Indian Air Force to start conducting MMRCA field trials from later on in the year new

[Yusuf]

domain-b.com : Indian Air Force to start conducting MMRCA field trials from later on in the year

Later this year the Indian Air Force (IAF) will start conducting field trials of the medium range multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) for which it has requested competing bids from international vendors.

IAF chief, air chief marshal, Fali H Major, said ''MMRCA technical evaluation is going on in full flow.''

Request for Proposals (RFPs) were sought from six vendors who have by now submitted technical bids, each consisting of 8,000 to 9,000 pages. ''It is really a nightmare to scrutinize the bids,'' ACM Fali Major informed the media at the United Services Institution (USI) here.

Atleast 50 per cent of the deal, estimated to be worth atleast $11 billion and more over its lifetime, will have to be reinvested in India by a manufacturer as part of the offset obligations that are inbuilt into the contract..

Some manufacturers submitted their offset proposals early on this week with one company - EADS - reiterating its invitation to India to partner the future development of its Eurofighter Typhoon. The Typhoon is one of the six jets in contention along with the Russian MiG-35, the Swedish Saab Gripen JAS-39, French Dassault Rafale and American contenders, Boeing and Lockheed Martin with their F-18 Super Hornet and F-16 Falcon fighters.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin also submitted their offset offers Monday.


Wow, for the first time an Indian defense contract is on fast track. Hope all goes through smoothly and we have the fighters sooner rather than later.

[bolo121]

So how many crores will be scammed, any predictions?
I say at least 10% of contract value

[kuku]

@ 10-15 billion :eek , that will be a nice little scam.

Hope this happens within 2010 time frame.

How long and how much will setting up a new maintenance, logistics, training etc., set up take if a new bird (US or European) is chosen?

[bolo121]

IAF has used both french as well as British birds before so i dont think integrating the winner will pose much in the way of problems.

and ps: Gripen for teh win (fingers crossed)

[kuku]

IAF has used both french as well as British birds before so i dont think integrating the winner will pose much in the way of problems.

and ps: Gripen for teh win (fingers crossed)

eurofighter and rafale seem like entirely alien beings when compared to the Jaguar and mirage.

There must be some time required to train the first pilots and engineering staff, then setting up a training program in India, setting up a spare part inventory, weapons inventory etc. etc. that could take some time even after the whole deal is signed and initial amount of money changing hands. And this will be the same no matter what plane is chosen.

[bengalraider]

IAF has used both french as well as British birds before so i dont think integrating the winner will pose much in the way of problems.

and ps: Gripen for teh win (fingers crossed)

the thing about these three aircraft(gripen, rafale & eurofighter) is that all three are slated to be developed into true 5th gen platforms i feel that india should not hedge all its bets on the FGFA and go for one of these while starting a comprehensive program to evolve the platform into a 5th gen aircraft, true rafale is at a loss due to the lack of orders but that may be a good thing as after becoming the largest customer of rafale we can pressurise dassault for a major JV and develop rafale in to a better 5th gen aircraft than the f-35, also inputs from rafale can be used in our mirage-2000 fleet.:))

[bolo121]

eurofighter and rafale seem like entirely alien beings when compared to the Jaguar and mirage.

There must be some time required to train the first pilots and engineering staff, then setting up a training program in India, setting up a spare part inventory, weapons inventory etc. etc. that could take some time even after the whole deal is signed and initial amount of money changing hands. And this will be the same no matter what plane is chosen.

My point was that if you've been round the block once its not so hard the next time. Im sure that the Mirage and Jaguar were equally alien to the airforce when they first got them. However they got the hang of it and are using them.
So the second time round they have precedents to follow, a general idea of what conventions these manufacturers use in their maintenance and so on.

[sohamsri]

Oh.... so finally some progress into the selection process...
Good news..

[highsea]

the thing about these three aircraft(gripen, rafale & eurofighter) is that all three are slated to be developed into true 5th gen platforms...

I guess if you re-define 5th generation....But calling something a thing doesn't make it that thing.

There are some elements that are generally accepted in the definition of a 5th generation fighter- these 3 platforms are lacking in several areas that can't really be changed. These AC are designed primarily for aerodynamics, not stealth. The center barrel and wing boxes are pretty much set in stone. Vertical Stabs really are vertical. No edge alignments. They will never have internal carriage of weapons.

You can do some things ala Block 2 Super Hornet- redesign the forward fuse for reduced frontal RCS, add AESA radars and integrated sensor/ECM/EW packages (within the limitations of available space), intake vane blockers, coatings, cockpit treatments, etc. But they will always be gen 4+ platforms, just as the Super Hornet will never be a true 5th gen AC (based on the commonly accepted definitions).

[Yusuf]

@ 10-15 billion :eek , that will be a nice little scam.

Hope this happens within 2010 time frame.

How long and how much will setting up a new maintenance, logistics, training etc., set up take if a new bird (US or European) is chosen?

The contract is inclusive of lifetime of maintenance. Training might also be included. What kind of logistics are we talking about?