As a matter of fact I do know a fair bit about Soviet military equipment, having been there a few times, study it as part of post grad research and know several Russian military officers, including one retired Hero of the Soviet Union. Am drafting a book on the post 1991 arms trade and its political implications, as a matter of fact, my dear old chap.
Why do other countries buy Soviet/ Russian equipment,rather than US stuff. Partially because they are far cheaper, and more available. They also suit the limited missions needed for some of the individual buyers.
There are othe factors at play. India for one has been a traditional buyer of Soviet bloc equipment, and these professional ties still continue.
On the matter of training in Russian figther academies; these are underfunded, lacking in morale and workable equipment, like a great deal of the Russian military in this epoch.
RESULTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES -gulf War,Libyan pilots, various Arab nations in clashes against Israeli F15s etc.
And holding world records means little in terms of value in warfighting. The Mig-25 was top of its range at one stage, and look where it ended up in terms of history. Just a footnote.
N.B: The Mig-29 Fulcrum and Su-27 Flanker were copies of Western airframes. Good aircraft, for their technology, but cannot compete with opposition, who even now is bringing on line several hundred F-22 Raptors over the coming years.
Russia exports a lot of military hardware. One of the reasons behind this is that it retained a lot of obsolete equipment in storage, for purposes of rapid expansion of reserves in war time for CCCP.
Chinese fighters have never been tested, let alone proven against a credible opponent. Indeed, it could be argued the the PLA-AF is still primarily a non-distinct ground support entity.
This is of course changing, but slowly, and matters of production and doctrine are still to be resolved.
Its been around for years.
