Naval LCA is non starter

:rolleyes:

NP1 is about to fly soon and you call it a non-starter? Do you even know what a non-starter means ? IN has already paid for the first 6 prototypes and the program is moving on, regardless of your opinion of it. the IN will back it to the hilt if it meets specifications they have listed out for it.

I hate to repeat myself but I bet my money on Rafale in India because of three reasons:

2- Indian pilots have experience with M2K so that a smooth transition to Rafale is guaranteed.

Not sure about the second point you made- the Rafale isn’t so similar to the Mirage as to allow even IAF Mirage pilots to have a smooth transition to it..even the concept of the side stick instead of the center joy stick is quite new to the IAF, with all our jets having center sticks. the Rafale’s MMI isn’t similar or even an evolution of that on the Mirage, so I don’t see how it will be a help that we operated them. Typhoon in fact may be closer in that regard.

Looks like the IA is trying its best to get its own aviation corps up and running with aviation assets for each of its Corps !

This could mean increased orders for the Rudra attack helis and maybe even more LCH gunships..

link to article

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force may crib all it wants, but the Army is pressing on regardless – with its plans to have its own air force, albeit a ‘mini’ one. Fighter jets may not be on its wish-list, but the 1.13-million strong force wants everything else, from attack helicopters to fixed-wing aircraft.

Army’s long-term plans include a squadron each of attack/armed, reconnaissance/observation and tactical battle-support copters for each of its 13 corps. The three ‘strike’ corps, with HQs at Mathura (1 Corps), Ambala (2 Corps) and Bhopal (21 Corps) will get more ‘air assets’ in keeping with their primary offensive role, say sources.

To top it off, each of Army’s six regional or operational commands will at least get ‘a flight’ of five fixed-wing aircraft for tactical airlift of troops and equipment. “Army Aviation Corps, which is observing its 25th anniversary this month and operates around 250 light helicopters, has plans till the end of the 14th Plan (2022-27),” said a source.

…

Apparently the UAE or France did approach India via diplomatic channels regarding possible sale of the 60 Mirage-2000-9s. And, India has not shown any interest in these fighters. So, now on we can probably rule out India as a possible customer for the UAE’s Mirages..

link to article

The UAE had also ordered the Mirage 2000, again configured to its specific requirements and designated Mirage 2000-9, from Dassault in 1998. An older lot was also converted to the new Dash-9 standards with new avionics, combat radars and laser pods. Overall, there are around 60 Mirage aircraft, equipped with MBDA’s Black Shaheen subsonic cruise missiles and advanced weapons. Dassault is supposed to buy these back under its RfP terms, and do whatever — keep them or sell them.

Sources here told this writer that informal discussions on selling the Mirage 2000-9s have been held “at the diplomatic level with India” but that there has been no interest from New Delhi. Details were not given.

Decks cleared for signing deal with Pilatus for the PC-7 MkII and also for 450 MICA missiles for the Mirage-2000 upgrade. No mention of any A2G ordnance for the Mirages.

link to article

NEW DELHI: All decks have been cleared for two crucial defence deals, together worth over Rs 5,000 crore, to acquire 75 Swiss turbo-prop aircraft to train rookie pilots as well as around 450 advanced French missiles to arm upgraded Mirage-2000 multi-role fighters.

Defence ministry sources say the two deals have now been “sent” to the Cabinet Committee on Security for the “final nod” after “clarifying all objections” of finance ministry. “The contracts will be inked after the CCS clears within a week or so,” said a source.

This comes at a time when MoD and IAF are busy calculating the “lowest bidder” between French Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon for the mega medium multi-role combat aircraft project to acquire 126 fighters at a cost likely to touch $20 billion. But while these fighter deliveries will begin from 2015 , IAF wants to induct trainers earlier to train new pilots. The hurry to acquire 75 Swiss Pilatus PC-7 basic trainers is critical since IAF’s 114 piston-engined HPT-32 jets have been grounded since August 2009 due to repeated engine failures.

“We want to begin our first course on the Pilatus trainers from July 2013,” said a senior officer. IAF, of course, is already inducting 123 British Hawk AJTs (advanced jet trainers), at a cost of around Rs 16,000 crore, but they are meant for “advanced” combat training. The contract for the around 450 fire-and-forget, all-weather MICA (interception and aerial combat missiles) systems with French company MBDA, too, has been in the pipeline for quite some time.

It flows from the Rs 10,947 crore programme finalized in July for an upgrade of 51 Mirage-2000s with the help of French companies Dassault Aviation (aircraft manufacturer) and Thales (weapons systems integrator).

While the first two fighters are being sent to France next month for the upgrade, the remaining 49 will later be “souped up” with new avionics, radars, mission computers, glass cockpits, helmet-mounted displays, electronic warfare suites, weapon delivery and precision-targeting systems by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in India. The overall upgrade project cost will go beyond Rs 15,000 crore over the decade it will take to be completed. Down to just 33-34 fighter squadrons (each has 16 to 18 jets) from a ‘sanctioned strength’ of 39.5

The 63 MiG-29s are to be upgraded under a $964 million deal inked with Russia in March 2008. Then, apart from the 126 MMRCA, IAF is also inducting 272 Sukhoi-30MKIs contracted from Russia for around $12 billion. Moreover, the first lot of the around 120 indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft will join IAF from end-2013 onwards. On top of this all, India plans to induct 250-300 stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft co-developed with Russia from 2020 onwards, in what will be its biggest-ever defence project at around $35 billion.

whats the cost of the TEjas so far? 30-40 mill?

also HAL considered making the two seat derivative into an advance trainer in the veins of the Original Korean T-50?

about $30 million including the cost of setting up infrastructure for the assembly line.

ADA isn’t thinking of anything beyond the IAF – if they get all the anticipated orders from the IAF beyond the current 40, they’d be happy I guess. Besides, HAL has its hands full of projects. There are just too many going on currently for them to be able to give the Tejas the attention it deserves. Su-30MKI, FGFA design, Hawk production, Jaguar DARIN III, LCH development and testing, LOH design and development, ALH-WSI production, and soon the MRCA.

how much profit still has to be seen. apparently the budget envelope UAE have put on the table barely pays the construction costs, from what’s I’ve read on another forum.

Can’t say whether it’s true or not, but if that is the case, I can understand Dassault that doesn’t want to sell if the money coming in only pays the construction of the aircraft… there’d be no profit except printing in a brochure: “exported”

and then, all potential customers would want the same deal, so not much gain from there either

Anyway, we’ll see soon enough 😉

$10 billion for 60 Rafales may not bring a profit ? What’s it made of ? Gold ?

Crew eject as Italian military plane crashes off Dubai

Could it be the M-346 that the Italian AF was demonstrating at the Dubai Air Show is it ?:eek: