well none of boeing, IMI, denel (!) or MBDA have anything in excess of 100km not to speak of 200km. they are barking up the wrong tree or the report is wrong. atleast KS-172 and R-37 exist and can be improved to meet the req if need be.

Harry – superb job , as usual.

the Mig25/31 nose can accomodate a modest family of four. I just saw a video on iaf Mig25R last night and those cameras they have in there are HUGE. the landing gear also seems to have truck sized tires.

here is a test 3D map generated from recently launched Cartosat-1 imagery by ISRO. you can imagine how useful this will be to pilots and *cough cough* cruise missiles 🙂 they plan to map the entire country in one year and no doubt other interesting places nearby also.

http://isro.org/Cartosat/images/Cartosat-1_3D_Imagery.jpg

> and without a foreign partner for sharing the costs.

that can be taken care of 😉

http://www.defenceindia.com/09-may-2k5/news21.html

Russia to replace Sukhoi
New Delhi, May 10, 2005, Srinjoy Chowdhury (The Statesman)

Just before the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to Moscow, Russian made India an offer it couldn’t refuse. Russia would take back the Sukhoi-30 fighter jets and replace them with the brand new MKI aircrafts at a very low price.

The move, which is being seen as another sign of salesmanship of the former Soviet, does not mean much of an extra cost to the defence ministry. It is, in some senses, like replacing a refrigerator or washing machine with a newer model after paying a little extra.

After some initial hesitation, the decision for the “swap” has been cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council. While it means modest additional expenditure on the new planes, the defence ministry has recognised that the ones with India have lived virtually half of their life before a refit, having come to India in 1997. They have been ‘flogged’ for a while and therefore, have aged a bit. The Russians have also made it clear that the Sukhoi-30 would not be as good as the Sukhoi-30 MKI even with some changes in the systems.

While this was the original plan, the Russians have clearly stated that the MKI version is a far superior aircraft and India would benefit from the offer. The original deal was about the purchase of 40 Sukhoi-30s for about Rs 6,000 crore. The first lot had arrived in 1997. The newer planes have now come and a second squadron has been established. Besides, the manufacture of the plane has also started in India. The Russians now want to manufacture another fighter plane in use in India: the MiG-29. It is one of the planes being considered for purchase along with the Mirage-2000, the F-16 and the Gripen.

Seema Sirohi

Indian naval pilots could soon be training aboard on an American aircraft carrier. They could be flying the best trainer jets including the F-18s. Yes, the very same jet on offer from the Pentagon to New Delhi. The two sides are furiously working out the details for defence minister Pranab Mukherjee’s trip to Washinton in June. Sophisticated training for a fast take-off and landing on aircraft carriers in not something many countries can provide. “Flying off a carrier is a specialised art. The US navy is foremost in carrier aviation,” said one official. It’s no surprise that Indian naval chief Admiral Arun Prakash expressed a wish for his pilots to get the best training during a recent visit. The Pentagon responded fast (in bureaucratic time, it was deemed lightning speed). India would pay for the training-there’s no free lunch in America(sic)-and get ready for the scheduled induction of Admiral Gorshkov in 2008, the aircraft carrier that India bought from Russia. The Indo-US defence relationship, and specially the links between the two navies, is aquiring more content with each interaction. The tsunami cooperation was a path-breaker when the Indian Navy worked side-by-side with its US counterpart.
Interestingly, Indian pilots will train in F-18s and F-14s, familiarising with US fighter jets in the process. Is it a part of the American courtship as India begins the process of buying 127 aircraft? Russia and France, miffed at all the bonhomie, are expected to fight for “market share” in teh high-stakes game. The growth spurt in the ties is partly triggered by rising US concerns about China and its future trajectory. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has made her feelings clear in several interviews and speeches, especially the one she delivered at Sophia University in Tokyo in March.

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