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.
You are not planning a junk musuem, are ya? Overpriced French and European junk is certainly an upgrade from Russian junk but no match for our stuff.
About a tenth the time of Australia's search for a DHC-4 Caribou replacement
Actually the Eurofighters and Rafales aren't so bad. It would be interesting to see how the European AESAs and BVRs compare with those that America is ready to offer. The Mig-35 upgraded with Israeli Radars,Avionics & BVRs would also be a worthy contender.
Umm,where exactly does the article say India is "interested" in the I-variant??For all you want,China can offer it's J-10 or the US,the F/A-22-doesn't mean the IAF needs to be interested.This move is more a sign of Lockheed's desperation than anything else.The only aircraft which the IAF was interested in was the Mirage-2005.
The time being taken to issue RFPs is directly linked to the N-deal with the US.Once it is seen as being "safe" which will be in matter of months,we will get a clearer picture.
Boeing cannot offer such a package under US export constraints given the procedure to clear weaponry exports.
Care to explain(based on emperical data) how Euro-stuff is junk???They have done as well in most conflicts as American ones...The Rafale/EF-2000 are as good as anything else unless you wish to make the F/A-22 the yardstick.
In any conflict between China and the US, if China bloodies the US enough that we withdraw from Asia, India then immediately turns into China's property.
India cannot afford to let CHina become dominant
Will the Eurofighter or the RAFALE come with a ready made AESA?? Why would you want to subsidise the production of the RAFALE given that only France flies the RAFALE. How about comparing the performance of the METEOR to the AMRAAM?
And finally do you think the Eurofighter consortium can match the logistics and servicing record of either LM or Boeing??
Versus the current situation of China dominating India?? /sar. The Indians dont have it in them to take on the Chinese. Forget the Indians starting a war just to help us!! Having said that it is better to keep India in our camp than hand them over to the Sino-Russian alliance.
Do you have a link/source for that?
The Euros are working on a couple of AESA projects...but then again,there is no guarantee that the US Congress will clear the sale of similar systems to India either!!The Rafale is by no means dead with Greece,India,Turkey & Nordic nations having interest in it.Even if India were to be the only customer,it will give it greater bargaining muscle with Dassault which will hardly be the case with a company like LM.LM & Dassault will only offer as much support as their respective governments allow them to & as far as that goes,Dassault has an advantage in the Indian market.
India is building up ties with countries which don't have the best of ties with China incl.Mongolia,Vietnam & Japan.Sorry if you missed that.What exactly does India/Indians need "in them" to take on China??
Start a war??N-powers have never started fullscale wars against each other.
Recognise Taiwan???Well pretty much no important nation does that formally.Even the US recently denied the Taiwanese pres. the right to land .
India will never turn into China's property. India will always get Russia's help. China wouldn't want another billion people on resource-poor land either. What China wants is oil and raw materials.
"Improving ties with China is India's priority: Deora"
Shanghai, June 14 (PTI / The Hindu): Sino-India bilateral ties have acquired strategic significance for peace, stability and development of Asia and the world, Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murali Deora said here today.
"Developing friendly relations with China is an important priority of the Government of India," Deora said on his arrival in Shanghai.
He is heading the Indian delegation for the Fifth Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit which begins here tomorrow.
"My visit takes place against the backdrop of sustained development and diversification of India-China relations," he said in a statement.
"The overall trend of this relationship has become overwhelmingly positive with regular high-level exchanges. The rapidly growing trade and economic ties between our two countries are pointers to the fact that India and China are now steadily engaged in mutually rewarding pursuits as friends and partners," he said.
"Our strategic and cooperative partnership is reflective of the forward-looking vision of the political leadership in both countries and is based on our shared conviction that India-China relations have now acquired a long-term, global and strategic character, with important bearing for peace and stability, as well as development and prosperity, of Asia and the world at large," Deora said.
If cultural affinity was decisive,then the world would have been a far better place than it is now!!If Japan is cunning in ensuring it's national interests,well then so is every other nation,incl. India & China.
IF the Indian oil minister says improving ties with China is a top priority..well he & others have said the same thing about most other countries including the US,Japan,Russia.
Would you trust a European radar that is still in development? Why bet on an unknown horse? Could you trust the European countries not to impose sanctions in the event of a war with China / Pakistan? Remember Europe is also trying to sell to China. We would never do that for strategic reasons.
The Rafale has always lost out to competing vendors. It might make the short list of the countries that you mentioned but what are its chances of winning those bids? If you go for the Rafale it is highly likely that you and France will be the only TWO countries flying it. Yes, that gives you leverage BEFORE you make the deal. But the servicing / lifetime costs of that plane will be a lot higher.
I understand why you are happy with Dassault. In comparison to your Russian vendors, dassault might look like a great company. But LM and Boeing have an unmatched track record in service
Arent the Chicoms arm twisting you already? Besides India's recent history indicates that it is a weak state. The loss against china in 62, the surrender of Tibet are just two examples.
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