Project Richard and Project Thukrana – Indian Air Force to establish largest training range and missile base in Rajasthan
http://www.india-defence.com/reports-4122

The defence ministry will establish a huge Air Force base close to the international border in Rajasthan, moving aggressively to secure the country’s western frontiers. The 300-km range supersonic cruise missile BrahMos will be stored at this base, defence ministry sources said.

The ministry is acquiring land in Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar districts, where the Indian Air Force will store some of its most sophisticated long-range missiles. The base will be the IAF’s biggest practice station.

Defence Estate Officer KJS Chauhan confirmed the acquisition process of 29,562 acres at Hanumangarh, around 120-125 km from the border with Pakistan. The IAF has a station in Jodhpur, about 350 km from the border.

According to defence ministry sources, IAF has two projects proposed for the land: Project Richard and Project Thukrana.

Project Richard involves setting up a missile base. The BrahMos missiles will not only be stationed but also stocked there.

Under Project Thukrana, the defence ministry will set up an air force practice station, the biggest close to an international border in the country, ministry sources said.

Mugdha Sinha, who was collector of Hanumangarh till last week, said, “Hurdles for the acquisition have been almost sorted out with farmers.”

The defence ministry will spend more than Rs220 crore towards compensation and rehabilitation of the residents of Moter, Dhandhusur, Bannasur, Bangasur and Dheerdeshur villages.

Is it safe to stock long range missiles so close to the border and revealing the same to media. why not store them in major airbases far away from borders.

This, however, doesn’t take into account ToT, a primary criterion in this competition. European (and Russian) contenders regain the advantage here, especially Dassault (and Sukhoi) since they offer (nearly ?) full ToT with AESA. The Rafale also benefits from the good image of the Mirages among the IAF staff, but I’ve no idea of the weight of such a factor in the final decision.

TOT factor would probably go against US in Indias competition. This is because of hi-performance of APG-79 and its electronic attack capabilities, US is unlikely to offer TOT (atleast for the AESA Radar) like France, EADS, Russia or even the Swedish Gripen. They might offer a downgraded version for TOT but in that case, it would be interesting to see how it would compare with Rafales or Typhoons AESA Radar.

BTW is there any chance that F-35 will be offered for license production sometime in future to non-partner nations?

offsets are 30% which means 630 mil dollar of business to Indian companies.
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/aerospace/archives/158640.asp

Boeing reportedly agreed to offset commitments for about 30 percent of the contract’s value. Offsets represent investments Boeing will make in the country.

Boeing declined immediate comment, saying it will hold a conference call with media Tuesday to discuss the deal with India.

Boeing began final assembly of the first P-8A for the U.S. Navy at its Renton plant this past summer. That plane will make its first flight in the third quarter and then be handed over to the Navy for flight testing. The third P-8A is now in final assembly in Renton.

Boeing will build five test planes for the Navy before starting production of 108 more – assuming Congress and the new administration approve all the needed funding. Current plans call for the Navy jets to be delivered through 2017, with peak production reaching 13 planes a year. International sales, in addition to those for India, could bring dozens of more orders for the P-8A.

The Navy plans to field the first operational P-8A squadron in 2013.

Before the recent Boeing Machinists strike, which was settled in November, the 737 line in Renton was producing more than 30 commercial jets a month on two moving production lines. For the P-8A program, Boeing opened a third production line. The military version of the 737 must be separated from the two commercial lines because of government requirements.

A year ago, the U.S. Navy grounded 39 of its P-3 Orion sub hunters – nearly a quarter of the fleet – because of concerns about fatigue cracking in the wings. The Navy has been talking with Boeing about possibly speeding up delivery of the P-8A to deal with the Orion problems.

The Navy plane will mostly hunt for submarines. It will be able to carry 120 sonobuoys, which are dropped in the ocean to track subs. It also has two pylons under each wing for weapons. The P-8A can be refueled while flying. Inside the P-8A, the crew will sit at computers analyzing data from the jet’s sensors, much as they do now on Boeing’s 707 airborne and control plane, as well as the 737 airborne early warning planes being built for Turkey and Australia.

timeline and process of aquisition
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/indias-navy-holding-maritime-patrol-aircraft-competition-updated-01991/

Nov 2005- India was negotiating for two ex USN P-3C orions as a stop-gap

Dec 2005- RFP sent to following companies
BAE (Nimrod)
Boeing (P-8A MMA)
IAI/Elta (Dassault Falcon 900 MPA)
Lockheed Martin (P-3C Orion)
Northrop-Grumman (Global Hawk, presumably)
EADS (CN-235MP, AT3 Atlantique, ATR-72MP, modified A319)
Rosoboronexport (IL-38 “May” and TU-142 “Bear”, both currently in service)

Feb 2006- Navy backed out of the proposal to buy 2 P-3 orions

April 2006- Bids were received from all the companies

August 2007- India completes evaluation of all aircraft.

Feb 2008- Speculation about P-8 selected in the competition

May 2008- Talks to finalize the P-8 deal.

Jan 2009- deal formally signed with Boeing.
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i hope every major defence deal is followed in the same way. In the first year: bids request, received and evaluated, second year: evaluation and selection of the aircraft, third year- financial neogtiations and signing the deal.

Well, in my opinion it shows that modern avionics just have their price. And nobody (including the Russians !) can produce them at discount prices.
I guess this ends the myth of Russia beeing able to produce modern hardware at incredibly low prices.
Dunno why, but somehow the username Star49 and his mantra now springs to my mind. 😀

what special avionics were fitted to Mig-29K which were apparently not there during the deal signed in 2004. article mentions they added self defence chaff pods.

there was an article on the IAF looking for a new AAM for its Jaguar fleet of all, I guess since its Magic-II arsenal was approaching its calendar end life.. the contenders were said to be the Python5, ASRAAM and AIM-9Sidewinder. I’m not sure what exactly prevents the R-73 from being used, as the IAF’s stocks of R-73s are quite large.

No i meant R-73 is getting older and i didn’t read about newer versions of R-73 being inducted by Russian fighter airforces.

Probably these will be integrated on to the MKI and other Russian aircraft in India’s inventory at some point.

any idea if thats still under development or being inducted by Russian airforce?

Well, I believe the current Indian Goverment and IAF would support a US Type. Yet, its clear the Indian Public still has some reservations. Which, is clear as my sometimes rather direct comments get some Indian Supporters on edge. (not my intent) Regardless, it depends as in all countries on the politics on the ground. As much as the merits of the competitors. So, my guess is the Senior Indian Leadership will sell the American Types and a more Strategic Alliance with the US as the best choice for India. If, that fails they would look to a European Type (Rafale, Typhoon, or Gripen) as a fall back position. If, that fails well you always have the Russians………:o
That is just my personal opinion or take on the situation……….;)

Scooter will US allow India to license produce F-18SH and its Systems like AESA, probably even weapons. Because Europeans & Russians are sure to offer everything India wants in terms of license production & TOT.

I also wonder how would sanction affect P-8I deal if India conducts Nuclear test and things like that which might clash with US interest in future

simple P-8I will suffer. Navy has the experience with Sea Kings. However this time Indo-US relationships are said to be stronger than ever before. So lets hope that either India doesn’t test or US doesn’t impose sanctions.

atleast with MRCA, there is license production. There is nothing with P-8I, every single spare part should come from Boeing or may be IN can use spare parts provided to Air Indias 737 during times of sanctions :p

and BTW whats the difference between P-8I and P-8A?

In Gaza, Both Sides Reveal New Gear
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=3885990&c=FEA&s=CVS

TEL AVIV – A week into Israel’s Operation Cast Lead against Gaza-launched rocket attacks, air power advocates humbled from the 2006 Lebanon War remained hopeful that this time standoff strikes alone could shape the desired diplomatic end-state.

The Israeli air assault, which began Dec. 27 after prolonged rocket attacks by Hamas fighters, is using new ISR systems and better joint and service planning to shrink the sensor-to-shooter loop.

At press time, multiple active-duty Israeli combat brigades supported by thousands of reserve forces stood ready for orders to enter the densely populated strip. But many here are arguing against adding ground troops to the war between Israel and Hamas, a conflict in which civilians are on both sides’ front lines.

Nevertheless, he said, continuous surveillance, targeting and attack operations are diluting enemy weapon stocks and preventing them from rearming. “We’re in this for the long haul, and we’ll continue aggressively yet cautiously until the enemy runs out of either weapons or the will to fight us.”

The Campaign So Far

Through Jan. 2, Israel claims to have destroyed more than 500 targets, including about 100 tunnels, one-third of the underground passages built by Hamas and other militant groups to smuggle and store rockets, weaponry and other supplies.

Since the airstrikes began Dec. 27, the Israel Air Force has flown 555 fighter sorties, 125 helicopter missions and hundreds of UAV flight hours. Those figures include the initial surprise attack, in which 88 aircraft simultaneously struck 100 preplanned targets within a record span of 220 seconds.

The Israel Air Force is claiming a 95 percent success rate on that opening attack on Hamas training bases, weapon depots, the presidential compound and headquarters of Hamas police and security forces.

“Apparently, we did not have any misses, but we had some munition failures where bombs didn’t eject or a pilot chose not to release for various technical reasons,” an IDF officer said.

In the first week following the opening attack, Israel repeatedly demonstrated its ability to act on intelligence well within one minute, sources here say. In many cases, where hovering aircraft identified preplanned targets and were awaiting authorization to kill, the cycle was shaved to the time it took for missiles to hit the ground.

“When pilots are actually waiting for authorization to push the pickle, the loop may be just a matter of seconds,” an IDF officer said. “Depending on what targets are involved, what munitions are used, and the elevation, it could take 15 seconds for the missile to arrive.”

Defense and industry sources here said the Israel Air Force made unprecedented, coordinated use of the one-ton Mk84 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) to attack buildings and tunnels along the Gaza-Sinai border, as well as dropping the 500-pound variant against underground bunkers. Other gear making its combat debut or seeing expanded use include synthetic aperture radar targeting pods; vertical, high-resolution aerial imaging pods; Shoval UAVs; and a range of laser-guided bombs and missiles.

But sources also attributed air power successes thus far to intimate knowledge of the Gaza Strip; meticulous planning; and new procedures for gathering, processing and disseminating expanded sources of intelligence.

“The real story is intelligence gathering and fusion,” a senior defense official said. He refused to elaborate for security reasons.

For the first time, for example, Israel’s Shin Bet Security Service was part and parcel of operational planning, execution and after-action assessments, sources here say. This alone allowed Israel to start the war with a list of more than 400 targets, which were dispatched within four days and continually replenished.

In comparison, Israel started the Lebanon War with only about 150 preplanned targets, required about 10 days to destroy them all, and found it difficult to find more, Israeli defense analyst Amir Rappaport said.

“This time, they’re a lot more ready across multiple parameters,” said Rappaport, author of a widely acclaimed book on the 2006 war. “They learned critical lessons from Lebanon, yet most are careful not to try to fight in Gaza the way they should have fought in Lebanon.”

The IDF officer agreed, calling the military “more focused and much better prepared.”

But he said, “There’s only one thing more dangerous than learning from history; and that’s learning from history. You can’t draw parallels between the two wars. It’s a different ballgame, against a different adversary much less capable than Hizbollah. And because the terrain is easier, our aerial superiority is decisive, the ranges are so much shorter and the war aims are much more modest, there’s a lot more reason to believe we can succeed here without ground maneuver.”

Minimizing Collateral Damage

Although most of the 440-some deaths so far have been armed fighters and others associated with the Hamas regime, Israel acknowledges that unintended killings of innocents are unavoidable because Gaza is among the most densely populated areas in the world, and because Hamas has built its war-fighting strategy around the use of human shields, with arms caches stored in or under mosques, schools and other targets formerly considered off-limits by the IDF.

In this war, however, Israeli Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni told reporters here, Israel will strike all targets associated with what she called the illegitimate, terrorist government of Hamas. At the same time, Israel is striving to distinguish between the Hamas government and its fighting forces and those innocents caught in the middle.

IDF sources said the Air Force dropped 400,000 leaflets since the beginning of hostilities warning people of pending attacks. Additionally, the Shin Bet security service actually telephoned residents of specific buildings and apartment blocks, giving them up to 15 minutes to leave the area.