Titanium100
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Nice to see this pic without that awfully disgusting watermark from that self-entitled jackass who put it right smack dab in the middle of the photo and ruined it completely when it first came out last week.
I think most of us noticed those pods since they were hanging off the wing pylons, especially the ones on the center of the engine nacelles. Plus the front, glass bulbs are dead giveaways as to their makeup, some kind of seeker/detection/targeting element. Good to know what they are now, and also tells us that there is some kind of training activity going on which is obviously another good sign.
Not only seeing the encouraging training factor, but the interchangeable aspect of those training pods with the Su-57 fuels the juices for the eventual acquisition of that aircraft. I really hope they've already negotiated for it under the table so that they get in line early. With the Algerian rumors and the RuAF's 79 models on order, not to mention the aircraft's readiness with the engine and other things, it'll be a few years at the least. So hopefully they've already put their claim in the pot.
This would be a very potent upgrade to the EAF's already amassed strength. An absolute beauty, courtesy of @vostok from the Russian Air Force thread. He posted a bunch of other great pics of this sensational beast.
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Others suggested the same thing, but I'm not sure that's a possibility. Typically LHDs and helo carriers deal with STOVL aircraft like Harriers and F-35Bs and Ospreys and all types of helicopters, so I'm not sure the deck is built to the true fighter jets CATOBAR format. Not only to take the heavy combined weight of the aircraft, but the heavy pounding of the landings those things inflict on those decks. Also, I don't really think the EAF needs one TBH. Do you?
Maybe there is no need for it now but in the next decade years sometime late 2020s and early 2030s I could envision it