How good are Super Etendards?

[InVada]

Regarding the Super Etendard.

The French Navy have deployed these aircraft for years on there carriers, and upgraded them and are still flying them for a while yet. Just would like to know if there any good or not? What other aircraft could you compare them with?

[lulldapull]

Regarding the Super Etendard.

The French Navy have deployed these aircraft for years on there carriers, and upgraded them and are still flying them for a while yet. Just would like to know if there any good or not? What other aircraft could you compare them with?

They are getting a bit too long in the tooth. Against a wel defended Soviet carrier like the Kuznetsoz or even this Indian Gorshkov, the Flanker and fulcrums will slaughter them because their main weapon the Am.39 Exocet has only a 75 mile range! The Ships radar or better yet the AEW Ka-31 will pick up any sea skimming Etendard or Mirage V toting an Exocet out to 250 miles! :)

Then the Sea Flankers or fulcrums can engage the Etandard with their RVV-AE's out to about 70 miles! Escaping for the Etandard will be next to impossible if the flanker catches! it will be a juicy sitting duck!

Same goes for any CVBG! The Tomcats technically can "Can" hit it out to about 100miles with the Phoenix, but i have new found distatste for the Phoenix, specially since the last time the Phoenix was used in anger against Iraqi AF in GW-1, During the GW-1, 5 were launched against a trio of Iraqi MF Floggers out at about 80 miles and all goddamn missed their targets! The phoenix is a piece of shiit! :) It works on a QF-86 or QF-100 drone with a very large RCS or for that matter enhanced IR, but in the real world it is total garbage.

And again as Paul Hackman this F-14 RIO in our IPMS has told us repeatedly how bad the Tomcat actually is and how un-reliable the Aim-54 is despite the massive govt. propaganda to the contarary

Any way even as far late as 1999 iraqi Foxbats have many times evaded the worthless Phoenix:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...ofly010699.htm

Same goes for the Royal Navy's carriers. The Etandard had succeeded against the Royal navy before during the malvinas episode largely due to the royal Navy having pathetic AEW/ AWACS assets! :) If they had an E-2 flaying around, the Etandard would have been intercepted! But a skilled pilot will have a half decent chance with the Etandard against a third world navy! ;)

[Franco Lolan]

sounds like a pretty bad track record for phoenix. suprised no hits w/ aim120s either. specific engagements or indicative of whole?

[lulldapull]

sounds like a pretty bad track record for phoenix. suprised no hits w/ aim120s either. specific engagements or indicative of whole?

No dude the Aim-120 has a pretty decent kill to miss ratio! So far I believe it has maintained an above 50% hit capability! Among at least half a dozen victims have been hard to kill Syrian and Iraqi Foxbats, as well as couple of Serb Fulcrums!! :)

Its about twice as good as the older Aim-7E/F!