In our last blog, we talked about how the IAF got its hands on a Russian engineering novelty, called Thrust Vectoring or TVC. But how does the air force use this? Read to find out.
One might have seen the Su-30MKI perform at Air shows, where it would turn and tumble across the sky, in ways that would make us want to ask "how can they do it??!". Well, these stunts aren't just for the eyes of the spectators during air shows and parades.
Back in 2019, when the IAF locked horns with the Pakistan Air Force over Kashmir, the Indian Air Force pitted its best platform, the Su-30MKI against the best of Pakistan, the F-16 Falcon. Keep in mind that the F-16 is one of the most advanced and most successful fighter jets in the world!
Whilst the F-16 could turn as smoothly as the Sukhoi without a Thrust Vectoring, the F-16 has one major caveat over the latter: it's advanced radar and the AIM-120 AMRAAM. The AIM-120 AMRAAM is considered as one of the most advanced Air to air missiles ever built. It is so good that missing one can only happen by sheer luck.
But how did the IAF Sukhoi pilots manage to do that not once, but more than once? They put the Thrust Vectoring to its best use. The Su-30MKI pilots turned their Flankers so tight that even the world's best missile couldn't keep up with them!