Both our 5th Gen plans appear to be in trouble or at least are not on time ie delayed so soon even they will be obsolete just referring to ur comment on tejas regarding this ....
No. There doesn't seem to be a problem with the 5th gen projects. AMCA isn't delayed either. 2020 is a good date to see it flying. PAKFA is already undergoing acceptance tests.
They will be obsolete 20 years after induction. LCA is obsolete today because induction times are the same as that of FGFA. Actually, Rafale was supposed to be inducted fully before LCA Mk2 even started production. And Rafale is far better already.
Will beg to differ cost do matters at the time of MMRCA 126 aircraft 20+billion deal MOD went off budget and so the deal was not finalised
Cost matters. But if you throw around a figure like $35 Billion, then it becomes meaningless because even the F-22 does not cost so much.
10.5 billion was the initial amount set for acquisition of MMRCA so it does matter why delay so much that the cost has increased by 100%
It wasn't the delay which increased costs, it was just a very bad estimate by the govt and was completely unrealistic, and that's why they removed it.
by the time those rafales will get inducted i.e. lets see atleast 10 years from now being optimistic we might be having AMCA an TEJAS 2 much better option
The first squadron should be inducted by 2018. Contract is already done, they are working on lifecycle costs before it goes to the MoF. Once the approval process begins, it may take 3 to 6 months, basically a done deal, just have to wait for the bureaucratic procedure to be completed. That's why the tentative date today is the end of the year, basically 7 months away from May when the new govt comes to power.
F35 would answer to that question of yours in todays world the only 5th gen aircraft ......... so with the advanced engines we can rely on them
Relying on the F-35's engine is different from the maintenance PoV compared to "being shot by the enemy and engine goes kaput" PoV. The Mig-27 in Kargil crashed because of a faulty engine, the Mig-21 received a small warhead in the tailpipe and was shot down. These were our two losses during the war. A Rafale would have likely survived both. LCA, neither.
Why will i need rafale fly from Assam to jaipur or any other place when i can have one there only.... it might be a greater force but time is a greater force
That's the thing. We don't have that other plane "there only". Did you forget that IAF has a limit to how many aircraft they can own? 42 squadrons is the limit.
If we have 126 Rafales, all can be used on any of our borders. We will need 250 LCAs to get that same coverage, but we will still have lesser range and will need expensive tankers to make up the difference. But IAF can't have 250 LCAs because they are only allowed to buy 126 LCAs.
We can't have a greater force because getting that greater force needs govt approval and we are still one decade away from the govt actually deciding on increasing numbers. It may come after 2030.
Tejas is a fighting machine not just a flying bus.... its just lack of trust by IAF towards Tejas donno why ?
It is an underpowered bus. Nothing to do with trust. It simply failed to meet basic requirements.
Affordability does matter so does maintenance cost.... As some one said here only in this forum dont rem his name that with th emaintenance of Rafales taking trips in peace time will make MOD left with no money
That's just silly. You are confusing good maintenance with cheap maintenance. Mig-21s had cheap maintenance. Guess what happened.
Maintenance costs do matter, but if I give you a salary of 1L a month and you live like a guy earning 5000, then you are doing things all wrong. You don't go to Ratan Tata and say he should use Nano simply because it is cheap. That's how you are arguing. IAF is allowed to buy Rafale because they can afford it, along with MKI, FGFA and AMCA. If given a chance, they will dump LCA altogether and induct more Rafales or FGFAs.
hmmm interesting How many years have American taken to make F22 F35 ? When they had a solid base.... by then even we might have options for AMCA or PAkFA thats future u have sukoi as of now u r getting more of them u can have rafales aswell but when u say u need to replace migs then TEJAS is a best option
The F-22 and F-35's problems are very different. F-22 was cut short as a program. What was a 1000 aircraft program became a 187 aircraft program. That's a recipe to disaster. It's like you make food for 1000 people and only 100 show up. That's what happened. The F-35 was constrained by severe design restrictions because of the STOVL requirements. AMCA and FGFA are constrained by neither of these issues.
IAF has never had a solid base, but has always flown the best aircraft available.
