Sources:
1-The American Fighter, Enzo Angelucci and Peter Bowers, Orion, 1987.
2-Combat Aircraft F-16, Doug Richardson, Crescent, 1992.
3-United States Military Aircraft Since 1909, Gordon Swanborough and Peter M. Bowers, Smithsonian, 1989.
4-F-16 Fighting Falcon–A Major Review of the West’s Universal Warplane, Robert F. Dorr, World Airpower Journal, Spring 1991.
5-Hornet, Robert F. Dorr, World Air Power Journal, Spring 1990, p. 38.
6-McDonnell Douglas Aircraft Since 1920: Volume II, Rene J. Francillon, Naval Institute Press, 1990.
7-Northrop YF-17: The Fighter They Didn’t Want, Bill Gunston, Wings of Fame, Vol 1, 1996.

Thanks for the info but really, did you read up all those books for a few lines :confused: 😀

Now i was thinking – could pakistan have helped by providing chinese acess to its F-16’s … many reports assert that the chinese reverse engineered components from pakistani F-16’s for the FC-1 (& J-10)

Question : Who’s making the new Al-41’s ? India are said to have alredy contaced its makers.

Hmmm…another Russian site reads (acknowledges the same thing):

Rosoboronexport, a Russian arms dealer, has clinched a contract worth more than $500 million to supply to China 150 AL-31F jet engines manufactured by Moscow’s machine building production association Salyut. The engines will be installed on Su-27SKM fighters assembled in China under license.

This is the third contract in 2005 to deliver Salyut products to China. Late in June, Rosoboronexport signed an agreement with Beijing to deliver in the course of two years 100 AL-31FN engines for light J-10 fighters, also known as Super-10. The deal was worth $350 million. Experts estimate that China’s overall demand for AL-31FN engines will be 250 units, which may bring Russia about $900 million. Evidently, after taking delivery of the first shipment of 100 engines, China will sign a new agreement with Rosoboronexport for more Salyut engines.

Additionally, Salyut signed a contract in May with Beijing worth $100 million to supply in the course of three years spare parts for Su-27SK and Su-30MK2 fighter engines, earlier delivered to China or assembled under a license at a Shenyang plant. Salyut was able to negotiate this contract without the state intermediary, because it has the right to supply spare parts and conduct maintenance on its own. This right was granted to it in September 2002 and extended last September for another three years.

As a result, this year alone Salyut’s order book rose by one billion US dollars thanks to engine supplies to China.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051216/42517133.html

:confused: Do the last 2 paras imply that the other contracts were only for engines ($350m + $500m) and the additional one (worth $100m) was only for spares :confused:

They were originally ordering around 250 AL-31FN engines to be delivered for around five to six years and a Russian general spilled the beans around last December that it was a done deal. Then at the last moment the deal was pulled and a new deal was inked several months later for only 100. So you can imagine what only happened to cause this change of mind.

If you build around 50, the remaining 50 will be used as spares for the existing fleet, which adds to around another 54 already built. It will probably take the factory one to two years to build that next 50 planes.

Well this post of yours was dated October 2005.

And here’s an article about an additional Chinese engine purchase in December 2005. (in addition to the earlier 100 Al-31’s in ~ July 2005 > link )

China Buys Russian Jet Engines Wholesale
Rosoboronexport, the state military export company, sealed a $500 million contract to supply China with jet engines of Moscow-based Salyut engineering plant. [u]The engines will be installed on Russian Su-27SKM fighters assembled in China[/u] under the Russian license.

[u]The contract of Rosoboronexport and China stipulates for deliveries of 150 engines of the AL-31F model developed for the Su-27/Su-30 jet series. The engines will be used for the assembling of Su-27SK fighters at a plant in Shenyang.[/u]

This is the third contract of Salyut on engines supply to China this year. Late June, the state arms export company signed a contract with Beijing to deliver 100 AL-31FN engines within 2 years for the J-10. The deal was $350 million worth.

Experts estimate China’s need in AL-31FN engines at 250 items, which may bring Russia some $900 million. To all appearances, after China gets the first lot of 100 engines, it will sign a new agreement with Rosoboronexport.

http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=636003

So there you have 250 engines (100+150) ordered as initially stated and this number has not been reduced by the developments on the WS-10.

Surely these deliveries will span a few years; can it thus be assumed that although the WS-10 has made impressive progress, it is still far from entering service on the Su-27’s it is intended to power ??? :confused:

LOLOL …. Look where this is coming from 😀

[u]’Jet capabilities, not politics, should determine contract ‘[/u]

Associated Press
Singapore, February 21, 2006

Lockheed Martin Corp, the biggest US defence contractor, on Tuesday downplayed the potential effect of Washington’s political influence on India’s planned purchase of 126 new fighter jets. Lockheed is competing with an array of airplane makers, to sell jets to India in a deal worth at least $8 billion ($6.7 billion). Both governments are working on a civilian nuclear deal, and US President George W Bush plans to visit India next month.

Lockheed believes its multi-role F-16 Fighting Falcon would “offer a tremendous capability to the Indian Air Force,” as it could be tailored to meet different requirements and was relatively affordable, said June Shrewsbury, Lockheed’s general manager for F-16 programs.

Asked whether improving ties between Washington and New Delhi might benefit Lockheed, Shrewsbury said [u][i]the company believes it deserves to win the order on merit.[/u][/i]

“We hope that the competition is based on the capabilities, the affordability, the industrial cooperation program that each contractor offers,” she told reporters on the sidelines of the Asian Aerospace exhibition in Singapore. [u]”We think that in that kind of competition, the F-16 would win hands down.”[/u] India is expected to seek formal proposals soon from aircraft manufacturers for the purchase, and the bidding process could take several years.

A key factor for India in choosing new planes is the supplier’s commitment to share technologies to make spare parts, and to develop and produce aircraft in India.

Lockheed, which is based in Bethesda, Maryland, has previously said it hopes to collaborate with India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. on the development and co-production of fighter jets.

However, some analysts believe India is likely to be wary of the United States as a sole supplier, since Washington imposed sanctions on India in 1998 after it conducted nuclear tests. The restrictions were later lifted.

link

These statements are made in Singapore. What irony :rolleyes:

The defence delegation accompanying the french president, led by defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie, is expected to inform the South Block that upgrading infrastructure for the Rafale will not be an expensive proposition since it takes much from the Mirage family itself.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=117822

Come on … is this really true ?