On Mon, 2014-08-25 at 10:42 +0530, Suresh Ramasubramanian wrote: > Production delays I believe, caused by bungling at HAL. So the iaf > imported > sukhoi su7s in a hurry. > > The aircraft was also tough as hell but underpowered, so rapidly > became > obsolete without further development, especially as tank had moved on
Bungling and lack of foresight at higher levels as well. One batch of two seaters was deliveres and weeks later the plane we decommissioned. Weird. A lot of 20/20 hindsight analysis says that India should have stuck with it. The underpowered engine was a problem but some aspects of its performance were superlative and "on the deck" (at very low levels) the plane could outrun a Mach 2 MiG 21. It was stable as hell and a great weapons delivery platform. That apart - pilots would boil in their uncooled Soviet plane cockpits while the HF 24, designed for Indian conditions was cool as cucumber with a powerful A/C on 45 degree days.
