Any navy planning to operate outside the range of its own shore-based aircraft, & within the range of enemy aircraft, needs a good AAW capability. Is the IN still thinking in terms of local operations only?

I very much doubt if BAe was thinking in terms of selling Type 45 to India. It was probably a case of trying to boost its visibility as a possible source of expertise in the development & production of Indian AAW ships.

I don’t think IN can see any hostile nation in the IOR which require more than the projected capability(the ships work with the two fleets).

That is what i was saying the market in consulting, systems and and other types of naval vessels is too huge for a major player like BAE to ignore.

Indeed. The IN lacks real AAW ships. Hence BAe showing off Type 45.

The Indian Navy does not need any AAW ships, the planned capability in the 7 kolkata+15-b(probably another city-class) is what they plan till 2020 (barring any changes in the IOR climate).
Might as well try an sell the Carrier (chances of buying would be the same).

Another bid wrested by the Americans over the Europeans using political games…the Indian govt used “life cycle” costs to show that the GE engine is cheaper. I am guessing the EJ-200 was per unit cheaper.

Baring a major surprise the MRCA will be the Hornet..

The government can not do that.

Once you call for a price bid, you have to include all the factors for the decision, and once you take a decision on the price bid (when all participants meet the technical bid), you make your decision very easy to analyse (price A is lower than price B).

Once you open the bids up, they can be reviewed in a legal proceeding (if required, lets say Eurojet files a case).

No government or DRDO will manipulate the contract, when they could have straight away gone for the engine.

Even if that is so, it doesn’t mean it will be a worldclass AAW ship (which I think the original discussion was about).

The Kolkata class is a generational development of IN designs, AAW that the Indian navy needs, and is cutting edge in that respect, with a 15-B follow up to the design (as the current one dates back to near 2000), an entire generation of ships displaying designs built to the Indian Navies requirements, instead of it being the other way around.

Kolkata (P15A) is a redesigned Delhi (P15, which is modelled after the Sovremenny concept), much in the same way the Talwar is a redesigned Krivak III. P-15B should probably be viewed more as a P17 relative to a Krivak III or P-17A relative to Talwar.

Of course, P-17A may well be a non-Indian product. From Bharat-Rakshak:

This means it is by no means a given it will be a development of the current P17.

P-15B is still shrouded in mystery, there is no way of telling how cutting edge it is or isn’t.

WTH

If there has been news about it, let’s see some references to sources that have proven reliable in the past. CGs that are about P15A are not cutting it.

which source have proven reliable in the past?

The Project 15A and B ships are nearly identical in all aspects. They use the hull form of Project 15 ships but feature a completely changed superstructure and enhanced sound and infrared signature suppression measures to appear smaller on enemy radar.

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/Story/32769/LATEST%20HEADLINES/Govt+okays+construction+of+4+more+stealth+destroyers.html

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QKkSf03VuFY/S60QNOHPKvI/AAAAAAAACXA/yA5tTupF2hk/s1600/DSC02248.JPG
Photo: INS Kolkata– Suman Sharma, Defexpo-2010

Kolkata class models and drawing over the last decade have changed their superstructure and work was done on heat, sound and radar emissions as the project progressed, more work will be done on the project, priority will be given to build time first and cost, its not that hard to see that, the navy needs these ships.

So?
“A Request for Information (RFI) was reportedly issued to about 12 international firms, mostly in Europe and Russia. By soliciting tenders from so many foreign firms, and insisting on improved stealth requirements, India is implicitly creating the option of having Project 17-A ships use a very different base design than the Project 17 Shivalik class frigates.”
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/india-issues-rfi-for-stealth-frigates-02866/

… even if they were all to be build in India.

One argument put forward was that it would not be wise to manufacture the ship abroad as it incorporated advanced indigenously developed stealth features
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/navy-seals-45-000cr-deal-seven-warships/479132/2

The GRSE-DCNS-Vison comptech JV is expected to work with Directorate General of Naval Design for the design.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/seven-new-stealth-frigates-to-be-built-in-india/365019/

Its another generation of naval design which includes institutions that designed the previous frigates and most of the people involved will be the same.

The Israeli Barak 8 and ER are still in the late developmental phase, the sensor and associated hardware software technology has a lot of work done through the generations, its not like this is the first project they are completing, and the program was selected after considering all available options.

The Kolkata class is a generational development of IN designs, AAW that the Indian navy needs, and is cutting edge in that respect, with a 15-B follow up to the design (as the current one dates back to near 2000), an entire generation of ships displaying designs built to the Indian Navies requirements, instead of it being the other way around. Of-course that also means utilising consulting where it is required, for example the work which will be done upon the Project-15B for signature management (sound, radar and infrared) will be worth good millions of pounds and the BAE with its experience can offer this consulting service.

The military commanders left will take over and the state will become a military dictatorship instead of the whatever strange form of governance they have right now, the military will continue with the old repressive ways, however without a power hungry and mentally insane leader, their decisions will be better.

I think if the north falls their will be one Korea, some bonds run deeper than money.

The original journalists article was regarding an invite to view a T45 launch. Now it may have escaped some Indian attentions, but, the IN has a gaping hole in its AAW capability.
Now, call me stupid if you wish, but, if we want to make wild speculations about Indian journalists brought over to view high-quality British defence products for sales purposes does it not make a great deal more sense that.

Kolkata Class- and follow up Project 15-B, no scope of a AAW destroyer for the next decade.