IAF has no cleared or accepted the MMR because it is still in development and not tested on the LCA. So your question does not arise. IAF has no objection to ADA fitting a domestic set if it meets the req – otherwise people like Elta and Phazotron have readymade products on the shelf that IAF already has experience with..these can be used instead.

obviously “some” demos must be have been done to IAFs satisfaction for them to accept this situation and not scream *today* for a foreign radar. Unlike the PRC, the media in India is open and these things dont remain “secret” for long.

if the specs below are true, the Agave is a very low power radar and
weak in air-to-air, thats why people like Super etendard and
formerly the IN Jags used it for surface attack onlee. and the ROSE Mirages what radar do they have ? I thought they only had a FLIR in
the nose.

This is a multirole monopulse air radar developed jointly by Thomson-CSF and Dassault Electronique, for use with the Super Etandard. The air-to-air operation modes are; search, automatic tracking and ranging. The air-to-surface operation modes are; search, automatic tracking, target designation, mapping, ranging. Artificial beam sharpening improves the quality of radar maps in navigation mode.

This system used to be operational with the Fuerza Aérea de Chile (FACh) as the original radar of the Avions Marcel Dassault Mirage 50 before it was replaced by the IAI/Elta EL/M-2001B during the upgrade to the Pantera standard.

Designation: Agave
Manufacturer: Thomson-CSF Radars & Contre Mesures, E.U. (France)
Weight: 46 kg
Band: X (monopulse)
Frequency: — GHz
Frequency Agility: — MHz peak-to-peak
Power Output: — kW peak
Pulse width: — µs (variable)
PRF: — Hz (variable)
Antenna Type: —
Antenna Size: — ft.
Scan Rate: — RPM
Range: Up to 25 Km air. Up to 55 Km sea.
Year: —
Cost: —

interesting thought there to mix Agave mirages with regular mirages.

can ships/KA31 radars and ESM eqpt distinguish between F7 and MirageIII ? if so, feints can be ignored.

it needs to be clarified what exactly the IN is trying to do:

1. if its a blocade of the pakshore, waiting 600km away isnt going to do any good, so they have to proactively move in close and also get the IAF to deal with the AFBs in karachi area before that.

2. if its a hit and run raid, then again IAF will provide the cover
first for a limited period.

3. If the intent is to sink the PN, first PN ships have to be located
and then targeted. they will never move off from close to the shore because for them to go out 1-1 with IN is suicide. So submarines armed with torpedoes and klubs cued by aircraft would be the best bet.

The picket line strategy discussed here is relevant to protecting a invasion force somewhere like falklands or leyte gulf. the only
place I can see it happening is far off to the west near the gulf
of oman if IN wants to try and choke the coastal supply route for
oil from the saudis. that brings its own complications and its cheaper/safer to just let them proceed some way eastward and sink them there with missiles from a.c and subs.

Subs continue to be the best anti-ship weapon unless you have a 60,000ton carrier or 2 x 40,000t carriers in the task force.

india has 14 operational subs, the Kilos are getting klubs in mid-life refit. the HDW subs might get missiles also if things work out. with just two major ports and one shipping lane to target, plus the puny ASW force facing them , they will have a field day.

to deal with slow moving but high value LRMP assets, a
Mach2 dash, long endurance shooter (su30) + KS172 can be tried out.

> If one of the picket FFG’s embarks a Ka-31 in place of its
> ASW chopper

the three Talwars are indeed mounting the KA31s now. they have
been fitted with the requisite downlink station.
for ASW ofcourse pickets can be paired, the far less capable (in SAM terms) brahmaputra , godavari ships taking care of that. most of them have the same level of ASW kit.

I think Mig29K has plenty of advantages over the FRS.
* better radar and more weapons(assuming a mini-me Bars)
* more endurance
* far better dash speed to improve the intercept chances on
long range “baiters” and do the intercept as far away as possible.

even if we take the RAF std Harrier armed with amraam, still the
29K retains the speed and endurance advantage.

wouldnt it make better sense to deploy the protecting ships 50km north of the carrier (right below where a striker needs to release his ASM), the KA31 another 50km north alongwith the FRS cap..i.e. 100km north of the carrier.
the KA31 is supposedly able to detect low flyers from 100km out, so that gives the ships 150km to get ready and the carrier 200km.

the attacker has to deal with SAMs both as they approach and pass thru the screen towards the main target (if they want to ignore the ships).

also from the time they are detected to when they go out of AEW picket
range on the return leg is a 400km journey, enough time for IAF to arrive on the scene and interpose themselves between the strike force and their homeward direction.

the carrier also gets 200km worth of time around 20 mins to steam at full speed even farther away and launch another 4 FRS1(say) into the gap between itself and the screening ships for head-on engagements. at 20 knots it will add another 30km between itself and the shooters. this could turn out to be vital in the end, forcing the attack force to press on another 30km.

the carrier itself would have some guns and barak and passive
defences and 2 friagtes accompanying closely for ASW and additional CIWS.

I think each Delhi has 48 Shtil missiles and has 6 directors each.
Each Talwar/P17 ship would have 24 Shtils and perhaps 4 directors. 48*2 + 24*2 = 144 large sams and whatever boxes of baraks and and Sa-13(kashtan) is there.

A 12 plane strike force with 6 ASM shooters looks inadequate.
I dont know if they can all get to release points, but going after
the carrier without sinking the escorts first is going to be a one-way mission for most of them.