Posted on 02/09/2011 4:31:12 PM PST by ErnstStavroBlofeld
Indian defence minister AK Antony has re-affirmed his nation's commitment to the fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA) being jointly developed by Hindustan Aeronautics and Russia's Sukhoi, while also voicing his optimism about one of its other key military aviation programmes.
"The difficulties in joining this programme are over," he says of the first project. "We've signed a deal with the Russians, and we will see the FGFA inducted by 2017."
Russia's developmental PAK FA fighter had its maiden flight in early 2010, and late last year it agreed with India to cooperate on a combined project. New Delhi will send engineers to work with Sukhoi in Russia to develop the Indian variant of the aircraft.
"Our armed forces need this capability," Antony says. "We are concerned about the situation around us, so we need to strengthen our armed forces."
While there have been worries over the level of technology transfer that would come to India via the FGFA project, Mikhail Pogosyan, chief executive of Russia's United Aircraft, describes this as a non-issue
(Excerpt) Read more at flightglobal.com ...
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