Why do Russian fighter aircraft (seem to) have an emphasis of high-maneuverability?
My (relatively limited) view on Russian fighter aircraft seem to be that they seem to want to emphasize how maneuverable their aircraft are with and without thrust vectoring. Caveats are that my observations are from the following:
- Airshows where Russians get to show off the Flanker's ballerina dances they can do in the sky.
- Simulations where Flanker's maneuverability allows it to turn its nose towards the enemy post-merge relatively quickly to get a missile off.
I will acknowledge that these are not "realistic appraisal" of the Russian aircraft in combat, but it does show that the Russian fighters seem to have great maneuverability they can utilize.
Is there a reason Russia utilize these high-maneuverable fighter? I've heard that it was to make up shortfalls in their BVR capabilities compared to American planes, so they focus on WVR capabilities to outdo their opponents, but not sure on the veracity of this claim. Or maybe my analysis is totally off and Russian fighters like the Flanker aren't any more maneuverability than some other fighter aircraft out there.