MMRCA news and discussions.

Whats your Choice for the MMRCA Contest?

  • Gripen

    Votes: 5 4.9%
  • F16 IN

    Votes: 1 1.0%
  • F18 SH

    Votes: 8 7.8%
  • Mig 35

    Votes: 24 23.3%
  • Dassault Rafale

    Votes: 45 43.7%
  • Eurofighter Typhoon

    Votes: 20 19.4%

  • Total voters
    103

Known_Unknown

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Much more than a pinch of salt. A quick cursory look through the author's other articles shows that he is just a trash talking pretend journalist. Not to be taken seriously at all. He could have pulled out this "news" from thin air. His repeated use of the word "Bharat" and "Bharati" actually reminds me of someone from another Pakistani forum.

Wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out to be the same guy, taking into account the quality of the vast majority of Pakistani journalism. :rolleyes:
 

musalman

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Much more than a pinch of salt. A quick cursory look through the author's other articles shows that he is just a trash talking pretend journalist. Not to be taken seriously at all. He could have pulled out this "news" from thin air. His repeated use of the word "Bharat" and "Bharati" actually reminds me of someone from another Pakistani forum.

Wouldn't be too surprised if it turned out to be the same guy, taking into account the quality of the vast majority of Pakistani journalism. :rolleyes:
Written by Abhijay Patel
Its written by some Indian not Pakistan. Anyways, daily.pk never heard of it before.

I have a question, what is the name of your country and what r its citizens call? Not the India Indian answer. With cotext to "Bharat". Although, this word is not used as slur or something by us Pakistanis, believe me, please advise why you take offense of the above words. If it is a bad word then InshaAllah at least I won;t use it.
 

thakur_ritesh

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this article has no coverage on the various news agencies. a highly speculative news item. thread stands closed till there are other reputed agencies carrying same news.

thanks.
 

Flint

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People, please have some standards. Try to avoid trash sites.

The author of this article doesn't know enough to run a spell-check.
 

Known_Unknown

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Broadsword

Face-to-face: rating their chances

F/A-18 Super Hornet: Overall chances: COOL

Pros
1. Battle-tested, frontline fighter with the US Navy
2. Powerful, agile, rugged, designed for aircraft carriers
3. Advanced avionics and missile systems
4. Can function as refuelling tanker with external fuel tanks
5. Fields fully-operational and deployed Raytheon APG-79 AESA radar

Cons
1. US restrictions on modifications and end usage
2. Earlier generation design, dating back to 1980s
3. Heavy, 30-ton aircraft, expensive



F-16IN Super Viper: Overall chances: WARM

Pros
1. Tested modern fighter, has logged over 100,000 combat missions globally
2. Single-engine, 19-tonne fighter, price competitive
3. Advanced avionics and missile systems
4. Advanced Northrop Grumman APG-80 AESA radar
5. Four F-16 production lines functioning world-wide

Cons
1. US restrictions on modifications and end usage
2. Earlier generation design, dating back to 1980s
3. Earlier vintage F-16s in service with Pakistan Air Force



Eurofighter Typhoon: Overall chances: COOL

Pros
1. Contemporary fighter, still evolving
2. High performance, high-end technology, including supercruise
3. Offering India development partnership
4. No end user restrictions, easy transfer of technology
5. EADS already helping to develop India’s LCA

Cons
1. No combat experience
2. Heavy, 25-ton aircraft, expensive
3. AESA radar still under development



Saab Gripen NG: Overall chances: RED HOT

Pros
1. Only Eurofighter and Gripen are capable of Supercruise: supersonic flight without afterburners
2. Can land, refuel, rearm and take off in 10 minutes
3. Light, single-engine, highly cost-effective
4. Selex Raven AESA radar with advanced swashplate technology
5. Willing to hand over source codes for high-tech equipment

Cons
1. Has US components, including engines and avionics
2. AESA radar still under development
3. India has never operated a Swedish fighter



RAC MiG, MiG-35: Overall chances: HOT

Pros
1. Dovetails easily with IAF’s MiG-29 fleet
2. Typical Russian fast, agile fighter
3. Vastly improved avionics and targeting system
4. Thrust-vectoring engines option exists
5. Cheapest ticket price of twin-engine fighters

Cons
1. Airframe barely improved from MiG-29
2. Zhuk-Phazotron AESA radar still under development
3. Life cycle cost of Russian fighters is traditionally high



Dassault Rafale: Overall chances: DARK HORSE

Pros
1. Amongst the most contemporary options
2. France deploys on land and aircraft carriers
3. IAF’s Mirage-2000 fleet creates comfort level with Dassault
4. Transfer of technology smooth; no end user restrictions
5. Only non-US fighter with deployed AESA radar

Cons
1. Limited combat experience
2. 25-tonne, twin-engine aircraft, expensive
3. Only contender never to have flown in India
 

Sridhar

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Russia aims to start making MiG-35 fighters for India in 2013

BY : RIA Novosti
Production of MiG-35 multirole fighters offered for sale to India cannot start before 2013 or 2014, a Russian aircraft maker said on Thursday.
Russia’s MiG-35 Fulcrum-F, an export version of the MiG-29M OVT (Fulcrum F), is a highly maneuverable air superiority fighter, which won high acclaim during the Le Bourget air show in France last year.
“We have begun testing the MiG-35 fighter for the Indian tender,” said Alexander Karezin, general director of the Sokol company based in Nizhny Novgorod.
Six major aircraft makers – Lockheed and Boeing from the United States, Russia’s MiG, which is part of the UAC, France’s Dassault, Sweden’s Saab and the EADS consortium of British, German, Spanish and Italian companies – are in contention to win the $10 billion contract for 126 light fighters to be supplied to the Indian Air Force.
Sokol earlier said that the first two MiG-35 aircraft would be delivered to India in August for test flights prior to the award of the tender. In late 2009, Russia will conduct a series of flight tests with live firing for an Indian Air Force delegation at one of the testing grounds on the Russian territory.
The fighter is powered by RD-33 OVT thrust vectoring engines. The RD-33 OVT engines provide superior maneuverability and enhance the fighter’s performance in close air engagements.
Moscow said if MiG-35 wins the tender, Russia is ready to transfer all key technology to India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. and provide assistance for the production of the aircraft in the country.


Russia aims to start making MiG-35 fighters for India in 2013 IDRW.ORG
 

RPK

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IAF plans to complete flight evaluation trials within a year @ The Hindu

The Indian Air Force plans to conclude within a year the flight evaluation and performance trials of all six competitors vying to bag its order for 126 Medium Multi Range Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

It will then present its assessment of each aircraft to the government.

The IAF has drawn up an elaborate schedule to test the efficacy of the aircraft on three counts: operational, systems and armaments, IAF officers familiar with the process said here. The MMRCA is expected to serve the country for the next three decades with periodic upgrades.

The process took off with Boeing flying in F/A-18 Super Hornets, along with a team of 50 personnel for the trials in Bangalore. The aircraft will also be tested at Leh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jaisalmer and Rajasthan. The firing and weapons testing will be done at the manufacturer’s home country.

The other competitors are Anglo-Swedish Gripen, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russian United Aircraft Corporation’s MiG 35 and French Dassault Aviation’s Rafale.

The officers said the technical proposal, which formed part of the process, specified how each vendor would have to meet the Service Qualitative Requirements (SQR) mentioned in the Request for Proposal issued last year before the IAF started technical evaluation.

Stability, control, safety issues, range and endurance are some of the factors that will be considered during the flight and performance evaluation.

The exercise also involves testing the systems on board such as radar, navigation equipment, self-defence suites and electronic warfare devices. Armaments will be tested in the final phase.

For the first time, the IAF will work out the cost of ownership of each aircraft. This means evaluating factors such as the life of the engine, the cost of overhaul/replacement of engine and the cost to maintain these aircraft by establishing ground support.

“It is a multi-faceted evaluation that includes flight-test pilots, flight-test engineers and operational pilots and engineers. We do not compare one aircraft with another, but evaluate against its ability to meet our requirements and arrive at a through and methodical conclusion. There are no extra points for anyone crossing the minimum [SQR] requirements,” the officials said.
 

SATISH

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So I guess it is going to be a big competition and the winner might also score in the Brazillian contest.
 

p2prada

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So I guess it is going to be a big competition and the winner might also score in the Brazillian contest.
The Brazilian winner will be announced within the next month.

Cheers.
 

abhi

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Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet kicks off IAF's MMRCA field trials

Bangalore: Boeing Integrated Defence System's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet multi-role fighter will be the first to kick off the field trials for the $11 billion, 126 medium range, multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) tender of the Indian Air Force in Bangalore. The Super Hornet is one amongst six contenders for the massive contract, with the others being the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Swedish Gripen JAS-39, the French Dassault's Rafale, the Russian MiG-35 and Lockheed Martin's F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The F/A-18E/F is an all-weather, carrier-capable multi-role fighter, which is designed to attack both ground and aerial targets.

Two F/A-18s - one single-seater ('E') and the other a twin-seater ('F')- will take part in the MMRCA flight evaluation trials (FET) commencing 17 August. The trials are to be held over three different locations across the country, representing three differing climatic conditions – humid/normal, hot and cold.

Bangalore is the chosen venue for the evaluation under normal/humid climatic conditions.

According to official sources, a full-scale briefing for the Boeing team has taken place by the Indian MMRCA team on Saturday on all aspects of evaluation and flight and ground tests that are to be undertaken.

The IAF's test pilots for the Indian Evaluation Team (IET) are Group Captain Dixit and Wing Commander Chauhan. The IET also comprises of three flight test engineers as well as representatives from the ministry of defence, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the Defence and Research Development Organisation, the Directorate-General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance and officers from air headquarters.

The F/A-18E/F will be followed into Bangalore, reportedly, by Lockheed Martin's F-16s. Lockheed will be flying in its aircraft from the United Arab Emirates, which is the only air force to operate the Block 60 version of the fighter, which is on offer for the IAF.

The F-16 will be followed by the French Rafale on 21 September with the MiG-35 arriving in October.

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet
The F/A-18 E and F Super Hornet maritime strike attack aircraft, manufactured by Boeing, flew for the first time in 1995. The Super Hornet is about 25% larger than its predecessor, the F/A-18C/D, and contains 42 per cent fewer structural parts. The single-seat F/A-18/E and the two-seat F/A-18/F fly greater ranges with heavier payloads and are powered by more powerful engines.

The F/A-18E/F Super Hornet is a combat-proven strike fighter with great versatility – capable of switching from one mission type to the next with the flip of a switch to provide consistent air dominance.

Its suite of integrated and networked systems provide enhanced interoperability, total force support for the combatant commander and for the troops on the ground.

Mission capability
Day/night strikes with precision-guided weapons

Anti-air warfare

Fighter escort

Close air support

Suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD)

Maritime strike

Reconnaissance

Forward air control

Tanker

Payload Flexibility

The Super Hornet's versatility applies to its weapon stations and payload types:

11 weapon stations

Supports a full complement of smart weapons, including laser-guided bombs

Carries a full spectrum mix of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance

Power and Flight Characteristics
The Super Hornet is powered by two General Electric F414-GE-400 engines:

A distinctive caret-shaped inlet provides increased airflow and reduced radar signature

22,000 pounds (98 Kn) of thrust per engine, 44,000 pounds (196 Kn) per aircraft

Flight qualities:
Highly departure resistant through its operational flight envelope.

Unlimited angle-of-attack and carefree flying qualities for highly effective combat capability and ease of training.

Reconfigurable digital flight-control system detects and corrects for battle damage.

Upgradeability
Long-term designed in versatility ensures the Super Hornet's investment value. Current upgrades delivered in the Block Two configuration include:

Active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar

Advanced targeting forward-looking infrared (ATFLIR) system

Joint-helmet mounted cueing system (JHMCS)

Multifunctional information distribution system (MIDS)

Advanced aft crew station

Fibre channel switch for increased data processing capability

Fully integrated weapons systems and sensors for reduced crew workload and increased capability.

Improvements scheduled for Block 2 aircraft include a redesigned forward fuselage which has fewer parts and changes to the aircraft's nose to accommodate the Raytheon APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar.

The aircraft is also being fitted with new mission computers, fibre-optic network, Raytheon AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR targeting pod, Boeing joint helmet-mounted cueing system and Raytheon AIM-9X next generation Sidewinder air-to-air missile.

It also boasts of an Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system.

Fighter cockpit
The F/A-18E/F's cockpit is equipped with a touch-sensitive control display, a larger multi-purpose liquid crystal colour display, which shows tactical information, two monochrome displays and a new engine fuel display.

The cockpit also has a colour digital map and the pilots are equipped with night-vision goggles.

The zero/zero ejection seat is the SJU-5/6 from Martin Baker Aircraft Company Ltd in the UK.

Weapons
The Super Hornet has 11 weapon stations which support a full range of armaments including AIM-9 Sidewinder, AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-120 AMRAAM air-to-air missiles, guided air-to-ground weapons such as Harpoon, SLAM/SLAM-ER, GBU-10, GBU-51, HARM and Maverick; and free-fall air-to-ground bombs, Mk-76, BDU-48, Mk-82LD, Mk-82HD and Mk-84.

The aircraft can also carry the GPS- / inertially guided JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition), JSOW (joint stand-off weapon) and JASSM (joint air-to-surface stand-off missile).

The Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for the Super Hornet is fitted to Block 2 aircraft.

The F/A-18E/F new lightweight gun system is the General Dynamics M61A2 20mm Gatling gun, which has a switchable firing rate of 4,000 or 6,000 shots a minute and a fully integrated linkless ammunition feed system.

Countermeasures
The AN/ALQ-124 integrated defensive countermeasures system (IDECM) provides coordinated situation awareness and manages the on-board and off-board deception countermeasures, the expendable decoys, and signal and frequency control of emissions.

The BAE Systems Integrated Defense Solutions (formerly Tracor) ALE-47 countermeasures dispenser system is capable of dispensing chaff cartridges, flares, and the POET and GEN-X active expendable decoys.

The ALE-50 Towed Decoy, from Raytheon E-Systems, provides long-range detection and extremely fast deployment against most radar-guided threats.

BAE Systems AN/ALE-55 fibre-optic towed decoy has completed development testing and will replace the ALE-50 from December 2009 when it enters service. The Raytheon AN/ALR-67(V)3 radar warning receiver intercepts, identifies and prioritises threat signals, which are characterised in terms of frequency, amplitude, direction and pulse width.

Sensors
The Super Hornet is equipped with the Raytheon APG-73 radar which has an upgraded processor with increased speed and memory capacity in comparison to the earlier AN/APG-65. The modes of the APG-73 include air-to-ground tracking, air-to-air velocity search mode, range while search and track while scan.

Raytheon's AN/APG-79 Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) fire control radar will increase the F/A-18's air-to-air target detection and tracking range and provide higher resolution air-to-ground mapping at longer ranges.

The aircraft is being fitted with the Raytheon AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR (Advanced Targeting Forward-Looking Infrared) precision targeting pod.

F/A-18F aircraft also being fitted with the Raytheon SHARP multi-function reconnaissance pod, set to replace USN Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod (TARPS), currently flown on the F-14 Tomcat.

Engines
The aircraft's power is provided by two F414-GE-400 turbofan engines from General Electric. The engines are an advanced derivative of the GE F404 engines installed on the Hornet. The air inlets have been enlarged to provide increased airflow into the engines.

The engines each provide 22,000lb thrust, with afterburn giving a maximum speed in excess of Mach 1.8.

The structural changes to the airframe on the F/E variant of the aircraft increase the internal fuel capacity by 3,600lb, a 33 per cent higher fuel capacity than the F-18C/D variant. This extends the mission radius by up to 40 per cent

domain-b.com : Boeing's F/A-18E/F Super Hornet kicks off IAF's MMRCA field trials
 

abhi

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IAF begins flight trials for foreign firms

Bangalore, Aug 17 (PTI) The Indian Air Force today began the flight evaluation and performance trials for the six foreign defence firms which are in race to bag an estimated USD 10 billion order for 126 Medium Multi Range Combat Aircraft.

The six companies have been lined up for the exercise, expected to go on for the next few months. After the tests in humid climatic conditions here, IAF plans to test the fighter jets in cold and hot conditions over Leh and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan respectively.

"In the procedure to evaluate against the requirements of IAF, the process was begun today by flying Boeing's F/A-18 Super Hornets," IAF sources said.

Other five contenders are: Gripen, Lockheed Martin's F-16 Super Viper, Eurofighter's Typhoon, Russian United Aircraft's MiG35 and France's Dassault Aviation's Rafale.

F-16 Super Viper is expected to undergo trials here later this month, sources in Lockheed Martin said.

fullstory
 

abhi

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India Begins Test Runs of Fighter Jets

BANGALORE, India - India began trials Aug. 17 of fighter jets being hawked by the world's six top aerospace giants vying for a $12 billion military contract, officials said.

The sale of 126 combat planes to the technology-starved Indian Air Force will be the world's most lucrative fighter jet contract in more than a decade.

Military air traffic controllers said Boeing kicked off the trials with a display of its F-18 "Superhornet" jets in Bangalore, hub of India's aeronautical and space industry.

"Two F-18s carried out two sorties of 45 minutes each," a controller said as military aviation experts watched the exercise.

The assessment is due to continue for almost a year before New Delhi makes its choice from the six companies, defence ministry officials in New Delhi said.

U.S.-based Lockheed Martin and Europe's EADS will be among the other firms descending on Bangalore.

India is on a spending spree to update its largely Soviet-era weapons system.

After Boeing, Lockheed Martin is next in line to showcase its F-16 to the Indian Air Force, the officials said.

The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) will offer its Typhoon Eurofighter, while Russia is seeking to sell the MiG-35 and MiG-29.

French Dassault, which constructs the Mirage, has put forward its Rafale aircraft as a contender.

The lineup is completed by Gripen, part of Sweden's Saab.

Industry sources have said Lockheed Martin and Boeing have emerged as frontrunners.

Contract stipulations prevent the contending firms from unveiling any detail of the contract, which includes the outright purchase of 18 fighter jets by 2012 and another 108 to be built in India.

India also has an option to buy 64 more jets.

The Indian Air Force, the world's fourth-largest, is also spending $1.6 billion to buy 40 Russian Sukhoi fighter planes by 2010 and is shopping for hundreds of helicopters and transport planes.

India Begins Test Runs of Fighter Jets - Defense News
 

RPK

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The Telegraph - Calcutta (Kolkata) | Nation | Political card in aircraft dogfight

New Delhi, Aug. 17: The great duel in the skies for an Indian Air Force order that could top $11 billion for 126 fighter aircraft began in Bangalore today, but the real action is being worked out in boardrooms of aviation majors.

At least one of the six competitors in the race, EADS, is saying upfront that it will gift-wrap its offer of the Eurofighter Typhoon for the IAF with a “political package”.

“All such deals have a technical dimension as well as a political dimension,” chief executive officer of EADS defence and security, Bernhard Gerwert, told The Telegraph recently. EADS had flown Indian journalists to the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, the UK, and to the German assembly plant at Manching last month to demonstrate the capabilities of the Eurofighter Typhoon.

“What that package will be is still being worked out. But an association with EADS means that India is associating with the governments of four countries in Europe and that can go a long way,” said Gerwert. The governments and the air forces of the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain collaborate to make the Eurofighter Typhoon.

EADS is upping the ante in the race for the IAF order because of a perception that the US, with its clout and the growing proximity of Indian and US military forces, could swing the deal towards one of the two American competitors —- the F-16 IN Super Viper made by Lockheed Martin or the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Superhornet.

Lt General Klaus-Peter Stieglitz, the chief of staff of the Luftwaffe, the German air force, was also forthright: “The political package has to be negotiated; as we did with Austria and Switzerland. But it is still quite early.”

The Eurofighter is a precious customer in Austria and is vying for an order from Switzerland for which the flight trials are over. The clinching of the End-User Monitoring and Verification Agreement between America and India is being seen by the competitors of the US as the latest symbol of the political closeness between the two countries and their militaries.

What the “political package” can be is yet to be defined. But EADS, at least, and the French government — which recently hosted a contingent of the Indian armed forces and the Prime Minister on Bastille Day — are convinced that it has to be a substantial concession. This could be, for example, a re-alignment of the European position on Jammu and Kashmir, bringing it closer to India’s stand. But no one is talking about that yet.

In Bangalore today, the IAF’s principal director, Air Staff Requirements at the Air Headquarters, Air Commodore Rakesh Dhir, began supervising the flight tests on the F/A-18 Superhornet.

Boeing Integrated Defence Systems has flown two US aircraft to the south Indian city that is also home to Hindustan Aeronautics and the Aircraft Systems and Testing Establishment of the Defence Research and Development Organisation. This is one of the seven schools of its kind in the world, to which the IAF seconds its test pilots.

Two test pilots, a group captain and a wing commander, will take turns flying the Superhornet and, later in September, the F-16 and the Russian MiG 35. Two other top guns will put the Eurofighter, the French Rafale and the Swedish JAS-39C Gripen to tests.

The flight evaluations are scheduled to be completed by April next year, after which the IAF evaluation team will fly to the home countries of the manufacturers, or any other designated site, to test weapon systems and armaments.

The flight evaluation tests begin after the technical paperwork of each of the six contestants is found to be in order by the defence ministry. A senior officer at Air Headquarters said the aircraft would be flown out of Bangalore, Jaisalmer and Leh for testing in normal, hot and cold weather conditions.

The performance of each of the aircraft will be quantified for take-offs, sustained turns and tight turns.

Sample missions will be assigned to the aircraft for ground strike, maritime strike, air-defence/air-superiority, acceleration and climb performance.

“We might assign, for example, an aircraft to accelerate from 0.8 mach to 1.42 mach within a specified time (seconds),” the officer said. One mach is the speed of sound.

The evaluation will also assess systems navigation, radar abilities, self-defence suits, electronic warfare systems and the ability of the aircraft to carry extra load (weapons, bombs).

One of the requirements to evaluate the “multi-role” ability of the aircraft is whether they are capable of carrying and dropping big 2000-pounder bombs at designated ground targets.

“The tests have to be tabulated and the results brought out statistically,” said the officer.

After this, the IAF will ask for the MTBF — mean time between failures — to arrive at the cost of operating each of the aircraft over the period they are to be in service, an estimated 40 years. This is the first time that the IAF has adopted “lifecycle costing” or “cost of ownership” to conclude the expenses to be incurred on each aircraft.

This is primarily because of the IAF’s experience with Russian equipment, so far the Indian military’s mainstay. The top brass and the defence establishment adopted the cost-of-ownership method because they concluded that Russian equipment were cheaper off the shelf but more expensive in service life because of shortages in spares and back-ups.

A major concern of the competitors has been how the IAF will attempt to fix the cost-of-ownership of twin-engine aircraft like the Superhornet, the Rafale, the MiG 35 and the Eurofighter with single-engine aircraft like the Super Viper and the Gripen.

The single-engine aircraft will clearly be much cheaper. But air headquarters sources say the costs will also be offset against performance because twin-engine aircraft will be more powerful and are expected to be more versatile, if heavier.
 

ppgj

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hope they choose the best aircraft keeping in mind the past experiences in terms of sanctions,logistical infrastructure,geopolitics and reliability of support.would be nice if the deal is split between two so we get the numbers to account for the depletion over the years.
 

RPK

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Any possiblity MMRCA Will have two or more Vendors by splitting 126 into equal ratio eg: Boeing, Gripen or MIG?
 

anoop_mig25

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?

i dont think so and it wont good strategy because everbody would think india is trying to balancing act. also vendors wont be happy.so it would be better if india went for single a/c .also we should opt for suk30mki model where we had a/c from russia while we had other technologies form iserail/french.so what ever we choose we should se that we can add our components if requried(this wont be possible in f16 or f18)
 

ppgj

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Any possiblity MMRCA Will have two or more Vendors by splitting 126 into equal ratio eg: Boeing, Gripen or MIG?
well,not impossible.would be good if split between mig/rafale.india has past experience with 29/m2k.helps logistics too.
 
J

John

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i dont think so and it wont good strategy because everbody would think india is trying to balancing act. also vendors wont be happy.so it would be better if india went for single a/c .also we should opt for suk30mki model where we had a/c from russia while we had other technologies form iserail/french.so what ever we choose we should se that we can add our components if requried(this wont be possible in f16 or f18)
why add anything to the F-16 or F-18, both of them have the most advanced and combat proven radars, their EW suites are excellent and also have new options such as the BAE's DEWS. The F-16's engine is pretty good and comes with options for MATV, the SH's GE 414 EPE is the new upgrade with over 118kn of thrust per engine or roughly 236 kn or 53600 lbs of thrust and is available for export, the weapons they deploy are excellent as well and weapon flexibility is also unparalleled. As of yet Gripen and mig-35 would require mix of avionics, EF already has parts coming from all across the western world including the US.
 

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