Hamas rocketing Israel is as stupid a move as Georgia attacking SO. What did Hamas think that by unnessesarily provoking the neighborhood bully, they were not going to get the snot smacked out of them?

Just like Georgia was made to pay a heavy price for its stupidity, so should Hamas!

From Defense News

60% Price Increase On MiG-29Ks for India

By VIVEK RAGHUVANSHI NEW DELHI — Moscow, which once offered to sell India additional MiG-29Ks for about $46 million apiece, now wants about 60 percent more for each multirole combat jet.

In 2004, the Indian Navy ordered 16 MiG-29Ks for about $740 million, a deal that included an option to buy 12 more at the same price.

Now the Navy wants 29 more MiGs for its Air Defense Ship, a carrier under construction at the state-owned Cochin Shipyard, because the Light Combat Aircraft won’t enter service for seven to eight years, and an upgrade of the service’s Sea Harriers is not taking off as planned.

But in mid-December talks here, a six-member team from Russia’s Rosoboronexport armsexport agency insisted on a price tag of $75 million apiece, Indian Defence Ministry sources said.

The Russians say they have improved the MiG-29K by adding self-defense chaff pods and other modifications.

The Navy has yet to receive the 12 single-seat MiG-29Ks and four two-seat MiG-29KUBs, which were to arrive between 2007 and 2009, a Navy official said.

The initial batch of MiG-29Ks was to fly from the Admiral Gorshkov, a Russian aircraft carrier whose delivery to India has been delayed from 2007-08 to 2012, thanks to Moscow’s insistence that the price for purchase and refit be hiked from the original $1 billion to nearly $2.2 billion. The Indian side has yet to formally agree to the new price.

Indian MiG-29K pilots have been training in Russia. The 2004 contract includes hardware for aircraft maintenance and pilot training, including flight simulators and interactive ground- and sea-based training systems.

The Navy official said the first MiG-29K would be delivered in early 2009 and will be based in Goa until the Admiral Gorshkov arrives.

The K model is more advanced than the Indian Air Force’s MiG29s, having a multimode radar, more internal fuel capacity, a glass cockpit, more advanced avionics, an arrestor hook for carrier landings, stronger landing gear, folding wings and better engine protection against foreign objects, the Navy of0ficial said.

Russia Confirms Talks to India About Leasing Subs

Russia is ready to lease several Shchuka-B class (NATO codename Akula) nuclear submarines to India, the director of the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation said Dec. 15.

In my opinion the LCA is a total waste of resources.

Thank you for sharing. I am sure we’re all the more enlightened for it.

Assume a Mig-29K compliment on the Vikram of about 30 (optimistically at around 2020 timeframe).

Assume Mig-29K availibility rate of 90% (optimistically). 27 available Migs.

Assume a takeoff every 3 mins or so (optimistically). 27 Migs in air in about 90 mins. When the last Mig takes off, the first Mig has already spent 90 mins in the air, which means that the first 4+ Migs to take off will be the Upaz equipped buddy-buddy fuellers.

So, in practicality, the package will contain about 20 hard kill birds. Of course this assumes that it’s a balls to the wall offensive posture with no CAPs for the carrier.

Other than exercises, that will hardly ever be the case. So, realistically, the offensive/interdiction mission would be about 10-15 birds with some birds remaining back for CAP, buddy refueling, and alert status.

I would doubt that the Vik can even carry 30 Mig-29Ks and 8-10 helos. I would put the Mig complement closer to 20 than 30. So, the strike package would be around 10 birds. Which brings me back to the “need” for the Vik. The ship will soak up over 2000 crew and massive chunk of the IN’s O&M budget to put 10 strikers in the air. Does the IN really need the Vik?

Looks like acres of deck space:

[ATTACH]167573[/ATTACH]

Looks can be deceiving. Both of the elevators will have to be in the static up position for launch and recovery. Very little aircraft movements can occur during L&R. Which all equals to a dismal sortie rate for a CV that size.

BTW, is that a boat ramp in the stern?

Pogosyan has already stated that he wasn’t impressed with the F-22 in terms of aerodynamic performance.

That is a data point? 😮

India delays LCH first flight to March 2009

Only tangentially related to the IAF
Mexican company becomes second Dornier 228NG customer