BlackArcherStrengthening of the landing gear, not replacement. It’s already unusually strong for an aircraft of its weight, because of Swedish landing requirements.
It already has most of the corrosion resistance needed.
Strengthened landing gear for higher than usual sink rates as specified by the Flygvapnet..but corrosion resistance? I never knew that the Gripen had coatings for preventing corrosion too..any source for that info? And was such a requirement for an Air Force fighter because of using salt to de-ice runways and dispersed roads used for landing?
BlackArcherAnother important piece of news from the article posted by Twinblade
Repair and overhaul stores facility open
HAL on Friday inaugurated the Su-30 MKI repair and overhaul (ROH) project stores facility at the Nashik Division. HAL has set up a facility for ROH of 15 aircraft per annum at the division. “HAL is one of the few organisations in the world to have set-up ROH facilities for Su-30. This will provide full maintenance support and enhance the serviceability of Su-30MKI fleet through-out its life-cycle. We are also making efforts to indigenise parts required for this aircraft and make the country self-reliant in this segment,” Tyagi said. The facility was inaugurated by Secretary Defence Production G Mohan Kumar, who wanted HAL to focus on timely delivery, quality, customer satisfaction and cost reduction.
BlackArcherBeating Porky-B’s 2 x 1k bombs, 2 x AAMs, no gun, 450nm HHH is not hard. (Remember the fans’ beloved high internal fuel load is not there on the B.)
As for survivability, an F-35B with external stores is a moderate-LO aircraft with limited EW. Gripen E is less stealthy but has all-new EW.
Cost? Saab has quoted $250 m for development, which is less than the flyaway cost of two F-35Bs at full rate (if you credit the FY2015 budget), so they can overrun that by 2x and still not impact the cost comparison. Beating $137m flyaway is not that difficult either, and op costs for the F-35 will be well north of the F-35A’s $30k+/FH in naval ops, where the powered lift system cycles twice per sortie all the time.
It’s risky, but there’s no affordable alternative in sight for either Brazil or India.
What’re you talking about? the IN has already invested in the N-LCA with the Mk2 version being what they’re looking to induct. The Sea Gripen has the longest shot possible for the IN..the Rafale would be a front-runner for the third carrier for the IN, with commonality with the IAF being a strong advantage.
BlackArcherand now the Naval Utility Helicopter tender for 56 helicopters has also been scrapped in favour of a design that will have to be made in India
NUH tender scrapped in favour of ‘Make in India’ tender
NEW DELHI: A tender for procuring 56 naval helicopters from abroad at an estimated cost of Rs 9,000 crore was today scrapped by the Defence Ministry which decided to get them manufactured in India by local players with foreign collaboration.
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The tender for procuring 56 Naval Utility Helicopters has been scrapped and a fresh acquisition process would be initiated where these choppers would be made in the country involving Indian manufacturers who will be allowed to partner with the foreign vendors, Defence Ministry sources told PTI here.
Two contenders were in the race for this Rs 9,000 crore tender including the European Airbus Helicopters and AgusstaWestland and they have been intimated about the decision, the sources said.
The Navy had plans of using these choppers for replacing its ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, which have been in service for over 30-35 years.
The tender was issued two years ago by the Navy for procuring twin-engine choppers and was sent to major chopper makers including US firm Sikorsky, Eurocopter, Kamov and Italy’s Agusta Westland.
In the tender, the navy has specified that the 4.5 tonne helicopters should have twin-engines to allow them to operate in rough sea conditions.
BlackArcherGovt. moving ahead with ‘Make in India’ LUH after scrapping tender
The Narendra Modi government is moving swiftly on its plan to indigenise defence production by acquiring 197 light-utility helicopters (LUH) for the armed forces from local firms. It has called a meeting of the domestic companies concerned on October 22 to discuss the request for information (RfI) that was issued in the last week of September.
The government issued an RfI on September 28 to local vendors for reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters (which are LUH) for the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) and the Indian Air Force (IAF), the last date for which is November 28. This follows the termination of the long overdue LUH tender for 197 machines.
The Defence Acquisitions Council led by defence minister Arun Jaitley has decided that the 197 helicopters (that were to be procured from foreign vendors) and 187 helicopters that are in the process of being produced at state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) needed by the armed forces to replace their ageing Cheetah/Chetak fleets will be made in India with foreign collaboration. The step will boost the indigenous defence production sector, and is in tune with Modi’s exhortation to global companies to “Make in India”.
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HAL, which is currently working on developing 187 three-tonne LUHs sanctioned by the Cabinet Committee on Security in February 2009 for the armed forces, targets a first flight by next year. With the scrapping of the RSH/LUH programme, HAL has the opportunity to make up for lost time and ensure no further slippages in acquiring systems and getting the chopper off the ground on time next year.
According to a senior official at HAL, “The company’s helicopter division has decided to push full throttle on the LUH programme. Land has been acquired in Tumkur in Karnataka for manufacturing the indigenous LUH where a full-fledged helicopter facility is being set up to deal with growing market for the helicopters in the country.”
BlackArcherSAAB declared a while ago that the development is at a stage they can now offer a fixed price
that would mostly be preliminary design. The detailed design phase, and the prototype development, flight testing phase is what is the most involved phase. Neither has been taken up and will require significant funding and a committed customer, which can only be Brazil as of now.
So, touting the Sea Gripen as an example of ToT to Brazil is premature to say the least.
BlackArcherAre you trolling right now? Because I seriously can’t tell.
SAAB may have offered to just sell the parts to Brazil for final assembly at a lower purchase cost for the lot, but counting in the cost for local assembly from day one would give a higher total cost compared to letting SAAB take a larger part. Thus SAAB will be more involved in the production, as well as in setting up a local assembly line giving SAAB more money but lowering the total cost for Brazil while speeding up delivery times.
Technology transfer is not measured in what you put together in an assembly line. The avionics source code, allowing use of patents etc is more relevant. And that has been on the table fro the beginning.
Have you forgotten that Brazil will be lead developers on Gripen F and Sea Gripen? All Gripen Fs are to be manufactured by Brazil. How is that not technology transfer?
Where did the Sea Gripen come into the picture? The current contract makes no mention of it at all. If at all it is taken up, Brazil will obviously have to be the lead developer since there are no other likely customers for a new naval fighter. And that will cost quite a bit, with the development costs likely to have to be borne by Brazil.
BlackArcherIAF to train Vietnamese pilots on the Su-30. The second nation after Malaysia that will benefit from the IAF’s experience with the Su-30MKI.
After kicking-off submarine training for Vietnamese sailors last year, India is likely to coach Vietnam Air Force pilots in flying Sukhoi fighters as well, in keeping with the stepped-up defence cooperation between the two countries.
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Even as Vietnamese PM Nguyen Tan Dung began his two-day visit here on Monday, defence ministry sources said the Sukhoi training agreement being “actively” discussed by the two sides was likely “to be finalized in the near future”.
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BlackArcherThat is one fine looking transport..surely the best looking in my opinion. Well done Embraer!
BlackArcherAirbus-TASL bid for Avro replacement program with C-295W
European consortium Airbus Defence and Space has made a joint bid with Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) for a 56 medium transport aircraft order of the Indian Air Force (IAF) valued at Rs.20,000 crore ($3 billion).
“We have submitted a joint bid October 22 for supplying Airbus C295 medium transports to the IAF, which plans to replace its fleet of Avro aircraft,” an Airbus Defence official told IANS in an e-mail from France.
The euro 14 billion ($17.8-billion) Airbus Defence has tied up with Tata Sons’ subsidiary (TASL) as its Indian production partner for the order.
The bid is for 56 twin-turboprop tactical military aircraft, including 16 in fly-away condition from the Airbus Defence final assembly line and the remaining 40 to be built and assembled by TASL in Hyderabad.
“Under the terms of the request for proposal (RFP), the first 16 aircraft, assembled at Seville in Spain, are to be delivered in 24-48 moths after signing the contract. The remaining 40 aircraft, to be assembled in India, are to be delivered in 60-120 months thereafter,” Airbus official Kieran Daly said.
As part of the technology tie-up, TASL will undertake structural assembly, final aircraft assembly, systems integration and testing and management of the indigenous supply chain.
“We believe that C295 is the best aircraft to replace the IAF’s Avro fleet. In Tata Advanced Systems, we have the cream of the Indian private aerospace sector as our partner for this project,” Airbus Defence and Space vice-president Domingo Urena Raso said in a statement.
The aircraft is in the six-eight tonne class, with a cruise speed of 800km per hour and a range of 2,500-2,800km.
The IAF had floated the tender after the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) July 19 cleared the proposal for manufacturing the 56 transport aircraft in the private sector, excluding the city-based state-run defence behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which built the Avro aircraft.
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“Our selection by Airbus Defence as its Indian partner for the IAF’s Avro replacement programme demonstrates the confidence that has been built in our ability to undertake this complex project,” TASL chairman S. Ramadorai said in the statement.
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After DAC cleared the proposal, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said in New Delhi that the significant project would lead to capacity-building in the private sector.Asked if the IAF bid has an offset clause, Daly said Airbus Defence would support TASL in creating a modern and efficient aircraft final assembly line and in initiating the production of a market-leader military transport.
“Our partner (TASL) will also undertake the structural assembly and manage the supply chain in India, whose execution will rely on a broad Indian industrial infrastructure,” Daly added.
TASL is also a premier partner for global OEMs (original equipment manufacturers), including Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, Cobham Mission Equipment, RUAG Aviation and the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for providing integrated solutions in the aerospace, defence and homeland security spheres.
BlackArcherA great big chunk of the EW suite, the Martin Baker thingy on the cockpit, the (GKN) transparency over the cockpit, a few other other bits and bobs on the cockpit, the (BAE) HMDS, part of the landing gear, etc, etc…
In fact, there’s so much British content on the Gripen E that I am, more or less, expecting that Spanish Airbus to try to sell to Argentina Eurofighter Typhoons built in Sevilha.I’ll get my hat
Ah, the ejection seat. So there is enough UK content that it would require significant re-engineering and qualification effort on the part of Embraer and Saab to replace entirely then.
Anyway, all of it is possible to replace, given adequate time and money.
BlackArcherWhat are you on about? It isn’t a choice for SAAB. It cannot – not will not, not may not, but CAN not – sell Gripen to Argentina, or permit Brazil to sell it to Argentina, without British permission, unless the British systems are replaced. The Brazilian know that, & knew it when they selected the aircraft. SAAB isn’t cosying up to London, it’s just obeying British (it operates here) Swedish, & Brazilian law. Selex won’t be able to pass on its components to SAAB & ATMOS, & SAAB to Embraer, without end-user certificates, & faking them is illegal in all the countries concerned.
As for national development – well, Selex Galileo signed an MoU last year to co-operate with ATMOS on AESA technology, so maybe Brazil will be able one day to come up with a British-content-free radar good enough to replace the Raven (which will have improved by then) or its successor. But it won’t happen quickly.
So the very fact that the Brazilians are now signing MoUs to discuss a possible Gripen sale to Argentina tells you something does it not? They’re not fools oblivious to the UK content and will have certainly thought of possible solutions. The UK supplied systems are replaceable. if the UK refuses export licences for the Selex equipment, then there are rival options on the market that could be explored. The negotiations will cater to such eventualities.
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