Man, that sucker has a lot of not so well aligned surfaces and rivets.
Just like the B-1B lookalike, the Tu-160. It may look sleek from a distance, but get up close and there are sizable gaps in the skin panels, which contribute to an RCS considerably larger than it should be, as well as problems with leaking fluids.
There was a photo series on, if I recall correctly, englishrussia.com awhile back, taken in the Sukhoi factory. It was amazingly low-tech and grungy-looking. Compared with Lockheed's F-35 production line (or any modern Western factory) it looked like something from the dark ages.
Man, that sucker has a lot of not so well aligned surfaces and rivets.
ReplyDeleteJust like the B-1B lookalike, the Tu-160. It may look sleek from a distance, but get up close and there are sizable gaps in the skin panels, which contribute to an RCS considerably larger than it should be, as well as problems with leaking fluids.
There was a photo series on, if I recall correctly, englishrussia.com awhile back, taken in the Sukhoi factory. It was amazingly low-tech and grungy-looking. Compared with Lockheed's F-35 production line (or any modern Western factory) it looked like something from the dark ages.