First flight of SP21
Marte ER anti-ship missile on target for Eurofighter integration
https://www.flightglobal.com/defence/marte-er-anti-ship-missile-on-targ…
Safran to deliver full engine ToT?
Leading French engine manufacturer Safran has said that it is ready to transfer the full technology for jet engines that can power next generation fighter jets and has initiated talks on the matter
Kuwait Prepares for Typhoon EIS in 2020
https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2020-02-04/kuwait-prepa…
Thanks for the info.
Safran? Don’t doubt you but how good are Safran at designing landing gear? IIRC (many years ago) it was said that the locally designed gear was about half a ton too heavy. How much weight did Safran manage to remove? 100Kg? 300Kg? 500Kg?
Well., if foreign (Dassault) input did not occur, DRDO or HAL must have suddenly worked out how to fix a long term problem. Is that likely? I do not think so.
What I think is more likely is that Dassault, who know how to design naval landing gear, replaced the inadequate locally designed landing gear (seriously overweight) with a sucessful design.
May not have been an ‘India can do anything’ moment but who cares? The idea is to get results. India did/could not and no amount of self promotion was going to change that.
Regarding the re-designed landing gear, did India buy the knowhow or will any TEDBF need foreign input for successful landing gear design?
IAF should receive the following fighters in 2020:
12 x Tejas, 8 x Rafale. 10 x Su-30MKI
Tejas Mk1A order may be signed at DefExpo 2020 next month.
http://idrw.org/deal-for-83-lca-tejas-and-additional-sukhoi-30-soon-wit…
I’m very sorry, but there were too many promises and now they are again reconsidering to a fighter that is de facto nothing more than a Rafale made in India…
Would be a step in the right direction.
…about then 30 years too late.
I live in the UK. There is an expression about ‘the elephant in the room’. It refers to everyone pretending something enormously awkward to acknowledge is not there when it is in plain sight. That is the situation in the Indian procurement system. There are many elephants in the room, many enormous defects and shortcomings. Hence things that can be done in reasonable time take eons to come about (if they are not cancelled when they are nearly eons late). Sad.
The Indian air force is likely to insist on a clause for development of an indigenous aero engine when it clears a multi-billion dollar programme to go ahead with the next generation Advanced Multirole Combat Aircraft (AMCA) by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
While I appreciate forces would prefer a reliable source for equipment (supplies that cannot be interrupted for political reasons) I find it unusual that an air force should specify the source of supplies.
Sources said that while the first two squadrons of the AMCA will be powered by a variant of American origin GE 414 engine, the project will be clearing in the coming months on the condition that a parallel process be initiated by DRDO to develop a aero engine plant with foreign collaboration. “A clear path towards developing our own aero engine is essential and should be done along the AMCA programme which is being supported. If needed, foreign collaboration from western nations that have advanced technologies can be sought,” senior officials told ET.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/iaf-to-add-clause-on-…
It is not a question of India seeking foreign help if reeded. It is precisely because India is not capable of producing a suitable aero engine itself that foreign help is absolutely required. USA, France, UK will have spent hundreds of billions over the decades getting to the technologic position they are in. And India thinks a few hundred million will buy enough knowhow for Indian engineers to make Kaveri work? More like a few billion, I am afraid to say – if such a ToT is allowed at all by the foreign government concerned.
One alternative would be to get a team of the best, most knowlegeable, foreign programme managers and engineers with experience in the field to take over the programme. Will still costs billions to acquire the minimum knowledge to build engines but it might be possible to develop Indian engines in 10 years or so.
Read more at:
Is Kaveri effectively dead in the water now? This opinion (in my view) says it is going nowhere…
https://swarajyamag.com/defence/why-the-kaveri-engine-programme-is-fail…
… and that India has underestimated the expertise needed to make military jet engines.
Is there any point in India dreaming of locally designed engines if India is not prepared to take the steps needed to realise such a dream? Clearly this project has been mishandled badly enough for Tejas Mk1, Mk1A, MWF, TEDBF all needing to use foreign-designed engines. To be realistic, the same will happen with AMCA.
Can’t see the point of all this thrashing around to get no result (no useful engine) and no capability of making a useful engine in the future. Perhaps India should forget about Kaveri and spend another 20 years learning and experimenting before trying again.
If anyone would like help clarify, I have lost track of the number of indigenous fighters that might be produced and engine / engine thrust requirements
40 Tejas Mk1 1 x GE F404
83 Tejas Mk1A 1 x GE F404
200? MWF 2 x GE F414
60? TEDBF 2 x GE F414
?? AMCA 2 x ??
Thanks for any responses clarifying last 3.
And in other more important news, the MoD, IAF and HAL have finalized negotiations on the price for the 83 Tejas Mk1A fighters. The price of the contract is Rs 26,000 crores, which works out to Rs 310 crore per fighter.
So basically the Tejas Mk1A will cost ~$35 million. Damn cheap for what will be one of the most sophisticated light fighter jets in the world. But I’m disappointed that the delivery schedule will drag on till 2028 at 16 jets per year. Really hope for more – like 20 or 24 per year.
Good news. What a bargain!
IMO GoI will be missing a trick if production capacity is not increased – it helps to replace MiG’s faster or helps to slot any small extra orders (eg exports) in without much disruption to IAF delivery schedule.
Bengaluru, March 25, 2019:
Recently HAL had received drawings and documents related to FOC with limited clearance for LCA (Tejas) from CEMILAC and ADA. With this HAL can start working towards productionisation of FOC standard fighter aircraft. The first aircraft in FOC configuration may roll-out by the end of this calendar year.
Source HAL: https://hal-india.co.in/HAL%20Produces%2016/ND__259
It is near the end of the year. Was not the schedule to deliver 16 FOC Mk1 frames by end March 2020? Anyone know what’s going on (or not going on)?