I consider the Iraqi Air Force of Desert Storm as competent enough to the point we did not take them lightly. People misunderstood what we did to them. People think that just because they were defeated, the pilots and even their air commanders were inept and ill trained. We did not see the Iraqi Air Force that way.
We defeated the Iraqi Air Force based upon the institutional flaws of the Iraqi Air Force. A major flaw was that the Iraqi Air Force followed rigid Soviet/Chinese combat operations of ground control intercept (GCI) doctrine. Essentially, without ground radars and controllers, pilots have no back up in terms of what to do next, simple as that. The jets have radars, but the doctrine for the use of radar is confined to immediate combat, not much for creative search, track, and allocation of targets among the fighters. All those things must be done by ground controllers.
Another institutional flaw was the rigid command and control structure that go from field to HQ. Everything must be approved by HQ. Saddam Hussein and his staff must be in the loop all the time. So when we destroyed Iraq's border radars, Iraq's command and control was effectively blinded and that led to widespread confusion among the field units on what to do next.
If we had pauses between strikes, the Iraqi Air Force would have regroup and probably put up a better fight than what experienced. That was why timing among our air units were so crucial. We did not allow the Iraqi Air Force any respite. The final result was when individual air bases took it upon themselves to fight, their fighters were unsupported in every way, and they lost. The Iraqi Air Force was essentially fighting like WW II units.
The Russian Air Force is no longer a credible force. The few Russian forum members will howl but that is the
INSTITUTIONAL truth.
The PLAAF is a rising air force and the USAF take that seriously. There are still strong influence of GCI doctrine in the PLAAF, but it seems the PLAAF is learning, albeit slowly, the weaknesses of GCI. Back in Desert Storm, the Iraqi Air Force and the PLAAF would be comparable with the Iraqi have a slight edge due to combat experience in the Iraq-Iran War. But today, the PLAAF is clearly over the Iraqis and is one step above the RuAF and will be more.
The issue is not about individual pilots or even at the wing level. It was, is, and will always be about combat doctrines and currently, flexibility rules the sky.
Yes, you have. Am not going to waste this thread addressing issues that you claimed to prove me 'wrong' as you feebly tried to save face in this thread. You are done. All criticisms from Pierre Sprey and the APA are done. The F-22 is the Ace of Spades. The F-35 is Ace of Clubs. The F-15 is Ace of Diamonds. The F-16 is Ace of Hearts. Our allies holds all the face cards. You got zilch. I could say 'Deal with it' but it would be hilarious.