marsavian wrote:Mixelflick you surprise me, I thought you would have been all over super-maneuvrable Flankers showing F-18s the way home !

I'm learning, lol.
I still don't like the F-18. But they are infinitely more combat capable vs. their Russian counterparts.
The big, rangy Flanker family can carry a good war load to great altitude and on kinematics alone is superior to some Western jets. At the very least, you have to admire the airframe. They've really taken the podded platypus concept originally seen in the F-14 and run with it. But they are let down in systems and in particular, weapons. The R-27 doesn't have a single BVR "hit" that I'm aware of in combat. All R-27 fired by Eritrean/Ethiopian Mig-29's and SU-27's missed.
If the F-35's BVR model of stealth, SA etc. works as advertised, they're in for a long day in future conflicts. If I were them, I'd sell as many "invincible" SU-35's as fast as possible. Because as soon as the first one falls to an F-35's (or F-15's!) AMRAAM, sales are going to drop off.
Precipitously!