AERO INDIA: Boeing comment provokes combat aircraft debate

Flight International ^ | 15/02/11 | Craig Hoyle

[sukhoi-30mki]

AERO INDIA: Boeing comment provokes combat aircraft debate

By Craig Hoyle

Saab believes its Gripen IN design will make the shortlist in India's medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) contest later this year, despite a contrary prediction made by rival bidder Boeing.

Speaking at Aero India, Kory Mathews, vice-president F/A-18 and EA-18G programmes for Boeing Military Aircraft, said he believed only three of the current six candidates would make the shortlist, and these would all be twin-engine designs.

"That's really a very surprising statement," says Eddy de la Motte, Saab's director Gripen India. "I'm pretty sure there's going to be one single-engine fighter in there as well."

The Swedish manufacturer has submitted a strong technical and industrial bid with a "responsible price" for the 126-aircraft deal, he says.

Lockheed Martin also challenges the Boeing official's assessment of the MMRCA battle.

"The request for proposals actually favours a single-engine aircraft," claims Orville Prins, vice-president Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, referring to New Delhi's focus on the life-cycle costs of its future fighter.

The company is offering its F-16IN "Super Viper" for the requirement.

"We believe this is the finest F-16 that would ever be built," says Prins. "We think it's the ultimate fourth-generation aircraft, with a fifth-generation technology bridge in it."

A key element of the company's bid is the availability of the Northrop Grumman APG-77 active electronically scanned array radar.

Lockheed's experience in setting up multiple foreign final assembly lines for the F-16 during the programme's history means it has "demonstrated that we can do this better than any other bidder," Prins claims.

Prins also rebuffed a suggestion that the Indian air force could scrap its MMRCA process entirely in favour of pursuing a deal for Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

"All we have heard from the air force is that they remain absolutely committed to MMRCA," he says.

As well as the F-16, Gripen and Super Hornet, additional candidates for the more than $10 billion deal are the Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and RSK MiG-35.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Lockheed Martin F-16IN Releases a Raytheon AGM-154C Joint Stand-Off Weapon on a recent launch test.

Photo: Raytheon

[Yo-Yo]

I read some interesting speculation in an earlier thread that if the MMRCA is increased to 250 aircraft, there could be a split buy. In that case, the most logical split would be the Gripen and the Super Hornet.

The IAF would then have a common engine core for the Tejas, Gripen, and Super Hornet. And as the IAF have learned over the years with their experience with Russian aircraft, engine maintenance is one of your highest expenses.

[sukhoi-30mki]

Talking from an Indian POV, that would be putting too many eggs in an American basket. An American response remotely similar to that during the 1998 nuclear tests would compromise the operational readiness of three major combat types, which would roughly constitute about 50% of the IAF’s total strength by 2020-25.

And the split purchase option has its disadvantages, particular regarding issues of offsets, logistics management and even delivery times. India’s current state-run aerospace infrastructure does not have the efficiency to oversee what will be two different projects at the same time, in addition to other ongoing ventures such as the SU-30MKI, LCA and fifth generation fighter.

[TalonDJ]

This thing is heating up and really shaping up to be the ‘deal of the century’.

[sukhoi-30mki]

It could also turn out to be the farce of the century.