EJ200 seems a sensible choice. Ankara shouldn’t put all its eggs in the American basket, particularly not when stuff like this is going on.

Have you become crime apologist ? Seriously, legitimate cyber espionage of allies and eco partners ? What next ? Taking some officials in hostage to claim delivery of industrial secrets ? C’mon…

I would’ve thought that recent disclosures would’ve made it clear that there are no rules in the game of national interest, and that any reading of history would clarify any remaining doubts. One of Snowden’s reasons for leaking the material he did is because he found that much of his work wasn’t about ‘protecting the American people’, but rather industrial espionage, including against supposedly allied nations. Of all nations the United States has the least reason to engage in such activities, but it does. We know China and Russia do. The US has long accused France of industrial espionage, and probably accurately. Everyone conducts espionage in such strategically sensitive areas, and it would be irresponsible not to. Even if one were inclined to credit ethical considerations, there really aren’t any — we’re not exactly talking about assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists here, as certain nations like to do (or tacitly approve of). The only limit on India’s espionage activities should be imposed by its determination of national interest, which certainly includes such factors as potential fallout in terms of relations with other nations. Nonetheless, in light of the vast opportunities and asymmetries of exposure that industrial espionage would seem to offer for India, it would be a very shortsighted if the nation’s intelligence apparatus was not developed to an advanced level and deployed accordingly.

The latest series of documents from Edward Snowden via Der Spiegel reportedly includes details on F-35 data known to have been obtained by Chinese intelligence:

The Age

The leaked document shows that stolen design information included details of the JSF’s radar systems which are used to identify and track targets; detailed engine schematics; methods for cooling exhaust gases; and “aft deck heating contour maps”.

How does the value of this kind of data compare with that offered by expensive ToT arrangements with western (and Russian) corporates?

India’s intelligence apparatus is reportedly woefully underfunded (amongst other deficiences). I suspect that investments in industrial and cyber-espionage capabilities could pay great dividends for the nation over the coming decades, much as it has for China.

I note that HAL would like to double Tejas Mk1 full scale production rate from 8 per annum to 16. I don’t think this is because Mk2 is ahead of schedule and Mk1 production facilities will be needed earlier than expected.

Source? Better yet, link it in the IAF or Tejas threads. 🙂

Why would the IAF be shipping the mission computer to Russia for servicing, isn’t it actually sourced from India itself, a home-grown product?

First batch is different.

In modern usage, “terrorist” is simply a label used to refer to People The State Doesn’t Like, usually because they are challenging the authority of The State — an entity, incidentally, that has no more basis in reality than Allah.

All this speculation about the specifics of contract clauses, ploys and counter-ploys, etc. reminds me of the disclaimer one sometimes finds at the beginnings of books or films: “any resemblance between these characters and persons living or dead is purely coincidental.”

If they don’t get Rafale its time to seriously consider a new export F-15E+ version or Typhoon. Buying more MKI is a regression from the goal.

If you abandon the ToT angle from Rafale/MMRCA then anything *but* more MKI (and Tejas) is a waste of time. What would expensive Typhoon or F-15 imports bring over Su-30MKI? At best you’re looking at marginal gains in certain areas of capability, at the cost of inducting yet another type (for which you’ve just set up an overhaul facility no less) and shooting yourself in the foot re: Super-30 upgrades, future weapons integration, etc.

If the Rafale deal doesn’t go through, then additional MKIs and Tejas will fill the gap as best as possible, and that’s it.