Indian fighter purchase - RFPs to Dassault, SAAB, MiG, F-16

The Indian MoD is believed to have issued request for information (RFIs) to Dassault Aviation of France for the Mirage 2000-V, SAAB of Sweden for the Gripen and RAC MiG for the MiG-29 MRCA to bid for acquiring 126 fighter jets, an Indian newspaper reported quoting unnamed Indian defense ministry sources as saying.

The government may also invite Lockheed Martin for the F-16 and an appropriate request may be made to the US government for this.

The Indian Air Fore needs 65 squadrons to effectively patrol the huge Indian airspace but its strength is down to 37 squadrons due to loss of aircraft in accidents, mainly the old MiG-21, 23 and 27. Of late, the IAF has been shake by a series of accidents involving the Mirage-2000 which are nearly two decades old in its fleet.

The fighter purchase plan calls for 126 fighters as part of the long term plan of the IAF to equip its front-line squadrons with a light, agile and multi-role fighter.




source : www.aeroindianews.com...

The Indian Air Force(IAF) is expected to be on its way to buying over 100 new fighter aircraft to replace its ageing fleet of MiG-21 and other variants of the MiG family. These light fighters are meant to serve as a bridge between the gradual phasing out of the MiG -21s and the induction of India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The planners of the IAF are reported to have drawn up a requirement for 44 fighter squadrons as part of its forces projection exercise for the next 10 years. This is said to consist of the Sukhoi 30 MKI at the top followed by the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and the Mirage2000. The older Russian fighters such as the MiG-21, 23 and 27 are to be gradually edged out.



The 44 squadron requirement is part of a war gaming secnario wherein this is the number which would be required to deal a situation arising out a conflict with Pakistan where all guns are blazing on both sides and India will have to discourage China from coming to the aid of Pakistan. In the remote possibility of a simultaneous conflict with Pakistan and China, India will require about 55-60 squadrons to “hold” both its perceived enemies.




Mirage 2000-5

However, the current IAF fighter squadrons in fighting fit condition are reported to be about 30--35. The only new aircraft on the horizon are the 140 Sukhoi-30MKI to be licence-manufactured in India. Beyond that, the IAF will have to wait till 2015 for the first five squadrons of the LCA to enter squadron service. This leaves the IAF with a considerable shortfall of modern fighters if it has to meet its threat perception which has thrown up a requirement for about 5-10 squadrons of a modern multi-role, light and agile fighter.

If recent comments by the IAF chief, Air Chief marshal S.Krishnaswamy and occasional reports on the subject appearing in the Indian media quoting several unnamed sources in the MoD are to be believed, the most likely supplier is the French Dassault with its Mirage 2000-V. Others in contention whose names are going around the defence circuit in New Delhi include the Swedish SAAB with its Gripen and the U.S. F-16. The last mentioned may sound quite improbable given that Pakistan, India’s most likely foe in an aerial combat has the F-16 as the frontline fighters in its inventory, but recent warmth in relationship between Delhi and Washington has given a window of opportunity to Lockheed Martin which has opened an India office, and is believed to have made presentations on selling a variety of military aircraft.

Which one would you choose if you had to ?

I'd go for the F-16.
India alredy has over 250 Mig-29 and lots of mirage-2000's alredy.
i dint think too highly of the saab grippen

id like to see both F 16s and Mig's together in action. would be fun. i hope the deal comes thru.

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IF U TELL UR SECRET TO THE WIND DONT BLAME THE WIND FOR TELLING UR SECRET TO THE TREES

Depends on the best buy..its a money vs. better plane thing...IAF already has the infrastructure to service european jets..so that way typhoon Mirage V seems cost effective...but as always the F-16 is one super-duper plane IMHO..my fav USAF plane..

Originally posted by Stealth Spy
Which one would you choose if you had to ?

I'd go for the F-16.
India alredy has over 250 Mig-29 and lots of mirage-2000's alredy.
i dint think too highly of the saab grippen

I'd go for the F-16C Block 60, or maybe the Block 50/52 if ya can't go for the '60.

All 3 variants are superior the MiG-29, Mirage 2000, and the JAS-39.

I'd be willing to bet that the contract will be split between Mirage 2k-9s and SMTs. However, a spate of recent articles from independant sources say that the Rafele may be a surprise front runner.

how good are the grippen's ??
russia's offer o mig-29 m2's is better than the block 70 ,or what ?


[edit on 3-4-2005 by Stealth Spy]

Originally posted by Stealth Spy
how good are the grippen's ??
russia's offer o mig-29 m2's is better than the block 70 ,or what ?

They have some cool features like radar info sharing, relatively small RCS and low maintaince costs. There is a thread about Grippen, you should check it out for more info.

i hope india buys eurofighter's . they are on offer : www.abovetopsecret.com...

Why does India need so many Jets and I mean numbers. Also they seem to have a lot of different kinds too much for their own good IMO. But I’d go for the F-16 its proven in combat it reliable and its on hell of a plane.

Originally posted by Stealth Spy
i hope india buys eurofighter's . they are on offer : www.abovetopsecret.com...

Honestly, I would go for a Rafale over the Typhoon, it just seems waaaaaay over-rated; simply because consortium aircraft have a bad history.

The Gripen is a very good aircraft, can carry AMRAAM and AIM-9X, very agile, and can be deployed at forward locations, thanks to it's excellent STOL capabilities.

It's main shortcoming would likely be range, then again it's being considered to replace the Mig-21's, another aircraft with short legs.

Originally posted by Hockeyguy567

Originally posted by Stealth Spy
i hope india buys eurofighter's . they are on offer : www.abovetopsecret.com...

Honestly, I would go for a Rafale over the Typhoon, it just seems waaaaaay over-rated; simply because consortium aircraft have a bad history.

Thats ridiculous!

Which consortium aircraft are you thinking of as it clearly can't be the Jaguar, Tornado, Concorde or any Airbus' as they all performed exactly as intended.

You have had a downer on trhe Typhoon for quite a while now I think and I'm not sure why, I put it down to maybe being mis-informed on the type rather than any mischeivous predjudce against it so I'm not flaming you, only your anti Typhoon stance.

I say they should buy the F-16 Block 50+. It's tried and true with both the US and Israel. It's fairly cheap but maintains high quality, and it still has room for upgrades. Shoot, the US should put some canards and TV on it and bow, you have some high-maneuverability. The Gripen is awesome, too, and can take off from short run-ways. As far as the Mig is concerned, the Su-30 is enough Russian tech.

Inside sources say that the hot favorite of the IAF is the Mirage 2000-V , but the govt. is not leaving the entire decision in the hands of the air force..

Inside sources say that the hot favorite of the IAF is the Mirage 2000-V , but the govt. is not leaving the entire decision in the hands of the air force..

And btw th eIAF will get the blk 70 F-16s if they choose that plane, tailormade for their purposes..
not the blk 50

F-18 offer to India details

The US State Department's announcement on March 25 that the F/A-18E Super Hornet Block 2 was being offered for licensed-production to fulfil the Indian Air Force's requirement for 126 multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) worth US$9 billion ....

Due to the sheer numbers of Super Hornets (700+) to be produced for the US Navy, US Marine Corps and export customers, the per unit cost of the F/A-18E works out to some US$40 million, much less than what Dassault Aviation is reportedly charging for the single-engined Mirage 2000-5 Mk2.

Now to the US offer in detail. What the Bush administration is proposing is the off-the-shelf supply of 26 Super Hornets within 42 months of contract signature followed by the licensed-production of 100 more units from 2010 through to 2020. In addition, the US Navy as lead contractor under the Foreign Military Sales programme will reconfigure an entire existing IAF Base Repair Depot (BRD) to undertake the intermediate-level maintenance of the Super Hornet fleet, similar to what the IAF's Nasik-based 11 BRD does for the MiG and Sukhoi family of combat aircraft. In terms of direct and indirect industrial offsets, the sky is the limit and depends on how much India 's aerospace industry can absorb. The US, after all, has successfully implemented such offsets programmes throughout Europe and Scandinavia since the early 1990s, with most of them being valued at more than 150 per cent of contract value — a feat yet to be matched by any European, Scandinavian or Russian aerospace company.

Another factor to be noted is that the Super Hornet, featuring an open-architecture avionics suite, was designed with 17 cubic feet of ‘growth space' for electronic systems — avionics and associated wiring. This means that the aircraft can easily incorporate India-developed avionics like mission computers, IFF transponders, display processors and communications radios (which the US State Department has indicated it will allow — a privilege currently accorded only to US-origin combat aircraft destined for Israel and the UK ). Also, when newer technologies are available, they can be added to continually update the Super Hornet's war-fighting capability and survivability.

The F/A-18E Super Hornet Block 2, currently being produced by a consortium of US companies, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, General Electric, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, is not only an all-weather MRCA that performs fighter escort, fleet air defence, force projection, interdiction, and close air support; it has been optimised for operating within the 21st century network-centric warfare battlespace, and is the only Western MRCA that can neutralise the beyond-visual-range air warfare threats posed by MRCAs like the Chinese Su-30MKKs and Su-30MK2s. Its battlespace interdiction radius is 1,300km, and it has 11 weapon stations to carry a full range of guided and unguided armaments weighing a total of 18,900lb (8,573kg).

The aircraft's power-plant comprises twin General Electric F414-GE-400 turbofans, each providing 22,000lb thrust with afterburning. The Block 2 Super Hornet also comes equipped with Boeing's Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System, and Raytheon's AN/ASQ-228 ATFLIR precision targeting pod and SHARP multi-function reconnaissance pod. For air dominance operations, the F/A-18E's Raytheon-built APG-79 active electronically scanned array fire-control radar uses a ‘search-while-track' methodology that significantly improves the track quality of multiple airborne targets, and offers very high-resolution ground-mapping. Along with the F/A-18E, the Bush administration is also now mulling the sale of at least two B.737-800-based airborne early warning and control systems (operating from shore-based air bases) to the Indian Navy, which has now rejected Northrop Grumman's offer of supplying six E-2C Hawkeye 2000 AEW systems due to the latter's limited endurance.

read : The MKI is way better than the F/A-18E/F

and is the only Western MRCA that can neutralise the beyond-visual-range air warfare threats posed by MRCAs like the Chinese Su-30MKKs and Su-30MK2s

the MKI is way better than the MKK. more over the MKI Mk3 is the best fighter after the raptor, and is even better than it is various aspects.

check it out : vayu-sena.tripod.com...



after researching a bit i found the LCA is better than the grippen in ALL aspects. check out theses LCA threads : www.abovetopsecret.com...


[edit on 5-4-2005 by Stealth Spy]

india is offered an exclusive variant, ultra latest "block 70" F-16.

read this : timesofindia.indiatimes.com...



i would take the latest mig-29 M2. imean its got TVC, and a new phased array radar.