MRCA News & Dicussions (IV)

[LETHALFORCE]

http://www.spacewar.com/reports/German_aviation_agent_expelled_from_India_999.html

German aviation agent expelled from India

An agent working for Eurojet in India has been expelled for alleged fraudulent activities involving company's bid for a major $822 million jet engine deal.

The agent, a German, was allegedly caught trying to bribe Indian defense officials to replace a Eurojet commercial bid with that of a lower one after discovering that the bid was higher than others, the 24-hour English-language news television channel News X said.

But the attempt backfired, News X said. Shortly after his alleged bribery was discovered, he was told to leave the county immediately, which he did last month. The agent, identified as "von Schoenfeld," had worked in New Delhi for eight years.

After leaving India, he reportedly told Indian media -- before any announcement by Indian defense officials -- that the Eurojet bid was the lowest bid, in particular 18 percent lower than that of General Electric.

A report in India's Business Standard newspaper said it had knowledge that the European consortium Eurojet bid $666 million for the 99 engines, against General Electric's bid of $822 million.

The agent's disclosures to the media prompted the military's Defense Research and Development Organization to issue a statement ahead of officially awarding the contract, saying that GE Avionics with their GE F414 engine was the lowest bidder for the contract.

"After evaluation and acceptance of the technical offer provided by both Eurojet and GE Aviation, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE Aviation was declared as the lowest bidder," the statement said. "Further price negotiations and contract finalization will follow."

The tender for the engines also noted that only 10 engines could be built abroad with the rest being made in India through a technology transfer agreement with Indian businesses. First deliveries of the engine are expected in 2014.

The apparent win for GE is a blow for Eurojet's hope of placing its EJ200 unit in the indigenously produced Indian light combat aircraft the Tejas, nearing the end of its development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, based in Bangalore.

The EJ200 is a turbofan unit developed in 1991 and built by Eurojet in Germany. The unit is based on the Rolls-Royce XG-40 technology demonstrator engine that was developed starting in 1984. The EJ200 also powers the Eurofighter Typhoon.

The General Electric F414 is an afterburning turbofan engine developed from F404 turbofan for use in the Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet. It was first run in 1993.

The first Tejas flew in January 2001. GE already has experience of working with HAL because its earlier version of the F414, the F404, is used in the several test planes.

The Tejas -- Sanskrit for "radiant" -- is a lightweight multi-role fighter. The compound delta-wing design plane is powered by a single engine. Winning the initial engine order could place the manufacturer a position to win many more.

The Indian air force is likely to need 200 single-seat and 20 two-seat trainers. The Indian navy is said to want up to 40 single-seaters to replace its aging fleet of Sea Harrier FRS.51 and Harrier T.60. The first Harriers, made by Hawker Siddeley in the United Kingdom, first flew in 1969. Subsequent development of the aircraft has been by McDonnell, Douglas and British Aerospace, as well as Boeing and BAE Systems.

During its sea level flight trials off Goa on India's western coast, the Tejas reached more than 840 miles per hour, becoming the second supersonic fighter manufactured indigenously by HAL, after the Marut.

 

[death.by.chocolate]

I am Pro French hardware doesn't makes me a Anti-American..

You should be pro-choice, for the first time in several decades India is being offered the best hardware available.

Every Aircraft goes through same, It update itself with time periods, Its flaws comes out in Combats and exercise, Rafale proves its worth in A2G in Afghanistan where dropping LBG is a regular task ( They have the ways of operating it in different manner ), In A2A it proved in various exercises..

The Rafale didn't exactly shine in Afghanistan, it was unable to drop guided munitions without assistance (designation) from older Mirage 2000. This and the fact that the navigators seated in the back seat needed to carry a pair of stabilized, high-magnification binoculars for ground surveillance didn't really indicate a high level of crew confidence in the on board sensors. Shouldn't really surprise us considering Rafale's latest AESA radar is unable to track moving ground targets.

Regarding dropping Dumb bombs its never accurate even by latest types, If their is inaccuracy while dropping dumb bombs than it missed it marks by how many yard/meter at what altitudes?

The F-15 and F/A-18 E/F routinely drop unguided munitions with a CEP of 10 meters from 15,000 ft, two auto release in quick succession can destroy two targets in close proximity without the need to make a second pass over the target. Guided munitions are more accurate with CEP measured in inches and can be delivered at near supersonic speeds.

In Afghanistan, the A-10 Warthog was the most requested aircraft by ground forces for close air support followed by the F/A-18.

Its a Thales branch in USA, Which supply parts of Spectra made of US raw material, besides, Spectra and other are true product of FRENCH and it is deigned and manufacture in FRANCE, In case of such problems India already told abt ToT agreement to all MMRCA contenders..

Regardless, if its made in the US, it is considered US origin and is sanctionable.

 

[Vladimir79]

The Rafale didn't exactly shine in Afghanistan, it was unable to drop guided munitions without assistance (designation) from older Mirage 2000. This and the fact that the navigators seated in the back seat needed to carry a pair of stabilized, high-magnification binoculars for ground surveillance didn't really indicate a high level of crew confidence in the on board sensors. Shouldn't really surprise us considering Rafale's latest AESA radar is unable to track moving ground targets.

Sounds like it didn't have a targeting pod. The Damocles is licensed produced in Russia now, it is pretty good. Rafale's use GPS guided bombs now.

 

[vishal_lionheart]

The Damocles and GPS guided bombs are very interesting. which other Aircraft in mrca has ability to drop GPS guided bombs?

 

[black eagle]

Look at this.. It looks like mock up of a typhoon with CFTs

 

[black eagle]

Rafale as well.....

 

[Vladimir79]

The Damocles and GPS guided bombs are very interesting. which other Aircraft in mrca has ability to drop GPS guided bombs?

France uses AASM, US uses JDAM. That's it.

 

[Vladimir79]

Rafale as well.....

Or you can see the real thing..........

 

[vishal_lionheart]

which aircraft use GPS guided bomb in MRCA?

 

[death.by.chocolate]

France uses AASM, US uses JDAM. That's it.

There is more ..

The Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) System is the next generation of low-cost and low collateral-damage precision strike weapons for internal and external carriage.
Components and Capabilities

The SDB System comprises the following components: the weapon itself, a four-weapon carriage, a precision inertial navigation system/global positioning system, a mission-planning system, and a logistics-support system.

* Weapon
o GBU-39/B: multipurpose, insensitive, penetrating, blast-fragmentation warhead for stationary targets; equipped with deployable wings for extended standoff range
+ Dimensions: (L x W): 70.8" x 7.5" (1.8 m x 19 cm)
+ Weight: 285 pounds (130 kg)
+ Warhead penetration: 3 feet of steel reinforced concrete
+ Fuse: electronic safe/arm fuze (ESAF) cockpit selectable functions, including air burst and delayed options
+ Standoff maximum range: more than 60 nautical miles
o BRU-61/A "smart" pneumatic carriage
+ Payload capacity: four weapons
+ Weight: 320 pounds (145 kg) empty, 1,460 pounds (664 kg) loaded
+ Dimensions (L x W x H): 143" x 16" x 16" (3.6 m x 40.6 cm x 40.6 cm)
+ Fits nearly all delivery platforms, including internal/external carriages in the F-22A, F-35, Unmanned Combat Air System (UCAS) and B-1 and B-2 bombers
o Guidance
+ Precision inertial navigation system/global positioning system (INS/GPS)
+ Anti-jam GPS and selective-ability anti-spoofing module (SAASM)

Advantages

The SDB System offers the following advantages over systems that have a single 1,000-pound or 2,000-pound weapon:

* More targets per sortie (4 weapons per aircraft weapons station)
* Reduces collateral damage as a result of accuracy and small weapon size
* Improves pilot/aircrew safety with its extended standoff range

Status

* Production deliveries started in April 2006 and system is in full rate production
* Air Combat Command Commander declared initial operational capability for the SDB System on October 2, 2006--fielded ahead of schedule
* SDB System successfully employed in combat from F-15E Strike Eagles of the 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron providing close-air support for ground troops operating in Iraq starting on October 5, 2006


For more information on Small Diameter Bomb I (SDB I), read the Small Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB I) overview.

For more information on Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II), read the Small Diameter Bomb Increment II (SDB II) overview.

For more information on Small Diameter Bomb Focused Lethality Munition (SDB FLM), read the Small Diameter Bomb Focused Lethality Munition (SDB FLM) overview.

http://www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/sdb/index.html

On July 11, the 411th Flight Test Squadron passed a milestone as an F-22 Raptor traveling at supersonic speed dropped a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for the first time.
19-07-2008 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The first supersonic SDB drop was part of a safe separation test currently being performed to integrate the bomb with the F-22.

The SDB is a 250-pound class precision guided munition capable of destroying high-priority stationary targets from Air Force fighters and bombers from stand-off distances.

"An SDB has never been dropped from a supersonic aircraft," said Maj. Michael Starr, 411th FLTS test pilot. "Supersonic separation testing will give the F-22 the ability to drop the SDB at supersonic speeds, which synergistically enhances the Raptor's air-to-air mission."

This was a critical step in achieving the goal of employing a "fully operational small-diameter bomb," said Capt. Chris Smith, 411th FLTS flight test engineer. The 411th FLTS is planning on performing more supersonic drops as part of this testing.

For safety purposes, the team based its test on a build-up approach, gradually increasing the aircraft speed and altitude.

"At first, we had to make sure the aircraft could carry the small-diameter bombs," Captain Smith said. "We performed ground vibration testing to ensure that any conditions wouldn't excite any structural modes of the F-22 and the bomb. We also did three rounds of pit tests, where we placed an F-22 over a specifically designed stores separation pit and performed numerous drops to verify safe separation of the bomb from the aircraft and to ensure we did not structurally overload the aircraft."

Performing ground testing ensured everything was in proper order before performing separation testing in the air, said Nicholas Chung, 411th FLTS air-ground weapons integration engineer.

"We started dropping small-diameter bombs from the F-22 at a speed of 0.8 Mach," Mr. Chung said. "We also performed eight subsonic drops prior to this milestone."

Currently, the F-15E Strike Eagle is the only aircraft outfitted with the SDB weapon system. Meanwhile, the F-22 carries two 1,000-pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions for its global strike role.

"Because of the size of the small-diameter bomb, the F-22 can carry more munitions at a time," Mr. Chung said. "Now, we are looking at carrying eight SDBs compared to just two JDAMs. This will allow the aircraft to strike up to eight targets at a time."

The team is performing the testing at Edwards because it is the only Air Force facility that performs developmental flight test on F-22s.

"Edwards has the resources in terms of both assets and test expertise," Mr. Chung said. "We really have an emphasis not just on the technical aspect but also the safety aspect of the testing."

Following a series of additional supersonic drops and after the 411th FLTS determines safe separation of the bomb from the aircraft, testers will begin dropping guided weapons, Mr. Chung said. This is to determine not only safe separation of the SDB from the aircraft, but also to see if pilots are able to guide it to the target.

"This capability is essential to give the F-22 further combat capability for the Global War on Terror," Major Starr said.

"Through Herculean effort and incredible skill, the (411th FLTS) engineers, flight test engineers, civilians and government contractors did an unparalleled job showcasing the fact that the F-22 Raptor is, and will remain, the world's most dominant fighter aircraft."

Source: www.af.mil
Photo: USAF

 

[Kunal Biswas]

You should be pro-choice, for the first time in several decades India is being offered the best hardware available.

I should be a PRO-us?!
Why, Because they have good hardwares?
Using US fighter is like driving your own car but cant have the felling of owning the car....

The Rafale didn't exactly shine in Afghanistan, it was unable to drop guided munitions without assistance (designation) from older Mirage 2000. This and the fact that the navigators seated in the back seat needed to carry a pair of stabilized, high-magnification binoculars for ground surveillance didn't really indicate a high level of crew confidence in the on board sensors.

Rafales used in afghanistan were Rafale M (navy) or Rafale C (Army) .. so single-seaters ..

The F-15 and F/A-18 E/F routinely drop unguided munitions with a CEP of 10 meters from 15,000 ft, two auto release in quick succession can destroy two targets in close proximity without the need to make a second pass over the target. Guided munitions are more accurate with CEP measured in inches and can be delivered at near supersonic speeds.

In Afghanistan, the A-10 Warthog was the most requested aircraft by ground forces for close air support followed by the F/A-18.

Ok..

But i was asking abt Rafale`s data...

Regardless, if its made in the US, it is considered US origin and is sanctionable.

Spectra was conceived by Dassault Electronique, Thomson-CSf and Matra in France.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...html?tracked=1
Now these divisions are parts of Thales France and MBDA France and currently Spectra components are assembled and tested by Thales France at Pessac (just near the Dassault facilities at Merignac)


US have good aircraft but i like French..
So does most in IAF..

 

[death.by.chocolate]

I should be a PRO-us?!
You should be PRO-India

If the US sanctions India in the future then we (US and India) will have far bigger problems than 126 fighter planes.
The financial loss from such will be devastating for both sides, things have changed since 1998 -India is now in the big leagues.

Spectra was conceived by Dassault Electronique, Thomson-CSf and Matra in France.
http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchi...html?tracked=1
Now these divisions are parts of Thales France and MBDA France and currently Spectra components are assembled and tested by Thales France at Pessac (just near the Dassault facilities at Merignac)

Your link doesn't work..."conceived by"?? US export regulation is more sophisticated then that it goes down to IP and origin of each component and sub component.

So does most in IAF..

..not anymore..besides, we're currently working on 6th generation POC's while France has nothing beyond 4.5.

 

[thecoolone]

F-22 is not an aircraft you can use to compare with, US itself is not building any more than 187 that they have built.
I'm not able to post this link from youtube about F-22 raptor by Rachel maddow (since i'm new here, some one please help in posting this link).
But, if you search "Wastefull F-22 fighter Jet By GOP Congress Rachel Maddow" in Youtube, you shld be able to find it.

 

[vikramrana_1812]

IAF gets feel of latest Pak fighter aircraft
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has got a feel of Pakistan's most modern fighter aircraft during a multi-nation exercise in France even before the aircraft have been delivered to the Pakistani Air Force (PAF).

Later this week, Pakistan will get its most modern fighter aircraft when the US delivers the first four of the advanced Block 52 F 16 aircraft as part of a deal to upgrade its military.
However, the IAF has sparred with the Block 52 version of the fighter -- which is considered to be a generation ahead of the existing F 16 fleet of the PAF -- during Exercise Garuda that is currently underway at the Istres Air Base in France. The IAF, which has deployed its SU 30MKI fighters for the exercise, has conducted aerial duels and joint missions to fully gauge the capabilities of the 'enemy' fighter. Pakistan is to get 18 of the Block 52 versions of the F 16 fighters under a deal with the US.

http://news.in.msn.com/internalsecurity/news/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4065799

Sources said not only did IAF pilots get a feel of the operational characteristics of the fighter during the aerial war
games but some pilots also got the chance to take sorties in the F 16 Block 52 aircraft of the Singapore Air Force that was part of the multi-nation aerial exercise involving India and France. A senior officer confirmed that this was also the first time that the IAF's SU 30MKIs were conducting an exercise with three modern fighters -- the Rafale, F 16 and the Mirage 2000-5.

"Over 60 missions have been successfully flown during the exercise. The six IAF SU 30MKIs along with the Mirage-2000-5 and Rafale and the F-16 were engaged in various air defence manouvres such as implementation of "no fly zones" and large force engagements during day and night," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Mahesh Upasani, who was present at the exercise, said.
The Indian fighters took part in missions to protect high value air borne assets like refuellers and AWACS. The SU 30MKIs also practised aerial refuelling with the French KC 135 aircraft.
The multi-role Sukhoi fighters were also simultaneously deployed in defensive and offensive operations -- a key capability of the heavy fighter aircraft.

@import url("http://stcjp.msn.com/br/csl/css/38742CDE2D315FB67F7A0AF2CBE04B3B/fbutility.css");@import url("http://stcjp.msn.com/br/csl/css/4BF0D71272C2D7B1B0F06FC4B10F5AF9/fbutility_ie6.css");

 

[death.by.chocolate]

F-22 is not an aircraft you can use to compare with, US itself is not building any more than 187 that they have built.
I'm not able to post this link from youtube about F-22 raptor by Rachel maddow (since i'm new here, some one please help in posting this link).
But, if you search "Wastefull F-22 fighter Jet By GOP Congress Rachel Maddow" in Youtube, you shld be able to find it.

When did I compare the Raptor? I said the French are still struggling with 4.5 generation tech and don't have a road map to 5th generation technology.
Not Rachel Maddow again, she's the one that said the F-22 is vulnerable to rain. But she didn't bother to research her story enough to learn that
the Raptor is rinsed with water to prevent corrosion so her vulnerable to water theory is a wash. Rain does increase the RCS of the Raptor due to scintillation effect that water produces but this happens to all aircrafts.

If you want to bash the Raptor I'm sure there are existing threads on this forum that will serve the purpose.

 

[thecoolone]

Raptor is rinsed with water to prevent corrosion so her vulnerable to water theory is a wash.

I'm not sure what kind of metal is used in F-22 and what kind of corrosion can be prevented by washing with water? But again that can be totally different thread in forum.
I was merely responding to your earlier post "On July 11, the 411th Flight Test Squadron passed a milestone as an F-22 Raptor traveling at supersonic speed dropped a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for the first time." Its an aircraft that even US DOES NOT want to make anymore.

 

[death.by.chocolate]

I'm not sure what kind of metal is used in F-22 and what kind of corrosion can be prevented by washing with water? But again that can be totally different thread in forum.
I was merely responding to your earlier post "On July 11, the 411th Flight Test Squadron passed a milestone as an F-22 Raptor traveling at supersonic speed dropped a GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb for the first time." Its an aircraft that even US DOES NOT want to make anymore.

That post was meant to share information about the SDB family of guided munitions.
And yes, there are some unique manufacturing challenges brought on by the operational requirement for LO observability. Overcoming these challenges makes mass production expensive. In addition, maintenance is also several times more expensive than legacy fourth generation platform. The program was frozen due to absence of a credible threat to US air supremacy in the foreseeable future, net effect; the Raptor became a victim of its own success. Hopefully, future induction of T-50 or J-XX will revive the program.

 

[Sridhar]

Tuesday, 2 November 2010

Buy a fighter for war, not air shows


The Indian Navy has asked Lockheed Martin for briefings on the F-35 as a future option for its aircraft carriers. The vendor believes that both the F-35B (STOVL) and the F-35C (catapult launched variant) are operable from IN carriers


By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 2nd Nov 10


A firestorm of criticism from hundreds of indignant netizens followed my last column ("Scrap the MMRCA, buy US F-35s", October 19, 2010), which argued that the Indian Air Force is blundering in buying a 4th Generation Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) just a couple of years before Lockheed Martin's 5th Generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter enters operational service. Given that the IAF will operate its 126 MMRCAs till about 2050, anything short of today's cutting edge would become irrelevant long before that.


Broadly speaking, the critics' arguments were: the F-35 is not designed as a high-speed fighter (true); its primary role is striking ground targets and is, therefore, merely a "bomb truck" (Churchill might have said: " Some truck! Some bombs!!"); the F-35 is many years away from operational readiness (false); it is too expensive (depends on how you calculate); and, of course, the unsurprising, "Goddamit! We can't trust the Yanks."


Since my previous 900-word article could hardly cover all corners of this $10-billion question, I shall stay on this subject this week and outline the military realities and doctrinal issues that must shape the IAF's decision.
What are India's foreseeable security threats and how must the IAF respond? While Pakistan remains a lingering hangover, especially in its embrace of cross-border terrorism, it is diminishing as a full-blown military threat to India. The IAF's most likely missions against Pakistan centre on air-to-ground strikes: punitive raids against terrorist camps or ISI locations, perhaps in retaliation for yet another terrorist outrage; or pre-emptive strikes against Pakistani ballistic missiles when a nuclear launch against India seems imminent.


A devastating ground strike capability is also primary for contingencies on the China border. With Beijing relentlessly developing roads and railways to the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has already built, and is increasing, the ability to amass an invading force faster than the Indian Army can rush in troops to defend the threatened area. With an attack imminent, or some Indian territory already captured, New Delhi's immediate response will inevitably centre on air strikes against PLA forward troops and the routes on which their logistics — ammunition, fuel, food, water and medical care — depend. In the 1962 debacle, one of New Delhi's most unforgivable, and inexplicable, blunders was to abjure the use of air power. This time around, as evident from the rapid creation of IAF infrastructure along the China border, India's first response will be with air strikes.


Given these requirements, it is evident that the IAF needs powerful ground strike capabilities. But the fighter pilots who dominate the pinnacle of the IAF (and every other air force) have a special fascination for "air supremacy fighters", those glamorous machines that incestuously dogfight with enemy fighters during war and mesmerise air-show audiences with aerobatics during peace. The IAF has traditionally focused less on enemy ground troops and more on that fighter-jock ambition, shooting down enemy fighters in air-to-air duels. The Indian Army has long remonstrated with the IAF over the latter's airy neglect (pun unintentional) of the crucial ground war.


The MMRCA procurement reflects this bias: the IAF's tender emphasises air-to-air combat capabilities — speed, rate of climb, turn rate, etc. — with ground strike capability a mere side benefit. Already deficient in air-to-ground strike power, the IAF's two major fighters under development — the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) — are primarily air supremacy fighters. The third fighter in the pipeline, the MMRCA, cannot share the same bloodline. Instead, procuring a top-notch strike aircraft — and the F-35 is the undisputed king of this realm — will equip the IAF to contribute to the war effort where it matters the most.


To mask its ideological proclivity for air superiority fighters, the IAF argues that the "multi-role" MMRCA can also strike enemy ground forces. Strike it can, but nowhere as effectively as the F-35, which is designed ground-up for this role. To use an athletics analogy, decathletes hurl the discus, throw the javelin, and also sprint 100 metres. None of them, however, achieve world standards in each of these events.


The army has not forgotten the IAF's irrelevance during the Kargil conflict. When IAF fighters should have been supporting assaulting infantry by hammering Pakistani positions with air strikes, fire support came almost exclusively from the army's own guns. Meanwhile, the IAF was searching for a way to equip its Mirage-2000s (an MMRCA!) to deliver bombs accurately onto mountaintops. Without a world-class, customised strike fighter like the F-35, this sorry saga could be replayed some day on the Sino-Indian border.


Another argument fallaciously made, against the F-35, is that its design — optimised for ground strike — renders it vulnerable to predatory enemy fighters. In fact, owing to its stealth capabilities, US Air Force combat simulations have found the F-35 the equal in air-to-air combat of four fighters of the 4th Generation, which the IAF is now procuring.


Finally, New Delhi must be clearer about its threats and opportunities. The US sale of F-35s to Israel, and its willingness to condone the retro-fitment of Israeli avionics and weaponry illustrate Washington's strategy of building up clearly friendly countries against clear long-term threats. Just as it is supporting the creation of capabilities against Iran's nuclear programme, the US will equally facilitate capabilities against China's growing militarism. Furthermore, an F-35 procurement by India would dramatically dissipate the suspicions that currently dog US-India defence relations.


But the basic argument for the F-35 remains Indian self-interest. Tomorrow's IAF must be a comprehensively 5th Generation force, using custom-designed aircraft for specific operational tasks. In the US Air Force, the F-22 Raptor obtains air superiority; meanwhile, US ground forces are supported by the F-35 joint strike fighter. The IAF cannot fall short on either of these counts. With the 5th Generation FGFA, an air superiority fighter, perhaps a decade away, the IAF must obtain a war-winning advantage from a matching strike fighter: the F-35.

http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2010/11/buy-fighter-for-war-not-air-shows.html

 

[nitesh]

ajai sir has forgotten that F 35 might be a good fighter but we can not wait for it to become operational and then wait for it to come to us

 

[thecoolone]

Even though I agree to some points mentioned by Ajay Shukla, India needs fighters that can carry more A to G strikes to support the ground troops, attack invading enemy and NOT for air superiority (for which we have Su-30, Mig-29). But I don't think F-35 ready for India, yet. As of now F-35, is at least one year away from the US Air Force and Navy versions and two to three years for development of the Marine Corps model capable of short takeoffs and landings. Apart from being very expensive. In the MMRCA, Eurofighter has lowest RCS but poor in A to G role, Rafale is much better in terms of RCS and A to G role. F-16 has lower ferry range apart from PAF having it and the Super hornets, even though it has the best A to G capabilites and superior radar, it no way qualifies to low RCS as it can easily be tracked and shot down.