The first article we’ve seen that speculates on the victor of Cope India 2006 admittedly resorted to Web site blogs to find a prevailing view that the Indian Air Force Su-30s bested USAF F-16s. The report is found in the conservative-minded Christian Science Monitor. Is this a repeat of the last Cope India, in which officials acknowledged that USAF F-15s fell to IAF SU-30s and MiG-21s? As CSM notes, there is no official word yet, from either USAF or IAF officials. There also may be no clear-cut winner because the exercise featured mixed teams of Americans and Indians on the same sides.
The House and Senate passed a continuing resolution Sept. 25 to keep the government funded through Dec. 20, and President Joe Biden has indicated he will sign the legislation. Under a CR, the Department of the Air Force said, space launch and testing modernization will fall short and technologies that…