quadbikeIt would be good if there is any info on the operational/maintentnace cost of the Su 30 MKM/MKI etc. I think they are cheaper to maintain/operate than the MiG 29s.
quadbikeIndia already received MiG 29Ks which are part of the Vikramaditya deal. At this point India will pay whatever price Russians is asking and will get the ship by 2012.
The IAC like all domestic programs will be delayed by a few years and I think the Navy guys would take that into account as well. May be this is why the ‘alleged’ interest in the CVF as well (on paper the IAC looks set to enter service before the QE class but reality may be different)
quadbikeAkash video:
Includes tests of the T-72 based units in the soft Rajasthan sand, and live fire trials at ITR Chandipore.
Awesome š
quadbikeIt is not sure if the IACs will come with catapults or EMALS. The early indications were that they will not, but a recent article in dti said that India is interested in EMALs for the IAC. It may well be that the first IAC will have a Ski Jump and the second one will have EMALS.
I think Rafale would need CATS/EMALS
quadbikeI made this point in the IN thread. If India (thats a big IF) purchase this big ship what are the planes she can operate from it. It doesn’t have a Ski Jump or EMALS/CATS does it ?
Would it need F 35B/Harrier ?
quadbikeIf at all this fantasy thing happens. What would India operate out of the QE class carriers. F 35s ? Where will India find the money to buy both the F 35s and the carrier ?
I also think it may well be too big for India.
quadbikeConsidering the age and the condition of the Sao Paulo. I wonder if the cost would be worth it. Personally, I think it maybe time to start thinking about “Plan B”.
Like what ? Building a new carrier as older ones are not available in the market (not ones with cats anyway).
quadbikeWhat portion of India’s budget goes towards the Military? How can they afford all these fighters while at the same time developing SSBN’s, new Aircraft Carriers etc?
There GDP is only 20% higher then ours (Australia) but they seem to be spending a heck of a lot more money.
Buy Russian & Build Your Own. In India production cost is cheaper and Russian/Israeli equipment tend to be much cheaper than Western ones. Look at Australia’s proposed purchase of F 35s, it is probably worth more than the MKI and SSBN projects combined.
It is also easier to justify further spending when you have two hostile neighbours. I think we should be spending even more defense, developing the defense industry and eventually exporting weapons.
quadbikeAs far as I know China has a treaty with Pakistan to defend its integrity.
Kindly shed more light on this.
quadbikeHere is some data provided by GlobalSecurity.org, related to India and China and their Air Forces.
As of 2010:
India
– 80xSu30
– 36xM2000
– 74xJaguar
– 48xMig29
– 98xMig27
– 10xTejas
– 182xMig21
India total = 528 combat aircraftChina
– 588xSu30/J11
– 100xJ10
– 50xJ9
– 650xJ8
– 500xJ7
– 150xQ5
– 150xJH7
China total = 2188 combat aircraftNow, here an Indian AirForce Marshal states that there’s nothing to worry about!
I wonder what would it take for him to get concerned over China’s obvious air supremacy?
India Su 30s are more capable and there is about 100 in service. There are about 50 Mirages not 36 and about 60+ MiG 29s. The number of Jaguars are also higher.
India will be defending its airspace Chinese will be attacking so lesser numbers are not that much of a problem.
Expect the IAF to fare much better in comparison by 2020. š
China produces most of what can be bought today on the world, from toilet paper to computers and I’m not sure which one will be ignored first in a conflict, India or China.
Well a disruption to Chinese supply of goods may be positive to local industry :). American/European toilet papers,toys etc, more jobs :). Probably the only way to stop imports in a free-trade world is hoping something goes bad with the exporter.
quadbikeIAF placed further orders for the MKI. One reason was to cover delays in the MMRCA. Now total would be at least 230 possibly more. I think there is possibly another order totaling something like 275…
One MKI was lost but IAF wants 40-50 more MKIs + 230 already on order. That would be like 269-279.
The report said Pakistan would eventually get like 150 J 10s (I am wondering to speed up delivery will the Chinese give some PLAAF units to the Pakistanis)
quadbikeIf true, then India better make a ruddy good desicion when it comes to buying the aircraft for MMRCA. i.e something with “canards” on it and produced by four European countries.
Even Block 52 F-16s are overkill for those (The Block 52 PAF F 16 will most likely remain their elite units). Then there is the MKI :). To be honest any of the MRCA in 126-200 nos is more than adequate to deal with PAF.
Don’t be ‘under confident’ with respect to China: IAF chief
“NEW DELHI: Indian Air Force (IAF) Air chief Marshal PV Naik Friday downplayed China’s sale of fighter jets to Pakistan and said there was no need
to be “under confident” with respect to China.“When two sovereign countries (in this case China and Pakistan) interact there is no scope for a third country. It is up to them (China) to sell it… Why are you so under confident? Our country is strong enough,” Naik told reporters on the sidelines of the 49th Indian Aerospace Medicine Conference.
China has signed a contract with Pakistan to sell at least 36 advanced J-10 fighter jets in a deal worth $1.4 billion. The J-10 is a multi-role fighter configured for air-to-air and air-to-ground missions.
Aviation experts say the design is based on the cancelled Israeli Lavi lightweight fighter and that Israel provided the technology for the fighter’s fly by wire controls. It is powered by a Russian engine. The J-10 entered service with the Chinese Air Force in 2003.
“Your army, navy and air force will look after the interests of the country. You (media) do not worry about it and do not make others worry about it,” Naik said.”
quadbikeOffset policy inertia curbs Thales-Samtel JV
Indiaās defence offsets policy mandates that foreign arms suppliers must buy goods from, or invest in, Indian defence manufacturers to the tune of 30% of the value of each contract that they sign with New Delhi. But grey areas in the policy are stymieing the development of successful offset partnerships.
An example of this is the joint venture between French multinational Thales and NCR-based Samtel Display Systems to manufacture Helmet Mounted Sight Displays (HMDs) for the MiG-29K fighters that will operate from Indiaās future aircraft carriers, such as the INS Vikramaditya, which is being built in Russia.
Called TopSight-I, this HMD projects before the pilotās eyes the information needed for flying his aircraft; it also allows the pilot to aim a weapon merely by looking towards the target, saving valuable seconds that are the difference between life and death in an aerial duel. As the pilot moves his head, a magnetic sensor following his helmet, and sophisticated software calculates where he is looking and aims a missile in that direction.
HMDs like TopSight-I could now be manufactured for Indiaās range of fighter aircraft at Samtel Thales Avionics, the high-end facility near Ghaziabad that houses the JV between Thales and Samtel Display Systems (Thales 26%; Samtel 74%). Building in India would gain offset credits for Thales; while the IAF would be happy that product support is close at hand.
In fact, according to sources in Indiaās MoD, Thales is looking beyond the Indian fighter market, at manufacturing its entire global requirement of HMDs in Samtel Thales Avionics. It is even willing to transfer proprietary HMD technologies worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Samtel Thales Avionics, a JV in which it holds a mere 26%. But Thales wants South Block to clearly state that it will get offset credits for the entire volume of production of the JV.
Gaining offsets credits would be sufficient incentive for Thales to supply HMDs worldwide from Ghaziabad, rather than from the Thales production unit in France. But, while the MoD has permitted the ābankingā of offsets, it is unwilling to clearly state that the entire production of Samtel Thales Avionics is eligible for offset credits.
āAll displays produced in Samtel Thales Avionics are fully eligible for offsets under the Defence Procurement Policy of 2008 (DPP-2008)ā, argues Puneet Kaura, Executive Director, Samtel Display Systems. āIt is an Indian company and it value-adds more than 70% to whatever is supplied from Thales, France. But if offset credit is given only for products that are fitted onto Indian weapons platforms, Thales would hesitate to transfer sensitive technologies to a JV in which it holds only 26%.ā
Samtel Thales Avionics will start with āBuild to Printā, building HMDs according to blueprints provided by Thales. But Samtel intends to absorb Thalesā HMD technology quickly, by setting up a Centre of Excellence for this purpose.
āWe will absorb end-to-end knowledge of the system, and develop design capabilities within two yearsā, explains Puneet Kaura. āThales has agreed to this.ā
Interestingly, all six aerospace giants competing in New Delhiās tender for 126 medium multi-role fighters have signed MoUs with Samtel Display Systems for manufacturing cockpit displays in case their fighter is selected. While these are pure āBuild to Printā arrangements, purely to meet offset obligations, those foreign vendors, too, would consider designing in India and sourcing globally from here, provided offset benefits were clearly attractive.
For now, Business Standard has learned, the MoD is hesitating to take any decisions relating to defence procurement. Even the Defence Procurement Policy of 2009 (DPP-2009), which the Defence Minister stated would be released on 1st November, remains under wraps.
http://ajaishukla.blogspot.com/2009/11/offset-policy-inertia-curbs-thales.html
quadbikeUntil Eurocanards arrived, Russian fighters (Mig29/Su27) had lower wing loading than Western fighters (F16/F18) and so they could fly more spectacular at lower speeds, at which the demo is flown. Hence the popular perception of Russian super-maneuverability.
The Su 30 MKI/Su 35 and MIG 29-OVT are still better than the Eurocanards in terms of slow speed (airshow) maneuverability. I find the Raptor to be their equal and Super Hornet to be a good match.
quadbikeFrom those drawings its apparent that Akash can easily shoot down SR 71s.
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