Yep. And they could have given it much better surface to air capability that it has. It could literally engage in guerrilla SAM tactics.

The report came from Wikileaks, not Russian media.

Well, at least their unguided bombs are more accurate than our supply drops in the region

Oh, it’s an export variant! It didn't have good armor! They didn’t have proper training!

There is no being an expert necessary. A Tomahawk is a slow missile that flies in a straight line. If a defense system cannot handle a Tomahawk, then it is not worth its salt.

I know. The whole Turkey thing stinks of it.

Yah, I want a piece on that to.

Dream on

on a similar subject, have we seen any more Su-27s or Su-30s shipped in?

I am assuming they spread out after filming.

Yah. Another example I love is how well trained crews on the S-125 were able to shoot down an F-117 on Yugoslavia, but the poorly trained Iraqi and Syrian operators could not hit older non-stealth American or Israeli aircraft with the exact same missiles.I have noticed that training is probably the single most…

True, and come to think about it, using those big AAA on deck might not be a good idea in a city.

I personally don’t think building the PAK TA will be an issue. There is such good potential for it in the commercial market that it would be silly not to, assuming they can make it fuel efficient.

I understand where you are coming from. The Patriot has such a tarnished reputation(from shooting down so many friendlies and claiming kills on Scud Missiles that probably broke up on their own) that I think it gives the S-300 more credibility.

UAC can, but it probably won’t be a copy. The Subsonic PAK TA (there is a supersonic one planned but I doubt it will actually surface) will be able to rival it as a blended wing body, mich more efficient

The S-300 is not only very capable, but it deploys very quickly. While time to fully set up systems like the Patriot can be measured in minutes, the S-300 is in monuments. Combined with it being based off of either tracked vehicles or extreme duty trucks, on have a very effective SAM that can be set up in moments in…

You point out something a lot of people overlook. ISIS was around long before the Syrian civil war, heck, even Osama Bin Laden didn’t like them. But I guess we considered them a nonissue for too long, ignored them as they grew, hoped Iraq would be able to handle it, but then sat on our hands as they failed. The…

I am not sure under what circumstances I came to know this, but you don't need a harbor pilot for the Bosphorous.

I think the biggest issue with the R-77 is it’s a silver bullet. I have no reason to think it doesn’t work, most of the complaints are for the first batch baseline model. I think it is probably prohibitively expensive. According to RT, the newest K-77 variant costs a significant portion of the plane. It would be hard…

So, if these reports are accurate, I wonder what Russia’s response will be. I would think just find a cheap ship and sail through with it. With the Montreux agreement, they could sail any ship they want through and Turkey technically can't do anything. If Turkey bothers it, Russia is well within their rights to do as…