No.

how do you know for sure?

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I’d put Malaysia high on the list of possible customers. They have the Su-30MKM and share a good working relationship with the IAF. When the FGFA enters the IAF, they will surely get a good look at it. They may well replace their MKMs with a FGFA variant in the 2030s.

I can’t see another customer for 125+ Rafales either but you sign a deal at your peril if you lack confidence in the subcontractor demanded by the customer. On the other hand India will not be too pleased with Dassault if this deal falls through.

Perhaps all candidates should have taken a closer look at HAL’s suitability as prime integrator for their product before making their proposals.

I agree that prospects for Rafale export contracts will be enhanced if a deal can be done and diminished otherwise.

The primary issue is that the Indian MoD is protecting HAL’s interests, which is to retain its monopoly on assembling foreign fighters and retain its status as the primary integrator and assembly enterprise for fighters.

Having done this for decades, HAL is the only entity in India apart from TAML (TATA Advanced Materials Ltd.) who have done any substantial assembly or integration work. The rest of the private players are not even worth mentioning in this regard, Reliance especially so. They’ve not invested any money so far on any facility that manufactures, assembles or integrates any aerospace products, nor have they got any experienced manpower. This whole “Dassault trusts Reliance more than HAL to deliver Rafales on time” is hogwash. They’re only trying to get a larger workshare by tying up with a rank novice instead of an inefficient but experienced PSU. What has Reliance done so far in aerospace to deserve such trust?

In my personal opinion, Dassault’s request to be able to choose the primary integrator on their own only had any merit if they’d chosen TAML or L&T which has extensive engineering experience and may still be able to scale up to produce Rafales. Reliance is a thoroughly corrupt and unscrupulous company and I believe that is what has drawn Dassault to them like flies to a carcass.

Brahmos-S submarine launched cruise missile tested successfully.

India achieved another milestone in its defence programme by successfully test firing the submarine-launched version of BrahMos supersonic cruise missile for the first time from a submerged platform off the Visakhapatnam coast on Wednesday.

Defence sources said the missile in its full operational configuration was launched from a pontoon (replica of a submarine) positioned nearly 30 feet deep in Bay of Bengal at about 2.10 pm.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited A Sivathanu Pillai said the missile took off vertically from the submerged platform for its full range of 290 kms and hit the target with high accuracy.

“It was a history for us as the mission achieved 100 percent success. All mission parameters have been successfully met and it was a copy book lunch,” Pillai told ‘The New Indian Express’ over phone.

This is the first time that a supersonic cruise missile is launched vertically from a submerged platform in the world. The success however came a week after the unsuccessful trial of India’s first sub-sonic cruise missile Nirbhay, which had veered from its path and was destroyed mid-way.

A release from the BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited stated that the missile emerged from underwater, took a turn towards the designated target and followed a pre-defined trajectory meeting all mission objectives. All the telemetry and tracking stations, including Indian naval ships positioned throughout the flight path, confirmed the pin-point accuracy of the mission.

“The missile is fully ready for fitment in P75 (I) of Indian Navy in vertical launch configuration which will make the platform one of the most powerful weapon platform in the world,” claimed Pillai.

…

The missile has been successfully inducted in a number of front-line Indian Navy warships and will be deployed in other future surface ships.

Defence scientists said the missile was capable of being launched from submarine from a depth of 40-50 meters. Integrated vertically with a modular launcher in the pressure hull of the submarine, the missile has identical configuration similar to its ship based system.

The submarines equipped with BrahMos missiles would increase the offensive power of the vessel without compromising on its defensive power as the torpedo tubes in it can be utilized for defence, the scientists added.
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India unveils ambitious Brahmos missile expansion plan

link to AW&ST article

March 04, 2013
New Delhi

The Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic cruise missile joint venture will expand this year into perhaps its toughest domain, with the company announcing it is nearly ready to conduct the first test of the BrahMos-A, an air-launched version of the weapon.

In the works for at least eight years, the BrahMos-A has been integrated onto a specially constructed reinforced belly hardpoint of a modified Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.-built Sukhoi Su-30 MKI, says BrahMos CEO A. Sivathanu Pillai. Captive trials with a full mock-up missile will be conducted in the next two months, with a first test-firing off the east coast of India in early 2014.

“The missile integration is nearly complete to the satisfaction of all concerned, including the Indian air force (IAF). Preliminary ground tests will begin shortly. We will build confidence before beginning flight tests and then a test-firing,” Pillai said in Bengaluru during the recent Aero India show.

The BrahMos-A is a modified version of the baseline land- or ship-launched version, sporting a smaller booster and fins for airborne stability after launch. The missile also has been modified to relocate its umbilical connector. The missile is designed for a release height from a Su-30MKI of 500-14,000 meters (1,640-46,000 ft.). After a free fall of 100-150 meters, the BrahMos-A has a cruise phase at 14,000 meters and terminal phase at 15 meters.

The BrahMos-A’s current weight of 2.55 tons means it will be tested and deployed only on the Su-30MKI. The company’s earlier plans to make the weapon available for the Indian navy’s Ilyushin Il-38 maritime patrol and anti-submarine aircraft fell through after ground clearance constraints cropped up. Similar plans to deploy it on the navy’s Tupolev Tu-142 long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft were also shelved after the Navy said it was not worth the cost of modification, given that the fleet did not have much time left in service.

An officer with the IAF’s Pune-based Su-30MKI squadron said, “Heavy modifications have been necessary for such a heavy missile, and initially it didn’t seem to make sense to deploy a single missile. But in simulations, the weapon holds promise. Our test crews look forward to firing the missile and seeing how it does. It’s a potent standoff weapon. We’ve provided BrahMos with several inputs over the years about how the missile needs to perform.”

The BrahMos JV has had trouble obtaining engineering help from the Sukhoi Design Bureau to modify the Su-30MKI airframe to deploy the BrahMos. Sources say it was Sukhoi’s reluctance that forced BrahMos and HAL to conduct the modification virtually by themselves, though Sukhoi may have assisted in 2011. BrahMos intends to hand over the weapon to the IAF in 2015, after which it is expected to be deployed in at least three squadrons.

Work is also underway on a modified lighter and smaller-diameter version of the BrahMos for deployment on the Indian navy’s MiG-29K and, potentially, the Dassault Rafale, as part of the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft acquisition, which is still under negotiation.

Significantly, the company has also revealed that it will conduct the first test of its underwater launched variant “very shortly,” possibly before the end of March. Once proven, the weapon designated BrahMos-S will arm Indian attack submarines, including potentially the Project 75I license-build program that is expected to begin soon with the release of a request for proposals. The BrahMos-S test will come close on the heels of India’s secretive K-15 subsurface-launched missile test in January in the Bay of Bengal. The 750-km (470-mi.) range K-15, designated Project B-05 by the Advanced Naval Systems Directorate, will be deployed on the country’s under-test Arihant nuclear ballistic missile submarine.

The joint venture for the first time also showcased its BrahMos-2 hypersonic weapon concept at the recently concluded Aero India show. The scramjet-powered weapon is intended for a debut test in 2016-17. Preliminary research and development on the weapon has begun.

The BrahMos land version currently arms three army regiments, and was recently tested in a Block 3 configuration that showcases a steep-dive capability, allowing the missile to be used in high altitude terrain.

Despite its successful induction into the Indian armed forces, the BrahMos has yet to be either ordered by Russia or exported to friendly countries, as New Delhi and Moscow had agreed. Sources indicate that countries in Latin America and Southeast Asia have expressed interest in the weapon’s land and ship-launched versions, and are likely to be given demonstrations this year.

Goodbye Tejas.

did you even read what the article said? :rolleyes:

its the Kaveri that will not be used on the Tejas, and since these programs were delinked a few years ago, this article really is a few years late- and we knew years ago that the first 40 Tejas Mk1s would fly with the F-404-IN20 and the F-414INS6 was earmarked for the Tejas Mk2.

Just FYI, the Tejas program is still going ahead and a Mk2 is in the works. So its not good bye Tejas, its firmly placed in the plans for the IAF. Watch out for a lot of updates on this program from Aero-India 2013.

And Kaveri will be used for other purposes as well, most likely the UCAV and a variant perhaps for the AMCA, so its not dead either.

LSP-8 is nearing its first flight. This is the final Limited Series Production aircraft and has been built to the Final IOC standards.

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[B]The limited series production (LSP-8) version of India’s Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, is said to have incorporated all features sought by the Indian Air Force (IAF), so that it qualifies for the initial operational clearance (IOC).

Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) head P S Subramaniam told Express that Tejas LSP-8, the last aircraft from the test flightline, is tailor-made to suite pilot’s needs.

“All designs are final. All systems are as per the final IOC standards and have matured with the aircraft,” he added.

The ADA head said building of LSP-8 aircraft, its first flights and subsequent tests will be the last stepping stone towards the programme entering the series production phase. The IAF has placed an initial order of 20 Tejas.

According to Subramaniam it has pressure-refueling capabilities. Meaning the entire aircraft the LSP-8 can be filled with fuel in just 5-6 minutes as against the 30-minutes taken for gravity filling.

“Tejas LSP-8 is an all-weather, day and night capability fighter and with very maintenance-friendly features. It is an aircraft built based on the needs expressed by test pilots,” he said.

He said the pilot-vehicle interface features supported by avionics software are excellent in LSP-8 and as desired by the users.

“The new aircraft is very robust with reliable flight control system. The aircraft has good compatibility with ground support and ground-handling equipment. I can now confidenty say that all that is required for an aircraft to get inducted into the Service is built into LSP-8,” Subramaniam said.

When asked whether the induction of Tejas into the IAF will further slip, considering that the IAF pilots might come back with more requirements after the user evaluation trials, the ADA chief said: “The feedback what we are getting from the test pilots who have flown Tejas is excellent. Every stage we had pilots closely working with us.”

The pressure refueling feature was demonstrated by the Gripen during field trials in India and had impressed the IAF greatly..this is most likely a requirement that came up after that demonstration..very useful feature for quick turn-around time on the ground to increase sortie rates. Glad to see that maintenance friendliness is now taking priority as well. That is a very important feature of any aircraft and if it works, will endear the aircraft to the technicians who’ll work on it and reduce maintenance costs.

need to see what the latest cockpit looks like and what new Pilot-Vehicle interface features have been introduced based on TP feedback. This interview again confirms that TPs love the aircraft.

India signs deal with GE for 99 F-414 engines for the Tejas Mk2, plus 100 options.

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NEW DELHI: India and the US have finalised a Rs 3000-crore deal for supplying 99 jet engines to be used in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ being developed by the DRDO.

Around two years ago, India had selected the American company General Electric over its rival European Eurojet 2000 for the LCA Mark II programme expected to be ready around 2014-15.

“The deal worth Rs 3,000 crore has been finalised with the US for procuring 99 engines for the LCA Tejas MkII,” DRDO officials said here.

As per the contract, the order could be for 99 engines initially but India will have the option of ordering another 100 engines in the future.

That works out to $54 million for 99 engines..that’s a LOT cheaper than reports in the past that put the F-414 engine price at around $1 million + apiece..and this with ToT for maintaining the engines in India.