[USER=”76365″]RALL[/USER] – Yes, the FGFA – as the program was defined – is almost certainly dead. But the biggest reason why that is so is because the Indians scoped it as a two seater. They did this because, historically, they’ve had success with it. But past success really isn’t a good reason to keep doing something. I mean, armies have historically had great success with chariots too…but you would never use them on a battlefield now.
If you look at the information technology aspect of where all the 5th and 6th gen programs are going, it is all about sensor fusion, pilot assistance, battlespace management and networking – and expanding this on to UAV helpers. The goal is to use the greater processing power to assist the pilot as the weapons officer would have in the past. The goal is to put less people in the line of fire and to give the pilot the ability to have the necessary (and sorted, prioritized) information necessary so that when he does goes in the line of fire he can do so with minimal risk. Having a second man in the cockpit is both retro and useless.
Give the Indian military a while longer to watch the other programs while working with the Rafale and they will head down the same path. The Russians likely knew the two seater concept was a mistake from the start. I mean, they never really tried to woo the Indian military by flying a two seater.
But in the near future, India has to do one of two things – go with a Su-57 variant (a single seater) or solidly lock in a partnership deal to develop AMCA fast. It’s not going to take China more than a few years to solve its engine woes well enough to fight test and field Ws-15. If they do neither, they will lose a lot of power projection capability in SE Asia.
Sign In
