What about power plant for PAF JF-17, which engine is RD-95 or WS-13 ?

Unless they fully developed/integrated/tested/certified WS-13 on JF-17 in total secret…its suppose to fly in a week or two’s time…i think the engine is more than likely to be RD-93.

Sumeet…thanks for the above information. Its apparent that this conversion was rejected due to its feasibility/cost effectiveness and not because it was not possible. My argument was that MKI is a heavily modified flanker in the same way as F-16 block 60 is heavily modified version of earlier viper/falcon. While they can be labelled as ‘almost’ new designs due to extreme modifications, they cannot be branded as new designs.

So that’s it?
And would the last one to leave please turn off the lights!

Distiller…the issue still persists. You might have missed, but i also posted the same article above. DID used Forcaste Internatioal as its sources (also posted above), which in turn have relied on BR/The Hindu report posted a few days ago.

The US knows what it must do to win over India. Since it has not followed through, I guess the engagement is off! The US feels that it needs Pakistan (for whatever reason) and that for it is more important than playing ball with India.

Well if the MKI is any indication then it is a forgone conclusion that the 5th gen fighter will be a winner.

I think it was Sergei Ivanov who recently said to the effect…cold war era (in terms of political egagement/decisions) was a heaven compared to what is happening today. So very true. Geopolitics is changing at such a rapid pace that foreign policy experts are finding it hard to keep abreast. US feels it needs Pakistan to stabilise Afghanistan and would need it for Iran. It would need India to manage (containment is an old word) and also Iran. India needs US to for her nuclear aspirations as well as her desire to become a permanent member of security council. The list goes on, and i guess some really interesting times (difficult for diplomats) ahead.

If all these fighters are to be displayed/flown at Aero India 2007, their manufacturers are likely to be thinking that have a real chance of winning MMRCA competition. However, considering the differences between different machines it brings us back to square one, i.e. what are the requirements of IAF for this competition. We’ll probably get a better idea once RFPs are issued.

another interesting point Kaveri RFP is only sent to Saturn and Snecma. why would Snecma help unless Rafale is chosen and there is big engine order. and overdependence question does not arise when u want 100%in house.

Sorry, but i fail to see the logic behind your question regarding Snecma and Rafale.
As for overdependence, if around 60% of IAF’s fleet (not to mention the better part of it) is composed of fighters from a single source, i would call it overdependence. Cosidering, India’s rising stature in world, increasing importance of military power to safeguard her intersts at home and abroad, deep desire to keep her policies independent, and ever changing geopolitical situation, i dont think India would want to be overdependent on any country in any way. Having said, here is an interesting thought. Both India and Russia have signed IPR agreement. Would joint ventures like Pak-FA/Mig-35 (if it happens) fall under IPR, i.e. wouldn’t India require Russian permission to upgrade them further from third sources?

Russia’s MiG-35 will compete with US, Swedish and French jet fighters in the Indian tender.

Does anyone know for sure what IAF’s current requirements for its MMRCA competition are? The way things are going, its likely that RFP (which may be converted into RFQ?) would be issued for Mig-35/F-18/Rafale/Gripen and may be F-16/Typhoon. The list includes both single and twin engined fighters, while other big differences between these machines also exist, e.g. take a look at weights of Gripen and Mig-35. So its all a little confusing. OTOH while fighters like Rafale/Typhoon might prove to be cost prohibitive (???), there may also be political reasons for addition of some of these machines in this competition. Having said this, where do yous think the real competition would lie???