - Russian Fighters over Nevada




Ilyushin IL-76MD 'Candid' (K-2661) returning to Nellis
Canon EF 300mm f2.8 1/500th f.8 -1/3 stop exposure compensation.

Nellis Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada is the home of the US Air Force Warfare Centre (USAFWC), tasked with training pilots to become the best combat aviators in the world. The USAFWC has at its disposal every aircraft in the air force's inventory with the huge Nellis Air Force Range (NAFR) just to the north of the airfield. Divided now into two zones, north and south, the NAFR is the largest US range covering some 4,700 square miles. A larger area of 14,800 square miles, which is half the size of Scotland, is available for military flying operations. The NAFR contains dummy airfields, unprepared runways, Surface to Air Missile (SAM) sites, Surface to Surface Missiles (SSM), Anti-aircraft artillery and bunkers, in fact everything you would expect in a war zone. The training is conducted with air and ground units of the Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Many allied nations are also able to train at Nellis, it is vital that the Allied coalition forces as seen during both Gulf Wars, are able to fly and fight together as one seamless unit.


the photos from: http://www.targeta.co.uk/red_flag08-4_indian.htm

Su-30MKI 'Flanker-H' (SB046) lifting off from one of Nellis parallel runways

Sukhoi Su-30MKI 'Flanker-H' (SB042) flown by 20 Squadron ('Lightnings') departs with a with a Litening III advanced targeting pod fitted.

AIR_SU-30MKI_Eurofighter_Tornado-F3_lg

 Sukhoi Su-30 MKI^[3] (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) is a variant of the Sukhoi Su-30 jointly-developed by Russia's Sukhoi Corporation and India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF). It is an air superiority fighter which can also act as a multirole, strike fighter jet.
The development of the variant started after India signed a deal with Russia in 2000 to manufacture 140 Su-30 fighter jets.^[4] The first Russian-made Su-30MKI variant was integrated into the IAF in 2002,^[5] while the first indigenous Su-30MKI (with Russian engine) entered service with the IAF in 2004.^[6] In 2007, the IAF ordered 40 additional MKIs.^[7] As of March 2010, the IAF has 130 MKIs under active service and planned to have an operational fleet of 280 MKIs by 2015.^[1]

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine canard-delta wing multirole aircraft. It is being designed and built by a consortium of three companies: Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems, and EADS working through a holding company Eurofighter GmbH which was formed in 1986. The project is managed by NETMA (NATO Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency) which acts as the prime customer.^[5]
The series production of the Eurofighter Typhoon is underway, and the aircraft is being procured under three separate contracts (named "tranches"), each for aircraft with generally improved capabilities. The aircraft has entered service with the British Royal Air Force, the German Luftwaffe, the Italian Aeronautica Militare, the Spanish Air Force and the Austrian Air Force. Saudi Arabia has signed a £4.43 billion (approx. €6.4  billion c. 2007, $9.5 billion) contract for 72 aircraft.^[6]