indian mrca - who will get 126 nos & who will get 74 nos

[bhushan]

hi guys,

i've heard that india will buy 200 planes. wow.

who will get 126 & who will get 74. also when will the decision be taken.
i wld love 126 mirage 2000-5 (rafaelised ) & for 74 eurofighters.

i wanna know.

bhushan

[orko_8]

Sorry for Mirage.. Dassault pulled out of tender..

French Mirage pull out of IAF deal

New Delhi: The dogfight for bagging the Indian order for 126 fighter aircraft has taken a sensational twist.

The front-runner, the French Mirage 2000-5, has pulled out, complaining that India is taking too much time to make up its mind on whether it wants the deal or not.

The French aviation company Dassault says it cannot wait anymore for the Indians to make up their mind on whether or not to buy the Mirage 2000-5.

The production line for this fighter aircraft in France has closed down and the French have now done some plain-speak.

They've conveyed to India that the costs of sustaining an idle production chain - while waiting indefinitely for the notoriously slow Indian defence procurement process to unfold - are prohibitive.

However, the Indian authorities are still dilly-dallying.

"Now informally, I also keep hearing, but till I hear formally in writing, then we will see," SP Tyagi, Chief of Air Staff, said.

Indeed, the French fighter manufacturer is conspicuous by its absence at India's biggest defence exhibition, which is currently running in New Delhi.

While the French are still considering whether or not to field their heavier and more expensive Rafale fighter, the withdrawal of the Mirage is very significant for the Indian Air Force.

The requirement for 126 fighters was initially worked out by the IAF keeping the Mirage in mind.

Bit now, with the deal with Mirage almost called off, new players are trying to fill in the space.

Those in the fray are the American F/A 18 Super Hornet and the British Typhoon, which were not on the original list of fighters surveyed by the IAF.

And the "gate-crashers" are upbeat about it.

"We took a year to crash into the party but we think we've got a very good shot," Michael Rietz, F/A 18 Programme Manager, said.

"I would not say it's a gatecrash, I would think it's a worthy competitor," AVM HG Mackay, Royal Air Force officer, said.

The line-up of contenders includes Russia's MiG-29, Sweden's Gripen and America's F-16. While it's too early to say who's the new front-runner, there's already some cheeky salesmanship.

"We just wanted to see how the F-16 would look in Indian colours. We thought it would look nice," Joe Stout, Spokesman, F-16, said.

The stakes are obvious because the IAF's order will be the world's biggest since a decade.

With so many twists and turns even before the race has begun, this contest promises to be a thriller of a dogfight.

http://bharat-rakshak.com/NEWS/newsrf.php?newsid=5344

[Webmaster]

I can understand Dassault though. It is better to call it a loss and move on, than this endless waiting. I am getting pretty tired of all the speculation in the press. One day it is 126, next day 130. One day the 2000-5 is the front runner, next day the F-16, then the Super Hornet (can see why now...). But having said that, I think Dassault is just planning to offer the Rafale to better compete with the Eurofighter and others. That's why they pulled the Mirage I think! And maybe in the end it might be cheaper to offer Rafales at Mirage prices, than keeping that line open.

I was under the impression though, that it was not sitting idle at the moment...hehe.

[orko_8]

Mirage out, Rafale in Things get even more complicated though

Dassault Aviation To Bid for Indian Fighter Contract
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, PARIS

French arms industry company Dassault Aviation is planning to bid for a contract to supply 126 new fighter aircraft to India.

Dassault Aviation said in a statement late on Feb. 27 that its bid would center on the fourth-generation Rafale fighter, for which it has yet to find an export market.

India aims to replace its ageing fleet of MiG-21 fighters, and the world’s arms giants are limbering up for the battle which could land them a deal worth an estimated $9 billion (7.6 billion euros).

Dassault Aviation noted it had supplied combat aircraft to India for more than 50 years, mostly recently the Mirage 2000, which is now out of production.

”However, we have the firm belief the Rafale new generation Omnirole fighter answers to the operational needs of the Indian Air Force,” said Charles Edelstenne, chief executive of Dassault Aviation

The European defense and aircraft group EADS has already announced that it will bid for the contract, proposing its Eurofighter.

U.S. giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin are also in the running, with their F-18 and F-16 aircraft respectively, alongside Russia’s MiG-29 and the Gripen, made by Sweden’s Saab.

India is expected to open the bidding race in coming months, but a final decision is not expected for several years.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=1565324&C=asiapac

[Webmaster]

Several years...what's all the fuss about then!

Anyway, if it takes several years, Eurofighter and Rafale chances will improve...these will progress a lot compared to the Hornet, Gripen and F-16. But then again, maybe Boeing will offer a new F-15 variant by that time. And maybe even the JSF might be offered....OMG...

[Webmaster]

Looks now like the IAF is proposing to delay the 6 billion fighter purchase, and buy 20 new Mirage 2000-5s now, upgrade existing fleet.

Now some say, this is because of the 2000-5 withdrawal from the program. But I've seen reports about postponing the big fighter contract until US-India Nuclear Technology transfer has been finalised, and I think that's the real reason behind it. I wouldn't be surprised if the contract finally goes to the US as a thank-you for the nuclear tech transfer. Not sure if Lockheed would be very happy with it...I'd bet India would want to get the latest F-16, customized as Lockheed promised already, which will probably mean integrating French weapons and avionics. I'd imagine the IAF to be a very demanding customer, with decisions changing all the time. But eh, that's just my impression.