its going along, and the iaf is pretty happy with it. the only issue b/w russia and india was over the cost escalation for the follow on mki order and the initial kits for the phase 1,2,3 production. last phase is to be from local materials. the cost issue been settled.

the open architecture is essential to the iaf, they are now integrating israeli reccon gear with the mki, to the local astra missile

eg:

if not for the open architecture and indian ownership of customization and modification like above, india wouldnt be able to integrate its own weapons, third party systems on the mki.

which is essential, since the mki is being used for everything from air superiority to peeking inside china

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/With-MiG-25s-gone-Sukhois-to-become-eye-in-the-sky/222859/

thanks for the link..
but as you know.. Russia is intending to merge various Aircraft companies together and I’ve read that Putin will impose restrictions on the involvement of foreign participants on the merged aircraft company.

wouldn’t this be negative for countries like India who seem to prefer integrating various non-Russian systems on Russian aircraft?

The Mig-29SMT is an upgrade, not a newbuild design. They might think that because the upgrade involves the overhaul of the airframe back to zero hours and the replacement of pretty much all the electronics and wiring etc that what they are selling is new.

I thought it was just an upgrade program too however based on some earlier reports, it seems that it is possible that MiG was advertising it as new-build nonetheless. You also seemed to speculate it may be new build as well

Looks to me like they were initially upgrading them but now they will be getting new build aircraft made in the same factories that are going to be used for Indias order for Mig-29Ks.

http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=311495&postcount=4

As far as India, China, and S.Korean industries go.. no one is really talking about now, but in the future. There’s no denying that they’ve come a far way in the past 30 years. And even then, they’ve managed to achieve some export success.. Turkey has opted for S.Korean self propelled howitzers instead of a European o American one and they have opted to work on a new MBT with the Koreans instead of Germany, the US, etc. Azerbaijan, a country within the Russian sphere of influence (and to some extent the US as well) has opted for the Chinese FC-1 instead of say F-16s or MiG-29s. Countries who don’t really want American or Russian (for political, military, economic, or whatever reason) can increasingly find alternatives as each decades go by.

outside of the US, Italy and the UK, what other countries will opt for the B version?

How will we see the inventory of other air forces change after receiving the F-35?

In the US it seems it will become the “low” aircraft along side the “hi” F-22..
UK.. Typhoons for air superiority and F-35 for naval and strike?
Turkey.. F-35 becomes the “high”, and F-16s are the “low?”

Sorry, I couldn’t find the precise article. But, here are two similar ones…….Unfortunely, they don’t provide alot of detail on the aerodynamic issues. Yet, I found them informative nonetheless!:D

Note: If, true the LCA is in serious trouble!:(

[url]http://www.hindu.com

/2007/12/01/stories/200712015611600.htm

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=2571584&C=airwar

thanks for the links. I was thinking that they were facing some problems with its choice of wing lay out.. but it seems that the most serious factor seems to be its petite size in general.

I always thought it was amazing that they could fit so much things in such a small airframe..it truly is quite ambitious of India’s aviation industry. However it certainly does seem to strictly limit its growth potential and limits how much modifications can be done on the airframe yes?

Let’s put the LCA into service and we can work out the problems and it doesn’t need to be to good because its replacing Mig-21’s! Personally, I don’t know if I would want to face Pakistani F-16’s, J-10’s, and JF-17’s or Chinese Flankers and J-10’s with a aircraft that is underpowered and has aerodynamic issues. I understand Indian pride. Yet, the true has to prevail at some point………….You don’t have to take my word for it. The Indian Air Force has expressed the LCA shortcomings and only has 20 on the books after decades of development.:(

I’ve read some details about the underpowered issue, but what are its aerodynamic problems?

I’ve read that the Su-25BM’s intake has underwent some significant changes.. such as it being larger and incorporating more RCS reducing measures in hiding its engine blades. However where is the source coming from? at least upon first glance, the intakes still appear to be the same as previous models of flankers