Endgame Looms In Fighter Competitions
While "legacy" platforms strive for supremacy in ongoing fighter battles, the "fifth-generation" contender's present fight is in Washington, with cost, test schedule and an alternative engine as critical issues.
Though absent from the flight line and flying display, the Lockheed Martin F-35 will remain a prominent point among military aerospace attendees at this year's Farnborough International Air Show.
A raft of combat aircraft procurements are now underway—including from Brazil and India, a slew of smaller projects in Europe, and prospects in Asia-Pacific. Pending decisions between now and Farnborough 2012 will likely determine the future of some of the West's fourth-generation stable of combat aircraft.
Slated for display at this year's show for the first time is China's Chengdu FC-1/JF-17 light fighter now entering service with the Pakistan air force. The aircraft could provide an attractive low-cost option for a number of states—mainly in Africa—looking to move from obsolete Soviet-era fighters. China also has ambitions in the export arena for the Chengdu J-10, a substantially more capable platform than the JF-17.
Another talking point among the fighter afficionados at the show will be Russia's Sukhoi T-50 prototype, which is now in the initial stages of its flight-test program. Putting aside the ambitious fielding date of 2015, there will be considerable interest in the projected capabilities of the platform, and its associated weapons and systems. Similarly, if to a lesser extent, will be the interest in the Su-35S, potentially the apogee of the single-seat Flanker family. Moscow's military presence at the show, however, is a shadow of its previous participation, as it is now focusing more on regional domestic shows.
The other notable military debut will be in the airlift arena, where the Airbus Military A400M will finally grace the show with its presence. The European multinational effort has had to negotiate technical and political hurdles—however, recent progress in the flight-test program is providing a fillip.
In the combat aircraft arena, India's $11-billion, 126-aircraft fighter procurement is the plum. "This is the big one," says one European industry executive involved in the pitch, though the competition may also require Herculean endurance.
Three European, two U.S. and one Russian manufacturer remain in the fray. The European contenders are the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and Saab Gripen NG; the U.S. bidders are Boeing and Lockheed Martin with the F/A-18E/F and F-16I, respectively. Russia's MiG is pitching the MiG-35 derivative of the Fulcrum.
Underway since 2008, all six candidate platforms have been evaluated by the Indian air force, and the anticipation is that there will be a "down-select" by the end of 2010.
Down-select there may well be, but there is scant expectation New Delhi will move straight to a final choice. One or more of the candidate platforms could be ruled out, though it is also conceivable that all six will receive further evaluation.
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