uss noviceThe F414G, a single-engine variant of the F414-GE-400, delivers 20 percent more thrust for the Gripen Next Generation aircraft than previous powerplants. The NG Demonstrator first flew in May 2008 and has completed more than 100 flights, exhibiting excellent operability and performance in both subsonic and supersonic operation.
I assume they refer to the Volvo RM-12s on the earlier Gripen variants right? Otherwise, you are looking at a 12 ton beast on the Gripen NG 😮 – something I would surely like to see.
USS.
uss novice^^^ I think that would depend upon the ahem, cross section size offered. IOWs, you better have a tight butt, big ass fighters and big ass asses don’t work for stealth. :diablo:
USS.
uss noviceMan that Rafale! 10000kg with 18000kgf thrust! What does this mean for climb rates and supercruise?
Sleek, streamlined, low drag design, RCS considerations from day 1, super EW.
Carries almost twice its damned empty weight! And then she looks so pleasing to the eye. Now THAT is multirole, what a fine evolution from the Mirage 2000!
Hats off to the French, this is like a fantasy fighter!
USS.
uss noviceHAL’s IJT, the HJT-36 Sitara has successfully completed its hot-weather trials in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Also the article speaks about 73 series-production IJT’s being cleared by the CCS in addition to the 12 LSP Sitaras and the IAF showing interest in another 70 more. That’s a total of 155 Sitaras that the IAF may eventually order.
Damn, seems like this little bird is going through more rigorous testing than the MRCA candidates! 44 deg C, that is hot.
USS.
uss novicePerfect cockpit pictures! If anyone knows which aircrafts cockpit it is, it will be wonderful!
Robban, at the risk of being a pest, can you please get a Tejas in the comparison you have between the Gripen, FC-1, and J-10. These are the newest family of LCAs in the world, and it’d be great to see them side on, head on, dorsal/top. Thanks for the enjoyable work.
USS.
uss novicethanks Robban..the dimensions seem to match very closely for the Tejas and the MiG-21..can clearly tell that they did a size comparison with the MiG-21 to draw up the basic dimensions that they’d look for in a MiG-21 replacement..
Interesting in the head-on comparison, the 21 seems to offer less area/cross section for reflection of radio waves – not only in terms of wing span and thickness, but also because of the larger radome and bubble canopy.
HOwever, the Tejas does have a LOT of composites in its structure against the all metallic fishbed.
Also, can anyone tell us if the Tejas will have an internal jammer? (iirc, it was supposed to get a full internal EW suite – MAYAWI?. We know that the MiG-21 bison with an external jammer (EL-8222) proved to be quite the headache for F-16s/F-15s, the Tejas/Gripen might offer better advantages considering the employment of RCS reduction tech in the airframe as well as the carriage of internal jammers.
USS.
uss noviceWho said money for the Pak-Fa is being taken for the MRCA.
Nobody.
India plans to buy both.
Point is, ideally less monies for MRCA should equate to more monies for Pakfa or anything else the IAF might perceive as important.
Still, the biggest issues why this additional Mirage deal did not pan out imho are:
a) The UAE – Rafale deal is up in the air, and
b) Like Swerve alluded, the price might not have been right. French goods are known to be pricey – THe Qatari and relatively new UAE birds might have cost $ 3.5+ billion in themselves, then the additional older UAE a/c might have cost another $ 1.5-2 billion. Plus weapons stocks. PLus the IAF fleet MLU. All of this adds upto $ 8 billion. So whats the point? Spend another $ 2.5 bill and get brand new, better performing a/c instead.
IF however, the price was right, I would’ve opined that buying these birds in lieu of the extra MKIs might have been a better idea.
USS.
uss noviceWhy buy old jets in place of brand new ones if you have the money?
Because you can buy better ones (Pakfa/MCA) with greater benefit to all concerned (since it is a JV) with the money saved? 126 old + new Mirage 2000s and 50 odd Pakfa would be a far better deal for $ 10.5 billion than 126 bugs imho.
USS.
uss noviceThe IAF was happy to get Mirages as the MMRCA because they could only afford that then..if you have the money to buy a MMRCA jet which airforce will buy decades only Mirages?
Err why then do they keep complaining about shortfall in numbers? Btw, they could surely afford the Gripen then too, not to mention the MiG-29M. Like I said the M2k-5/9 is not so far behind the MRCA candidates, esp. not with suitable MLUs in the future.
USS.
uss noviceThe MRCA is not a short term deal. It is going to be the backbone of the IAF fleet for the next three to four decades and a bunch of Mirages all of them more than a decade old and some of them even two to three decades old are simply not going to full-fill the purpose, however capable they may be.
It is a good deal nonetheless because it would allow the IAF to retire many legacy platforms like the MIG 21s and the non upgrade MiG 27s while easing in the much delayed MRCA and LCA.
Sorry Quad, but I disagree. Remember the IAF knew all about this (the idea that the MRCA will be the backbone of the fleet for the next few decades) but their earlier choice was still the Mirage 2000.
Fact is, the current MRCA contenders are not generationally superior to the M2k-5/9. At the same time, the Pakfa or the MCA will be generationally superior to all the MRCA.
So why waste time and money with the bloody MRCA circus? The M2k-5/9 and MLUs will be more than enough esp. as the future will see induction of gen 5 birds.
USS.
uss noviceAll this news about UAE and Qatari M2ks sounds great but we all know that the deal for the IAF fleet upgrade worth $ 2.2 billion has already gone through. So, while it is tempting to fantasize, Dassault/Intel Online might as well hawk their stuff elsewhere.
Not that the idea wasn’t good; I had posted a similar line when the UAE interest in the Rafale became apparent; obviously it was a v.long shot.
USS.
uss novice‘967’ has been photographed with 2 different radomes:
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showpost.php?p=1565543&postcount=858
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/attachment.php?attachmentid=183908&d=1271441351
If the ‘large’ radome pic is more recent- then the assumption of full-scale Zhuk-AE installed, would be reasonable.
Also what about the 9.61? It has a big radome as well. When was that bird made? Lots of questions – this a/c continues to be a bit of a “unicorn”.
USS.
uss noviceRe. RCS reduction:
Russians have used techniques (such as RAM on comp. blades) to bring down RCS levels of legacy fighters by orders of magnitude – X 5 – X 10 times.
MiG-29M/K supposedly has achieved a level of 5X to 10X reduction so should be around 0.5 – 1 msq. To quote Y. Gordon,
“Radar-absorbing material (RAM) coatings will reduce the fighter’s RCS by a factor of 4 to 5 as compared to the ‘basic’ MiG-29.”
There have been other comments claiming more reduction (upto 10 times). The Su-35 for example is now supposedly at 1-3msq.
Anyways, for a/c that carry external tanks and weapons, I wonder how much this truly matters. Also what figures do we have for the ecanards or the shornet and what are the sources? The Rafale I thought was touted @ 1/10th of the Mirage 2000 (so approx. 0.3 msq?). Doug Richardson puts it much higher and closer to the MiG-29K. The Ef-2000 has figures all over the place, from insane numbers of below 0.1 msq by fans to “1/10th of an F-15” (1msq?) by some official not that long ago. The shornet with its radar blockers and angled fins seems to obviously have certain measures, however, how effective they are after the bird is loaded (esp. with outward canted weapons) is anybody’s guess.
USS
uss noviceHmmm, let’s see- superior radar, ATFLIR, JHMCS, wider variety of ordinance, longer range, better nose pointing authority, better short and long range AAMs.:eek:
Did I or did I not say that the 29K is not on par with the Shornet/Rafale as of today? What I did say is that the 29K offers certain advantages that the Shornet/Rafale do not at this point in time (price and STOBAR ops, among others, being distinct advantages for the K). Your post above does little to counter this.
And as far as your list goes, it is hightly doubtful that the Shornet has better nose pointing authority than the 29k. Nor does it have better acceleration, turn rates, IRST or speed. Thankfully, it does have the JHMCS, which will help it even the odds a bit WVR. IOWs, for all its wonderful A2G versatility, the Bug is hardly optimized for A2A, as can be seen from the bandaid type fixes that find their way to it. Still, this does not change the fact that at this point in time the bug offers greater capability than the MiG-29K thanks to some effective electronic wizardry, which should ideally/theoretically help it gain the upper hand BVR.
IOWs, the MiG-29K presently offers adequate capability to the IN in the IOR, comparable to and better than a block 50 F-16, which will be its most likely threat. For the future, imho it offers enough potential in that it has a fabulous basic design that will pay richer dividends than say a Shornet or a viper when loaded with better sensors and avionics/EWS than currently available.
USS.
uss noviceFYI –
Re. Zhuk AE –
The definitive 1064 TRM version is as of now being evaluated on 9.61 – MiG-29K derivative. Check images in RuAF thread. Also, look for P. Butowski’s recent report.
Re. Zhuk M(E)1 – The on the IN MiG-29K
Detection range for 3-5msq targets has been reported between 120-150km. The figures quoted earlier by Prior (no pun intended) are a little old and for the basic ZHuk-M (seen on early MiG-29M and SMT models).
So, yes the naval fulcrum is coming along. However, still not on par with the Shornet and Rafale in all respects. At the same time, the latter are not on par with the K in some respects. STOBAR ops for example, lack of IRST (Shornet), HMS (Rafale), acceleration, speed, turn rates (shornet in p’cular). Another HUGE advantage that the fulcrum possesses is of course, price/cost.
IMHO, the K has plenty more potential than the shornet thanks to a more optimized airframe although the Rafale is the best here.
USS.
Sign In
