r/WarplanePorn

Credit to @chkala_crew on Telegram

Photo Credit French Navy

Shot with the 24-105 f/4 L

the Tu-22MR was intended to replace the aging recon variants of the Tu-16 and Tu-22, a Tu-22M3 was converted into the 1st prototype and had it's maiden flight on December 6, 1985, 4 years later it was lost in an accident due to a mid-air fire and crashed into a swamp, the crew ejected with multiple injuries but survived

due to being built for reconnaissance it's missile and bomb capabilities were removed, the bulk of the recon equipment is in a technical compartment which is located in the bomb bay, it still retained it's 23mm tail gun which using special chaff and decoy rounds acts as a countermeasure system for self-defense

the equipment installed was the BKR-2 airborne reconnaissance complex (the BKR-1 was installed on the Su-24MR), which consisted of the M-202 Shompol SLAR, M-361 X-ray meter and M-265 aerial camera

a U-006 Obzor-MR forward-looking radar (modified from the T-160's Obzor-K) in the nose, OPB-18 television sight and K-044 navigation system

production of the MR was cancelled due to the collapse of the soviet union

the status of the 4 are:

• 2nd prototype/pre-production #36 - delivered to the VVS from the Kazan plant in 1988 and underwent testing at Akhtubinsk, after which it was transferred to Dyagilevo Air Base where it's currently in storage
• 1st serial-production #1, serial number 11103 - built in 1991, assigned to the 219th ODRAP in Spassk-Dalny then later ended up at Belaya Air Base in 2010, while there it was plagued by breakdowns and equipment failures and rarely flew, it's currently in storage
• 2nd serial-production #2, serial number 11201 - currently in service with registration number RF-94239
• 3rd serial-production, serial number 11301 - remains incomplete and in storage at the Kazan plant because the Ministry of Defense did not buy it

Bit of a rant. I’m Indian and a huge jet enthusiast, and this genuinely bothers me.

Today I saw another IAF Su-30MKI photo and had the same thought again: why do so many of our jets look dusty and worn, with faded paint, exposed fasteners and patchy-looking panels?

I understand the USAF and PLA have vastly larger budgets, but even PAF, Turkish and Indonesian aircraft often appear much cleaner despite operating with far smaller overall defence budgets. That honestly gets embarrassing.

The contrast bothers me most. The IAF projects itself as an extremely prestigious institution and is incredibly competitive to get into, yet the image its aircraft present to the outside world consistently seems completely at odds with that prestige.

Maybe there are perfectly valid technical or operational reasons for this that I’m unaware of. I’m genuinely curious to hear from people who understand military aviation and aircraft maintenance better than I do.

Image credits:
IAF Su-30MKI: Firstpost
IAF Su-30MKI: Militarnyi
Indian Navy MiG-29K: Times Now
IAF SEPECAT Jaguar: AirPra/Medium
HAL LCA Tejas: Fly a Jet Fighter

The ​carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and Kirov-class battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy were transiting the English Cha​nnel en route to Murmansk, after ​concluding their mission off Syria.

Photo credit UK MoD

photo source:https: https://www.taisounds.com/news/content/0/95340

These aircraft have been retired. Recent unconfirmed rumors suggest that Paraguay is attempting to acquire some of its retired Taiwan F-5 fighter jets to establish jet fighter operational capabilities.

I'm I just tripping?

(I'm still not that good at posting here so I apologize for any mistakes in the post