KENT

India Invited To Join Eurofighter Makers' Consortium - EADS
Thursday April 24th, 2008 / 9h34

NEW DELHI -(Dow Jones)- The makers of Eurofighter Typhoon combat jets Thursday said they are inviting India to join them in building next-generation fighters, a move which may boost the chances of the Eurofighter winning the South Asian country's $10 billion contract for 126 jets for its Air Force.
The Eurofighter consortium comprises Alenia SpA of Italy's Alenia Aeronautica, BAE Systems PLC (BA.LN) of the U.K., and the Spanish and German units of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (5730.FR), EADS Casa and EADS Germany.
India is the first non-European country to be invited to join the consortium, a senior executive from the European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (5730.FR) or EADS said.
But the country will only be allowed to join if India selects the Eurofighter, said the executive, who didn't wish to be named.
Making parts of the combat aircraft in India will help the makers of the Eurofighter meet the Indian government's offset requirements if it buys the aircraft, he said.
Separately, Chief Executive of Military Air Systems at EADS Bernhard Gerwert said, "If India becomes a partner, they will also become a partner in all future technology enhancement."
"As part of our industrial cooperation offer, we invite India to become our member," Gerwert told a news conference.
India's Defense Ministry has issued formal invitations to six foreign companies to supply 126 multi-role combat jets in a deal potentially worth about $10 billion. India currently flies Russian-made MiG fighters, U.K. Jaguars and French Mirages.
Apart from the Eurofighter, the Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) F-16 Falcon, the Boeing Co. (BA) F-18 Super Hornet, the Dassault Aviation SA (12172.FR) Rafale and the Swedish Gripen fighter are also reportedly contenders for the deal.
Eurofighter plans to submit its bid for the combat jets on April 28, the last day for receiving bids, the statement said.
Indian defense ministry regulations require foreign military companies which have won contracts worth more than $71 million to reinvest at least 30% of the contract value back into the country's defense sector.
In the case of the combat aircraft deal, the offset requirement has been raised to 50%.






Actualité de la bourse sur EADS - EAD : interviews, rumeurs de marchés, analyses, dossiersEasyBourse

Sumku

Drub this Offer. Tell me which country in its right mind would buy EuroFighter when comparable aircrafts on offer are much more effective and are also economical to buy.

My best bet for 126 A/c's are
1) F/A-18E/F
2) Rafeale
3) Mig39
4) Sukhoi 30MKI

Adux

This is a patnership offer, If the fineprint is favourable, this is more than a favourable offer, We still buy a western fighter with growth potentials, which I am not so sure about Rafale(though my favorite) and MiG-35(If we buy it, then we have a 100% Ruskie Airforce, One should not give that kind of leverage to one single country...strategically speaking).. F-16(Not interested)

F/A-18 E/F(though a economical, its American and they very small fine print), Our people wont agree with that. Gripen is too close to Tejas - LCA ..


Eurofighter looks good in my opinion.

Adux

Brits,

Can CVF be far off , Forget the French..lol

Adu

Sumku

Rafale is my Favourite too but its damn too costly, besides add the cost for Spare parts,training etc. Cost Per Plane then takes astronomical proportions.
F-16, am not interested either.

The best bet would be F/A-18 E/F, if we can go through some very fine prints.With AESA probably coming as TOT, F/A-18 E/F would nicely fill the gaps between LCA and Sukhois 30MKI.

Also Mig's are no bad. Whats the harm anyway. Remember IAF is already operating Mirage2000, Mig21Bisons,Sukhois 30MKI, Jaguar and whole host of other planes. The more variety of planes you add, the more you would have to pay as proportion of Support Costs/spare parts etc.

Best bet is to have
F/A-18 E/F: 60
Rafale: 40
Mig35: 26
License produce about 140 Sukhois 30MKI's quickly.

This will be sufficient for 2015. By this time Pak-FA would be available.

LetsTalk

IMO the EF is the best choice of the planes listed. I would view this as a great development.

Which plane currently on the Indian air force are they going to retire first?

Stan

Well thats a turn up for the book's.

India would be receiving a very very capable jet and the chance to take part in the devolpment of future aircraft.

Really should be a no brainer to them now!

__________________
Loving good discussion since 1983

Adux

You give way too much credit to our politicians. Nobody can **** it up like us.

Lets hope for the best, EADS bird is my choice; though I have love for SHornet E/F; But its better to have a flying bird, than a sanctioned bird.

Deltacamelately

Exactly! However, as Adux stated, the very people on our side who play a crucial role in these high tech deals are quite similar to Martians. Can't guess what they might be having up their sleeves.
From a personal point, I would opine that its always better to be a party in the R&D and Manufacture of a technical device rather than hat straight buying things. Specially for a nation that lacks and also aspires to be technically independent tomorrow or the day after. Thus Efighter nicely fits in the overall scheme of things.

__________________
I am the DARK that Rise to Kill..And Soar to Redeem!

Sumku

You guys seriously want EADS EF Typhoon in service here.
Its no better than Sukhoi 30 MKI. Read Here and this and read the conclusion carefully

.
.
.
.
.
.
.

Then why the hell not make more Sukhois' under license ?. We anyways are making about 140 of them under License.

Adux

Sumku,

We are making 230 Sukhoi 30 MKI's, the first contract of 140 was increased.

kuku

So if we count the US planes out, we have to be able to look into the future and see who will win the next election, if BJP and allies come to power, there will be a absolute lack of left and a move towards stronger Indo-US ties, all bets are off then.
Well considering that the several requirements that one must follow to acquire US equipment might get the US planes out of the race.
The Gripen might just be a controversial choice as that will help kill the Tejas LCA Program. MIg-35 has been killed by the SU-30s and PAK-FA.

Only two choices left are Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon,In a neutral competition Eurofighter might have won however in such a political competition Rafale might win the deal.

What is known about the AFs requirement:
It is looking for a AESA radar on its new bird, the budget is 10 billion for 126 birds, is that all?
The F-16IN proposal was in response to AFs document, does it give a look into what the AF wants?
AESA radar, EW suite, Weapons inventory, range and payload, Net Centric Warfare Capability, Engine thrust, maneuverability etc. etc.

__________________
cheers

Adux

I expect the Budget for MRCA to skyrocket. F-16 will loose out, as it is at the end of its development cycle. F/A-18 E/F is the bird we are looking for.

Tin Man

Dr. Carlo Kopp Twaddle.

The only area Typhoon falls to an E model Eagle is in range/payload. Similar story with the big Su XX. More Russian jets = more Russian leverage. Russia stopped supplying engines and kits to China for their Su`s, whatever the reasons, it shows their will to turn off the supply.

Since the F-15 is not a contender in this competition, comparisons are moot.
Those quotes compare the Typhoon with the F-22, another moot point in terms of MRCA competition. In fact, substitute the name "Typhoon" with just about any current jet versus the F-22, the conclusions would be the same.

Now, compare Typhoon to S/Hornet/Gripen/MIG-35/Rafale. None of these aircraft offers an overwhelming advantage in ALL areas, in fact in a lot of ways they are very close overall, when you look at the possible models that will eventually equip the IAF. Where the 3 Eurocanards have the others beat is in supersonic manoeuvring or "cranking", an advantage the others cannot match, the ability to turn harder at supersonic speeds, as long as Gee suits and pilots hold up

Can anybody show me a worthwhile link that states the Gripen can supercruise with a useful load? I have seen that suggested on this forum but have not seen this myself. Is this a feature SAAB are trumpeting? Rafale was unable to show supercruise in the Singapore competition, Typhoon can cruise with an AAM and fuel tank load out at 1.2 Mach, which admittedly isn`t F-22 level, but that comparison is pointless. The other contenders cannot AFAIK, achieve any level of supercruise, but I stand to be corrected. I am pretty sure the MIG/S-H/Rafale cannot. Gripen is the only unknown.

Using supercruise eats into range, especially if it is sustained, with the already range disadvantaged Gripen, the use of supercruise, if any, would restrict it further.

If India wants true stealth, wait for the F-35, which may never be offered, or the PAK-FA, which may never leave the drawing boards. Forget stealth for the moment.

To me, the leading contenders in the competition are quite close, with the S/Hornet leading in terms of demonstrated/proven capability. The S/Hornet cannot hide and has shown itself, the other jets are a mystery in terms of combat effectiveness, over and above bi-lateral exercises, even though they should all be capable.

Because this just increases India`s reliance on Russia. I would strike a balance and source from different places.

__________________
"Liberty is a thing beyond all price.

kuku

It might, then again AF has what it has, how will further request for funds effect the time in which they can get some planes and be done with it?