Controversy regarding radars for Indian Navy MiG-29Ks

Some interesting news from Roy –

Indian Generals Attack the “Zhuk”

The contract for the sale to India of the aircraft carrying cruiser “Admiral Gorshkov” and 16 carrier-based Mig-29K fighters which was singed in Delhi in January by Russia’s defense minister Sergey Ivanov is being threatened. On Monday the Indians arrive in Moscow to gain an understanding of it.

According to information on hand, it originally had been planned to sign the documents for the sale of the “Admiral Gorshkov” aircraft carrier and the carrier-based fighters in November. But the Indians, referring to the fact “some technical issues” have not been studied over, requested they put off the ceremony to January. As technical issues, as it became known to Gazeta.RU, the Indians understand the MiG-29K delivery as a complete set is not with the standard N-101 “Zhuk-MEh” radars for this contract, but with the modern N-011 “Bars” – such as are being installed on the Su-30MKI being produced for the Indian air force. The “Bars” is more modern and high-speed – a phased antenna array with electronic beam scanning is used in it; the “Zhuk-MEh” is simpler, a slotted antenna array with mechanical beam scanning is used in it.

The management of the Russian Airplane Building Corporation (RSK) MiG in every way possible has been avoiding Indian requests as regards a change of radars. The “Bars” is notably more expensive than the “Zhuk,” and the Russo-Indian contract already has been signed, that is the price for ship-borne MiG-29K is fixed delivered as a complete set with the “Zhuks.” It is clear that is simply not to RSK’s advantage to change the equipment. Besides the direct incomplete advantage, the RSK also suffers indirectly. In order to deliver the MiG-29K with another, non-standard radar, new flight tests have to take place. These not only would hit the finances again of the airplane builder, but also would place in doubt the period for fulfilling the contract: the MiG corporation simply cannot succeed in doing everything by the end of 2008 as is recorded in the Russo-Indian documents. The airplane builder’s obstinacy is even very explicable, but it already has brought about unpleasantness for itself: in particular, because of the unwillingness to install the “Bars” on the MiG-29K, Nikolay Fedorov was relieved from is post as RSK MiG general director and general designer. While trying in any event not to let the Indian contract go, Moscow took on for itself the obligations to resolve all issues which arise along the way. But MiG continues opposition. So, on 16 February, a delegation of Indian generals from the ministry of defense arrives in Moscow, but no one in essence will be talking with them: the present manager of RSK MiG, Valeriy Toryanin, has gone on an official business trip to Algiers.

Besides, the customer’s requirement is supposed to be for seller by law, especially while it is a question of the replacement of one Russian radar for another. In the future, Moscow’s intractability can lead to India’s refusal of any Russian radars – the Indians may demand the installation on the MiG-29K, for example, of Western European radars. It is not being ruled out that the affair is exclusively the exorbitant ambitions of the “Zhuk’s” manufacturer, the Moscow OAO Fazotron-NIIR Corporation (Moscow), which always has installed its own radars on the MiG family of airplanes and which right now in a panic is afraid of losing the Indian market. (The “Bars” was created at the Tikhomirov Scientific Research Institute of Instrument Building (Zhukovskiy). – Gazeta.RU.) Although Fazotron-NIIR has positive experience in cooperation with India: the “Kop’yo” radar was created there for upgrade of the MiG-21bis fighters which serve in the Indian air force’s inventory, the MiG-21-93 variant.

Right now the matter with Fazotron stands as not the best example. The corporation became a sub-contractor of an instrument building design bureau (Tula), which concluded a huge contract in 2000 (734 million dollars) for the development for the United Arab Emirates of the “Pantsir’-S1″ anti-aircraft missile and gun complex. Over a period of 2 years from the moment of its conclusion it was necessary to finish scientific research and experimental design work on the complex, and later over 3 years (2003-2005) to delivery 50 “Pantsirs” in three batches (12, 24 and 14 examples respectively.)

Fazotron was obliged to develop a system for interfacing the targets and missiles (SSTsR) for the “Pantsir’”, however, they were 2 years late with it: only in the last year were autonomous tests completed of the system, which then was installed on the military vehicle, and which up to now is undergoing tests. Simply speaking, the periods for the fulfillment of an important contract with the UAE were disrupted; whether this is a trend – the fulfillment of the Indian contract by Fazotron will show.

Source: 16.02.04, Gazeta.RU