So Kovy and others, can we expect to see the Rafale in Aero India 2011.

oh, and were there any leaks or results from the recent RAF/IndAF exercises in country?

I may have missed it but things have been unusually quiet on that front (when compared to other Indian SU30 outings).

Since when have IAF been not quiet after exercises. In cope India 2004-05 it was the Americans who (may be in order to get more Raptors) broke the news that the Su 30s and Bisons were a handful in combat. Again at Redflag 2008 with Youtube Terry, the IAF only rebutted his false claims.

In the previous Indra exercises both sides were praising each others planes. Same with exercises with France with Rafale, there were no talk of who won which or what, basically write ups on how invaluable the training was and praise for each others aircraft.

So being quite about the RAF/IAF recent exercise suggests nothing.

IIRC Typhoon had a demonstrator which flew in 2007 with AESA but they did not have it flying in 2009 or 2010 for the India. And there is no proof that AESA is a must for technical bid.

People like Swerve and Scorpion can shed more light on the above.

I think AESA is not a must, but having one ready would increase your prospects. This is the greatest advantage the Americans have with their mature AESAs.

Kindly give proof that the Eurofighter which participated in the MRCA field trials had an AESA. IIRC they didn’t have any flying prototype to bring to India.

I think its because of the key pub ownership, that makes them vulnerable to legal action in a sue friendly country like the UK. An independent forum may be less concerned of such issues.

Posting links is just fine, its not convenient but news is news !

well if that’s the case, switch it to under 50 million Pounds, and then the F-16E would qualify 😉

IIRC it costs well over 70 million USD;)

I have to agree with both TR1 and Scooter.

TR1 has a valid point that the J-20s presence will make many asian nations consider a Fifth generation fighter,

But that may not be the PAK FA !

I can easily see the western allied countries going for the F 35 with a renewed urgency. The Japanese and Koreans may go for a modified F 35 rather than building something from scratch.

The Malaysians have decided to keep their MIG 29N for now (against plans of early retirement) and will soon need to replace their Hornets as well. They are a swing state interms of weapons purchases and can go either way (can buy the F 35 or the FGFA).

Indonasia can afford and will probably buy the PAK FA.

Vietnam is another likely customer.

There is a real market for a smaller lighter fifth generation aircraft. The F 35 don’t cut that profile despite being single engined, and the J 20/FGFA are too big.