EW on Mig-29m are indigenous same will be case with MIRAGE-2000 as well. Anyway potential cost savings from a single engine and rdy-2 alone is not enough to mainly justify spending 60+ million on aircraft. As i said before whether Mig-29 or M-2000 win out will mainly depend on how much IAF is impressed with navy’s Mig-29k and the Mirage-2000-5 when they are procured from UAE.

even MIG-29m will cost close to $45m. and when u use it for 300 hrs per year the cost saving of single engine is substantial. i have read $5500 per hr Mig to $2700 per hr for Mirages. not to mention diversity of weopons. MKi and M are essentially using same weopons.

ok this for there more russian reliable media. If china opts for al-31 license than it means there ws-10 is failure otherwise they will wait it for there success.

Russian manufacturer to deliver 100 more air engines to China

MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax-AVN) – A $300 million contract was signed on delivery of another batch of AL-31FN aircraft engines to China, a source in the Russian defense industry told Interfax-Military News Agency Monday.

“Rosoboronexport and the Moscow based Salyut machine-building enterprise signed a contract with China on delivery of 100 AL-31FN air engines to equip Chinese J-10 fighters, the contract’s price estimated at $300 million,” the source said.

He recalled that Salyut delivered 54 such engines to China in 2002-2004. “It is the second contract, but not the last one,” the source said.

According to him, after 100 engines are delivered to China, another contract for about the same number of aircraft engines may be signed. It is possible that about 150 AL-31FN engines at a total price of $900 million will be sold to China in the coming six years.

Salyut’s Chief Executive Officer Yury Yeliseyev mentioned the possible sales of AL-31FN engines in earlier interviews with Interfax-AVN.

“Fifty-four engines we have delivered are not the last batch. We have an application of Chinese partners to provide them with one more batch that is much larger than the previous one. We hope that it is not going to be the last contract either,” he said.

According to Yeliseyev, outright procurement is being discussed now, but it is also possible that the engine will be manufactured in China on license if it wishes.

1 M2K-5 is clearly better than 3 MIG-29 India has. just look at fuel consumption and twin engine maintainance. Mirage has superior EW suite and radar and can carry 6 MICA and has smaller rcs. shooting down 3 Migs with 6 Mica should not be problem and with 3 external tanks giving the Mirage enough range to disengage from the combat compared to short range Migs.

http://www.hindu.com/2005/07/10/stories/2005071002271000.htm
IAF reluctant to place orders for LCA

Ravi Sharma

Indian Air Force wants management of the LCA to be transferred to HAL

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The in-charge Aeronautical Development Agency not for it
Airworthiness responsibility will be on us, ADA says
IAF shopping for around 126 multi-role combat aircraft
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BANGALORE: The indigenously developed light combat aircraft (LCA) programme is in danger of being undermined by time overruns. The Indian Air Force is delaying taking to its natural conclusion the announcement made last February by Chief of the Air Staff S.P. Tyagi that orders would be placed “soon” for 40 LCAs.

Apprehension

Highly-placed sources told The Hindu that even while the paperwork for an order of 20 aircraft in a Rs. 2,000-crore deal was being processed, the IAF was “highly apprehensive” of the time and cost overruns, and poor management.

The IAF is keen that the management of the Rs. 5,500-crore, 22-year-old LCA programme be transferred from the technology development agency — Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) — to the production agency, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Something that ADA is reluctant to do, despite the fact that the presence of two agencies and the resultant dual control have played havoc with the management and time schedules of the LCA programme.

Explained a senior scientist at ADA: “As designers of the aircraft, the airworthiness responsibility will continue to be with us. So too will any new installation or upgradation of software, changes in the avionics and integration of future sensors and we are the signatories for all of the aircraft’s safety features. We will continue to have responsibility for the LCA programme at least until the aircraft is inducted into the IAF. [Which will not happen before 2009-10].”

Blame game

Dual control has resulted in a mutual blame game. While HAL sources criticised ADA for not providing HAL (which is to manufacture the LCA) with the blueprints of the aircraft, scientists at ADA said that the talk of blueprints was passé.

“We have transferred the technology to HAL. Our designs in real time are available to them at their Aircraft Research and Design Centre, where we have invested Rs. 40 crores. They can draw a soft copy of the aircraft’s designs through the product line management systems and then make a 3D model. At any time, Rs. 20 crores of LCA money is parked with HAL.”

Carrier trials

Presently Tejas is undergoing carrier trials and by the end of 2005 weapon integration trials are also expected to start. Both are part of the aircraft’s initial operational clearance (IOC) phase, which requires around 1,200 sorties. Successful IOC clearance (which is scheduled to be achieved by 2009-10) will mean inducting the aircraft into the IAF’s combat units. Only final operational clearance will mean that the aircraft is ready to go into battle.

Currently two technology demonstrators and a prototype of the LCA are flying, and together they have undertaken over 440 flights.

ADA plans to build seven aircraft — two technology demonstrators and five prototypes — in the technology demonstration phase.

Thereafter, HAL’s factories in Bangalore, Lucknow, Korwa and Hyderabad will take up the manufacture of the eight limited series production (LSP) aircraft.

Amount sanctioned

Sources at ADA said the Government had sanctioned over Rs. 500 crores for manufacturing the LSP aircraft and an equal amount for building of infrastructure at HAL, specifically for the LSP.

While the first LSP is scheduled to roll out by early 2007, all eight are scheduled to be ready by 2008-09. The eight aircraft will be built to the same specifications as those that are to be inducted into the IAF. An aircraft or even two will be detailed for handling flights.

The ADA’s insistence that it would like to be in charge of the LCA programme even during the LSP phase has caused consternation in HAL. It means waiting longer before it is given the financial management of the project.

Experts are of the view that ADA, which is a Defence Research and Development Organisation laboratory and was created specifically for the LCA project, could be merged with the HAL’s aircraft design bureau. The ADA team can thereafter carry on its work as part of the manufacturing agency’s design bureau.

Concern

The IAF’s concern is that once an order is placed for 20 LCAs, it will not only have to budget at least Rs. 2,000 crores for the aircraft, but also part with a substantial portion of the money. This will mean that its options to buy other aircraft — if the LCA fails to arrive — will be severely curtailed.

A desperate IAF, which has seen its fighter squadrons shrink from the authorised strength of 39 and a half, because of the phasing out of a number of aircraft, is presently shopping around for 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA).

But the IAF has stressed that the MRCA deal — which is worth around $9 billion — will in no way impinge on its requirement for LCAs, which will be in the region of 200. These aircraft are to take the place of the IAF’s MiG-21s.

yes russia will be quite happy to sell if directly comes from there production line.

size of nose, rcs and aircraft having better situational awarness also matters as aircraft having these advantages will enter the combat zone with better speed and height.

adding different engines or airframe changes does not make any sense for old fighters. better buy new fighter all together. weopons and avionics is the cost effective way

Armada International, April-May 2005

Quite apart from a total strip-down to bare ribbing, the
rebuildincludes a major shifting operation around the nose bulkhead to
accommodate the new Fiar Grifo radar. Indeed the nose cone of the F-5 is so sharplytapered, fitting the larger diameter antenna would have either
commanded a total redesign of the cone or moving the bulkhead backward inside the cone.The former option would have required aerodynamic wing tunnel tests so the latter solution was retained. This also entailed the deletion of one of the guns for space reasons which, according to Embraer, does not impair theaircraft’s attack performance, the loss being amply compensated by theincreased accuracy afforded by the new radar. The latter offers an angle ofview of +/- 60[degrees] compared with a total of 45[degrees] with the older radar. Elbit is in charge of all the avionics integration at Giaviao Peixotoand the other modifications are expected to turn the aircraft into the mostcapable fighter in Latin America. .