This is a discussion on New Indian Air Force Fighter competition within the Air Force & Aviation forum, part of the Global Defense & Military category; now this is one thats going to run and run......who do we thinks is going to win the fighter contract ...
now this is one thats going to run and run......who do we thinks is going to win the fighter contract for 130 examples of the latest aerial technology?
i personally think we can rule out the f18 and f16 us entries...far too 'last' generation....if the f22 was in there,than it might be different but i think it will be between the eurofighter and rafale in the end with the russians close behind........
Dude, can you please make a bit more sence. Okay by the sounds of it I think you are talking about some indian fighter, is it indian made like LCA or Russian. And where is this comparason happening, are you talking about the recent airshow. You have me confussed...???
Jaffo is referring to the Indian airforce need to replace the MIG21. They will buy up to 146 Fighters. F16,F18,Rafaele, Typhoon, Grippen, mig29 and SU 30- somethings are all competing for the order.
Hello, i take it we are tallking about the Indian MRCA program for 126 figthers, primarily to replace the fishbed family. Well my vote will be on the russian mig-35, a few reasons; they have experince with fulcrums in the apst and have built them at HAL, its a good medium MRCA with a lot of technology development in it (TV, AESA). Also, its too soon to go with american combat planes, the american have a habit of embargo when they disapprove of things that you do, for now the indians are going too be very careful, and rightly so. Cost is a factor too, the Mig 35 will still be much cheaper than super hornet, eurofigther, rafale. Thoughts please....
dr,i certainly am talking about the mrca.i think that previously the iaf would have gone straight for the russian option but i detect a change in their thinking.the mig/su's will always be cheaper but they seem to be moving to a more european approach to this issue.i doubt they are using the tendering process just to make the mig 35 cheaper,they are cheap enough already.....
no,they fancy a change i think...and i definetly agree with your assesment of the us offer...unlikely,even if the aircraft offered were competitive enough.
interesting perspective here, of course holding a competition is a way to warm up more too the west even without selecting the final product, get them involved, buy other platforms like C-130, helos, etc. I still argue its too soon for american platforms, french, maybe (rafale would be an excellend platform), american figther planes.. no way. Is it possbile for the future, totally.
Arent the US/European designs much less maintenance intensive and I think the airframes have longer fatigue lives? So in the overall package, per unit cost is hard to quantify. France has offered 40 Rafales as a separate deal to the MRCA, but then France is "whoring" out the poor old rafale to anyone who will have them. Had India not decided on Russian aircraft for her carriers then I think the Rafale would have been a good buy.
Typhoon is the best plane on offer (when all the capabilities are added), not much dearer than the Rafale. However I think the US will offer enough incentives to be in the race. The news section today hinted at Patriot missiles etc as sweeteners and India might just want to cosy up to the US. The Russian offer would make sense but the overall package of US aircraft might just sway it particularly as India has its own muslim problem and a healthy rivalry with China, in which case US technology would be usefull over the next three decades.
good point doctor,the indians may be spreading their bets here.....
the rafale seems an excellent platform and i think its a shame that the royal navy didnt go with them for the new carriers.of course the iaf have quite a history of utilising the mirage range previously...
what would be your choice out of the current contenders?...i have a slight bias ,admittedly, but im a big fan of the typhoon and for a much lower cost,the underrated gripen....
well, i do not know of anything exact, however, look at the competition, f-16, f-18E/F, typhoon, gripen, Mig-35, i mean wow, what a mix everyone is pitching in...
You dont need a crystal ball to see that India/Yank relations are going to strengthen more and more in the coming decades. Its real hard to envision India doing something that could force sanctions. Other then their nuclear program, and that hurdle has been crossed, what have they done in their history that would have done so?
The answer is nothing. India is a Democracy with a burgeoning free market. They have retained many of the excellent institutions of the British system and have a large emmigrant population living in America further improving relations cross culturally. I have many Indian friends. Even more important the fall of the Soviet Union and rise of China puts more emphasis on warmer ties.
I think they are going to go with the Russian planes. They have flown their MIGs well and seem comfortable with them and have an established support pipeline for the Russian planes. They just ordered a bunch for their future carrier. The range of the SU would go well with their goal of controlling the blue water in their region, at least in the strike role.
Choosing the F-16 or F-18 isn't really that important. Whats important is the fact that the option is even available.
the trouble is that the us is also trying to be equally good friends to pakistan (see todays news)and that wont help with any future arms sales....
i still dont think that they will go russias way this time.as you said,rich,relations with the west are thawing fast and they dont need to rely on the eastern bloc any more as good as the weaponry may be.....the order will go to france or the eurofighter consortium....
i totally agree about the warming relationships, however, theres another issue with american warplanes, they only tend too use american ordinance. and that is something the IAF really do not have, the IAF are not going to spend the money or the time intergrating russian ordinace onto american plans, nor are they going to starting buying full spectrum ordinance for this MRCA ( remember MRCA, not one a mono-role platform here).. Thus, with the russian Mig 35, many of these concerns are over come, or are we going to see adder, archer on the super hornet ?
IMO the IAF would be well served by waiting 8-10 yrs and ordering the F-35 ( buy then a cheaper platform due to it being in production), this will bring a unique capability too the region ( stealth, weapon bays and senor fusion). It will be a great plane to replace, flogger, fulcrum, Jagular, Mirage 2000 with. Also, gives this "relationship" time to mature.
As far as I understand the IAF can't afford to wait another 8-10 years. And then the F-35 still lacks range and speed, that's why I too think the Gripen won't make it either. I haven't found details about the needs of the IAF yet but I think it would be a good guess that they want a somewhat more capable complement to the Tejas (weapon load, range, speed).
Good point about the weapons though. I don't think any of the contenders would be keen on adapting their plane to russian weapons instead of offering their own as part of the package.
If I had to bet, I'd go for the Rafale or SU-35. I'm a great fan of the Typhoon, but I reckon it's by far the most expensive -yet most capable- contender.
everyone is pitching in...
