Posted on 06/13/2006 8:31:06 PM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
India may buy advanced Israeli aircraft
By Khalid Hasan
WASHINGTON: India may be buying Israeli-made advanced fighter aircraft, according to Defence News, an online military and defence news portal.
In a Tel Aviv-datelined dispatch, it said, “Fighter jets vying for India’s $8 billion Medium-range Multirole Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) programme may have to make room for a late entry: the Israel Air Force F-16I Sufa, or Storm. In an unprecedented move aimed at sharpening its edge over fellow US and international competitors, Lockheed Martin is eyeing the F-16I as a low-cost, high-performance alternative to the French Rafale, the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen, the Eurofighter Typhoon, Boeing’s F/A-18E/F and the Russian MiG-35.”
The report, quoting US and Israeli sources, said that the precise configuration of the single-engine aircraft offered would depend on the operational and industrial requirements detailed in New Delhi’s upcoming request for proposals (RfP). However, Lockheed’s Fort Worth, Texas, Aeronautics unit has begun asking the US government for third-country export licences.
“We have submitted a request for licensing of an F-16 configuration that we think will match the Indian Air Force requirements, pending our receipt of the RfP,” said Lockheed Martin spokesman Joe Stout. He declined to elaborate on specific technologies and subsystems that could be included in the company’s bid. He said a team dedicated to the MMRCA programme has been working since the beginning of the year on a number of F-16 configurations that may prove more compatible with operational needs as well as New Delhi’s requirements for offsets and industrial cooperation. Other options could include a variant of the F-16 Block 60, which carries advanced US avionics and the Northrop Grumman APG-80 active electronically scanned radar, or on the Block 50/52 versions flown by the US Air Force and now being produced for several air forces.
Defence News said if Lockheed offered the F-16I to India, it would be the first time an extensively modified US fighter containing non-US-made avionics, weaponry and major sub-systems had been offered at the front end of an international competition. Lockheed has sold to Chile and Singapore F-16s that contained significant Israeli content, but those items were demanded by the customers from the start. “To the best of my knowledge, the idea of pitching a US fighter with significant, technologically advanced third-party content hasn’t been done before,” said Richard Aboulafia, vice president for analysis at the Teal Group, a Fairfax, Va.-based aerospace and defense consulting firm. “If this is the case, and the US government allows Lockheed to offer a clone of the Israel Air Force plane, it’s another indication of the unprecedented military and diplomatic initiatives being taken to promote a US win in this strategically important programme.”
The new MMRCAs are expected to complement New Delhi’s high-end fleet of Su-30MKIs and the lower-end, locally developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. Initial requests for information called for 18 aircraft to be delivered directly from the prime contractor, with 108 to be produced under license in India. Since then, however, the Indian Air Force has been lobbying to expand the buy to more than 200 planes, as a hedge against additional delays of the Tejas. Indian Air Force sources said MMRCA orders could be split among two countries. According to these sources, a decision to award more than one contract would speed deliveries to the Air Force while doubling the political benefits to be accrued through tandem cooperative programmes.
Ping Pong!!!
Yeah India!
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So what are the advantages of the F-16I over the F-16 Block 60?
No real idea on that given that the main difference between the 2 other than considerable Israeli systems on the F-16I is the APG-80 AESA radar.If India decides to buy the Elta ELM-2052 AESA radar(already offered for the Indian LCA & Mig-35),we'd have to work out how the 2 radars go against each other!!I think the I variant as of now is much cheaper than Blk 60 which was around 60 million USD+,though a considerable chunk of that cost went into the development of the APG-80 for the UAE.
This is good news. This will help to keep Pakistan and China in check.
Jamia holds lecture on Indian Jews’ heritage
Charu Singh
Tribune News Service
The Tribune, Chandigarh, India - Delhi and neighbourhood
New Delhi, March 8,2006
The Dr K. R. Narayanan Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia held an interesting lecture-cum-visual presentation entitled ‘Heritage and Contributions of Indian Jews’ by Mr Nissim Moses, President, India International Support Services.
The lecture focused on the relevance of the microscopic minorities in India whose contribution to the larger nation-building process is normally glossed over. Prof Mujtaba Khan, Director of the centre, said, “Such minorities are subsumed and caught in the vortex of the majority stream, thereby manifesting a virtually dormant identity. The Indian Jews are such a community in his opinion.”
Mr Khan said that a gross distortion had crept in on the question of the Palestine-Israel issue on account of vested interests that had converted the struggle against occupation of land to that of the Arabs-Jews conflict and subsequently a civilisational clash.
Mr Moses, on the other hand, chose a softer refrain while tracing the heritage of Indian Jews. He focused on areas of commonalities and similarities between Hindu and the Jewish traditions, practices and ethos. He spoke of the tolerant and multicultural Indian milieu and its capability to assimilate and accommodate even Semitic cultures.
He said that the Jews in India felt secure on account of cultural similarities and even similar religious rituals.
His entire discourse focused on the socio-cultural prospects of the Jewish community and their contribution in the fields of academics, business, cinema and even the freedom struggle of India. Mr Moses said, “This humble Jewish community of less than 35,000 in 1950 has succeeded in having Hebrew recognised as an official second language of study both at the matriculate and collegiate/university level.”
He further informed that Hebrew was taught even before Israel became a state at two Christian colleges in Mumbai by Hebrew professors from the community and the Hebrew language examiner at the university level was also a Bene-Israeli.
He stressed that all this went a long way in showing that Jews lived in harmony and without persecution in a multi-ethnic society like India.
How will it keep China in check? The Chinese air force is the largest in the world. Although most of its planes are outdated, air campaigns in any of China's neighboring countries (except Russia) would still not be a difficult task for China. I don't see how the Indian purchase of a few F-16s will keep China in check in any way, shape or form.
This purchase is geared towards Pakistan, it has nothing to do with China.
It continues to amaze me why some Freepers here believe that India would be willing to antagonize China (given that China first does nothing to India) in a future conflict between the US and China. A far more reasonable possibility would be for India to stay neutral in such a situation. India is a sovereign nation, it's not going to side with the US so easily in a Sino-US conflict that has nothing to do with India.
Tell me where the jet fuel for the Chinese air force comes from? Their supply of crude oil could easily be disrupted by interdiction in the Indian Ocean. Why do you think the Indians are interested in having aircraft carriers?
It's also why the Chinese are interested in Iran and Russia. Land-based oil. As well as the South China Sea.
The point is that there is no major conflict of interest between China and India, and for that reason, both countries are more likely to cooperate and collude than being openly antagonistic. Hence it's unrealistic to believe that India will go out of its way to antagonize China just because the US would like to see that. India is too proud to be an American puppet.
Chinese and Indian collusion in recent oil field biddings is an example of the willingness of both countries to cooperate (and benefit together) rather than cut each other's throats and achieve a pyrrhic victory.
You're right,India maybe too proud to be an American "puppet",but it's not neither foolish enough to ignore the threat China has posed to India by itself & through proxies like Pakistan,Bangladesh & Burma/Myanmaar.The cooperation on oil will only go to an extent-both sides are getting to big for their boots to keep sharing like that.The F-16I or any other aircraft purchased will almost certainly have conformal fuel tanks for longer range,in order to complement the SU-30,which is the only Indian aircraft which can penetrate beyond Tibet into Chinese airspace.
Comming from the Pakistani press, I think this news is just plain crap. Last we heard India was about to buy Mirage 4000 (another BS story).
The F-16s are out of question.
Personally I am rooting for the Eurofighter, Rafale or the SuperHornet. No Migs, Mirages or F-16s please.
Yawn!! Another article about the purchase of fighter planes by India. This has been going on for a long time now? I thought the Indians were interested in the Super Hornet. India and Boeing are both better off if they can agree on a complete package for military and civilian aircraft.
You've missed the recent turn in events. Now, China and India bid together on oil fields (otherwise China outbids India everytime but overbids the actual value). Pakistan was a US ally too, so what? The 1962 (not 1952) Sino-Indian war was over 44 years ago. It was a 5 weeks long war. The US is now warming relations with Vietnam, etc, why is it so hard to imagine that China and India have gotten over it too?
China is NOT involved with the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. Just because they are self-identified as Maoists, does not mean China has anything to do with them. China hasn't supported any Maoist groups since the 1970s. I would like to see some sources on this from you.
The Chinese will soon have access to the Trans Siberian Pipeline to complement train supplies from russia. Future plans might include a route through the Pakistani port of Gwadar and an overland pipeline from Pakistan.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006%5C05%5C24%5Cstory_24-5-2006_pg1_1
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