There was a single time when I have seen a foreign design win on Discovery channel. AK-47 for the best assault rifle ever produced. Frankly I was amazed that they let someone else win but I’d guess the AK is being just too legendary to omit it.

Actually the MIG 15 won the best fighter I think or it was second behind the Mustang 😉

I saw this ages ago. Notice the trend in the Video (American stuff always wins, Even when the Russians have Fifth gen and Space based fighters). The whole dofights series is biased to the core only showing Air to Air victories of American/Israeli Aces while totally neglecting the other side.

They could learn a bit from Discovery actually because many of their documentaries about fighters and dog-fights are even handed and they often feature aces from the enemy camp.

To be honest the whole NPT regime is unfair in not letting new countries develop Nuclear Weapons. Like the Indian P.M said only global disarmament will dissuade nations like Iran from giving up their Nuclear Weapons Porgram. Otherwise they and many others will follow the example of India, Pakistan and Israel.

Neither do I blame these three countries. Unless the Big five give up their weapons they should not dicate others not to develop them.

India to buy more MiG-29Ks

NEW DELHI: Decks have now been cleared for India to order another batch of MiG-29Ks after the specially-designed maritime fighters underwent
successful flight-deck trials from Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov in the Barents Sea on September 28-29.

Defence ministry sources said the fresh order for 29 more MiG-29Ks from Russia for around Rs 5,380 crore (around $1.12 billion) will “soon” be sent to the Cabinet Committee of Security for the final approval.

These jets will be in addition to 16 MiG-29Ks already contracted through the initial $1.5-billion Admiral Gorshkov package deal, which earmarked $974 million for the aircraft carrier’s refit and the rest for the fighters, inked in January 2004.

While the military asymmetry with China is quite stark, aircraft carrier operations is one particular arena in which India is ahead of its much larger neighbour.

Grappling it may be with only 11 Sea Harrier jump-jets now, India’s solitary aircraft carrier, the 28,000-tonne INS Viraat, has just undergone an 18-month life extension refit to ensure it can run smoothly for another five years.

China, in contrast, does not have an aircraft carrier. But it’s furiously working to build them, apart from refurbishing the former Soviet Kuznetsov-class carrier Varyag and seeking to buy Su-33 carrier-borne fighters from Russia.

India, of course, will get the fully-refurbished Gorshkov only by early-2013, with New Delhi and Moscow likely to agree to a revised refit cost of around $2.6 billion. The first four of the contracted 16 MiG-29Ks, however, will touch down in India in October-November this year.

Though the fresh order for 29 more MiG-29Ks was cleared by Defence Acquisitions Council, chaired by defence minister A K Antony, quite some time ago, it was hanging fire since the fighters developed for India were still to be tested for take-offs and landings on an aircraft carrier.

“India wanted the MiG-29Ks to be proven in carrier-deck operations before inking the follow-on order for 29 more fighters…it was critical. Now, only a few weapon trials of MiG-29Ks are left,” said a source.

MiG-29Ks will operate from both 44,570-tonne Gorshkov — rechristened INS Vikramaditya after India has already paid $602 million for its refit — as well as the 40,000-tonne indigenous aircraft carrier being built at the Cochin Shipyard, which should roll out by 2014-2015.

Armed with eight types of air-to-air missiles, including extended range BVR (beyond visual range) missiles, as well as 25 air-to-surface weapons for land-attack missions, the MiG-29Ks will provide the Navy with a lethal punch on the high seas.

The jets will also be capable of mid-air refuelling from IL-78 tankers as well as other MiG-29Ks under `buddy-tanking’. While 12 of the first 16 fighters will be the single-seat `K’ variants, the other four will be twin-seater `KUB’ trainer versions. Similarly, four of the next 29 jets will be `KUB’ trainer versions.

To prepare for MiG-29Ks, 10 Indian naval pilots have already undergone training on them, even as shore-based training facilities have been established at INS Hansa in Goa.

Moreover, some naval pilots have also trained on the MiG-29s flown by IAF, while a few others have done courses in the US on combat manoeuvres undertaken from aircraft carriers under a $26 million agreement.

All this is needed since Indian naval pilots do not have the experience of `conventional’ fighters like MiG-29Ks, which land on ship decks with arrestor wires. The `unconventional’ Sea Harrier jump-jets in use land vertically on INS Viraat.

I request you all to post Indian Navy/Naval Aviation News here than in IAF thread.

A combined Rafale and Gripen force would be awfully powerful compared to anything fielded by its neighbors.

If Chavez gets more Su 30s – 35s then that may change a bit 😉

Do you have an automatic mode in your pc that when ever you see American you automatically assume it will be better than something fielded by the IAF and built by the Russians?

Its newer and America has more money to develop things so its safe to assume that a newer American product will always be better than an older Russian one.

IAF is not in the same situation, IAF can buy not only the 1st gen additional pod that is on the F/A-18 but also IRST’s on the Mig-35 and the Typhoon. Both of which probably offer higher value for money for the IAF than the F/A-18E/F

Kindly tell me what you mean by first generation IRST pod. I think it will be far more capable than the system on the MKI for example.