Should India buy Brazilian Super Tucano light attack trainer??

[VayuSena1]

i think its a waste buying it because we already have what could be the best trainer in the world, the LCA mk-1 is ideal as a supersonic fighter trainer, we should simply order about 60 or so for IAF's fighter pilot's last leg of training, it can fire Russian weapons, Indian weapons and French weapons, bombs, missiles etc. which is ideal for our pilots. Besides the LCA mk-1 can still perform better than the Mirage. Its a waste going for a new light trainer which will only increase the complexity of operating another type. With large scale production of LCA mk-1 we can also sell it as a supersonic trainer to the rest of the world, it would have no comparison.

Tejas is not a trainer aircraft. It is a light multi-role combat aircraft that is supposed to be the third line of defence after the Sukhoi 30 and MiG-29s. There is going to be a tandem seater variant for this; but it is only for training Indian pilots to familiarize with Tejas-- I repeat: it is only to familiarize Indian pilots with its systems.

I am surprised that how you could comare the two. While Super Tucano has an excellent package as an intermediate trainer for pilots a step away from supersonic jet training, it is a light propeller attack/trainer aircraft whereas Tejas is a full-fledged supersonic multirole combat aircraft meant to tackle enemy states' air forces in a full-blown war.

And I am sure that everyone on this discussion board is aware of what a war fought in Asia is like as compared to South American countries. Asia has 3 nuclear powers out of which one is a fragile and unstable state while the other two despite being economically much better off, have differences with each other. One of these countries has the third largest air force closely followed by the 4th largest air force and also firepower.

Therefore, a conflict between say, Brazil and Nicaragua will be at an extremely low level as compared to a Sino-Indian or Indo-Pakistani conflict. To those who are taken aback by my words, I do not mean to underestimate Brazilian defense equipment and fully recognize their expertise in their field. However, in my opinion Super Tucano does not fit the air force's bill.

We already have our trainer/light attack department's hands full with Kirans, HJT-36s, BAe Hawks. This is the only possible category where Super Tucano fits in the Indian air force and I would say unfortunately for Tucano, our hands are full with an already overwhelming diversity of aircraft.

Our main aim right now is to narrow the types of aircraft to maximum 2 or 3 in all departments as this would reduce our operational and maintenance costs in a long run, Not to diversify more.

 

[John]

no use, in the future the IJT, HAWK will form 2 steps of the 4 stages of training, LCA trainers will be used in the last phase and the first stage will be propeller driven aircraft currently being designed by HAL. India wants to have 4 stages of training unlike others and hence LCA trainers will be ideal for the last stage of supersonic training. Tucano is useless, its loud can be shot down easily by MANPADS and any insurgent will see it come a long way off. The UAVS on the other hand are very quite, have gr8 targeting and visibility as well not to mention optical, infra red and night vision imaging etc, the slow speed also is an advantage, flying at very high altitude, insurgents will have a lot of trouble with the Reaper-C which can carry JDAM, LGBs, anti tank missile etc. Cheap, very very long range endurance hardly any maintenance and very effective. The service cieling for Tucano is 10 km whihc barely allows it to operate effectively in very harsh mountainous terrain where the insurgent problems are most persistent. Beside high speed passes are not effective in finding those well hidden nutjobs hiding in caves, hillsides, mountains and valleys, you need slow speed, high altitude multi-mode recon. Besides pilots can only do very little in terms of watching for insurgent movements. Those are usually on foot, Tucano wont be able to spot them as effectively as UAVS. besides UAVS can not only spot them with their gadgets but also track them, Tucano falls short, The tuncano being loud will drive them again into hiding.

 

[Waffen SS]

Why,buy?We should make our own.It will be very useful against Maoists.As well as we can export it.Afghanistan and Myanmar will be a fine customer of this.Afghan airforce will use it against Taliban and Myanmar against Kachin rebels.Nepal,Bangladesh,Sri lanka and Bhutan will be good customer.
Not every mission requires MiG 29 or F 16.

Any way,the plane looks like WW2 US P-40.

 

[cloud]

IMO.. The role for which propeller fighter planes are suitable today are against counter insurgency or very less capable enemies (in term of establishing the defense posts, newer SAMs in much higher numbers etc.etc. ) . i .e .we will never need more then a few of them in real WAR, the job which can be easily done by other equipments or Jugad with our existing propeller trainers.

In futures the role of these props will be effectively replaced by Bigger UAV bombers, like Nuron or India' Aura. That is what we need to focus and have them in hundreds of numbers.

Also I think the jet trainers are anyday multiple times better then props ones even though life cycle cost will be 3-4 times higher. A prop plane sitting even 300 km away from the point of action is quite far from today term. Enemy fighter jets or missiles will have enough time to do what they came for.

A jet trainer can be used for cruise missile interceptions ( I see it as a most important advantage against props), as in emergency situation it will take the load off from main steam fighter jets, which will focus more on the sky/border search & defense. Also a jet trainer can be loaded with newer A to A missiles/better radar apart from the BOMBs, meaning they can be really used as a force multiplier in dire situations along side the mainstream fighter jets of India.

 

[Immanuel]

No thank you, we have enough trainers coming up. I would rather HTT-40 is developed and acquired. Moreover, I hardly see the use of deploying such aircraft for counter insurgency. The best way of counter insurgency is boots on the ground and we have enough forces capable of doing with tons of experience. Air power is a bs tactic against insurgents, its a monumental waste of cash in such ops and usually involves collateral damage. Usually these pigs are well hidden and finding them requires search teams and at best some backpackable UAVs likes the Netra to have an aerial view.