New Setback: F-35s Won’t Be Able to Conduct Close-Air-Support Until 2020

The Department of Defense’s much maligned F-35 Joint Strike Fighter ran into yet another setback Tuesday when it was announced that the aircraft will not reach full close-air-support potential until 2022.Unlike previous precision-guided air-dropped weapons, the Small Diameter Bomb II (SDB II) has the ability to track and hit moving targets from up to 40 miles. It will enter service in 2017.

The F-35 however, will not have the software package required to operate the bomb until 2022.


The delay will reduce the F-35’s ability to provide close-air support to ground troops, and raises questions about the aircraft’s ability to adequately replace the A-10 Warthog if Congress allows the Air Force to retire it.

Air Force leaders want to retire the A-10 by February 2019 so it can transfer the resources supporting the aircraft to the development of the F-35, which will be one of many aircraft that will backfill the A-10.

The SDB II will not even fit onto the F-35B – the Marine Corps variant – without modifications to the aircraft’s weapons bay. But the Pentagon is in no rush to make those changes, because the weapon still will not work until the correct software package is installed.

“When we get to the (software upgrade) of the F-35s those are going to be great CAS (close air support) platforms – when we get there.  So we’ve got to continue to move down that with respect to the systems,” Air Force Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, Commander of Air Combat Command, told reporters on March 6.

The SDB II uses a guidance system known as a “tri-mode” seeker, which can direct the weapon using millimeter wave radar, uncooled imaging infrared guidance and semi-active laser technology.

“Really, in the close-in CAS fight, and the most challenging being danger close where you have adversaries and friendlies in very close proximity – we have to be able to support the ground component at that point.  We need the ability to deliver weapons rapidly.  We need the high magazine, we need precision and we need to be able to control the yield,” Carlisle said.

Part of the Joint Strike Fighter program’s developmental strategy includes a series of incremental software drops, each of which adds new capability. The drop that will make the F-35 capable of operating the SBD II is not scheduled to take place until 2022.

The Marine Corps’ F-35B is slated to reach operational status following a software drop later this year. The Air Force plans to reach operational status with its F-35A in 2016 using the next software update.

India to invest $25 billion in FGFA project

India is ready to seal a big project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA), The Times of India wrote referring to the country’s defense ministry.

“Faced with continuing deadlock in the mega deal to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters, India is now pressing the throttle to seal the even bigger project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA),” the newspaper wrote.

“India will overall spend around $25 billion on the FGFA project if it goes ahead with its plan to induct 127 such fighters, as earlier reported by TOI.

Meanwhile, India is ready to forego the earlier plan for a 50:50 design and work-share agreement with Russia on its under-development FGFA called PAK-FA or Sukhoi T-50.”

The PAK FA – “Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation” – is a fifth-generation fighter program of the Russian Air Force. The T-50 is the aircraft designed by Sukhoi for the PAK FA program. The aircraft is a single-seat, twin-engine jet fighter, and will be the first operational aircraft in Russian service to use stealth technology. It is a multirole combat aircraft designed for the air superiority and ground attack functions. It combines supercruise, stealth, manoeuvrability, and advanced avionics to overcome previous generation fighter aircraft along with many ground and maritime defences.

The PAK FA is intended to be the successor to the MiG-29 and Su-27 in the Russian Air Force and serve as the basis for the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) being co-developed by Sukhoi and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force. The T-50 prototype first flew on 29 January 2010 and production aircraft is slated for delivery to the Russian Air Force starting in 2016. The prototypes and initial production batch will be delivered with a highly upgraded variant of the AL-31F used by the Su-27 family as interim engines while a new clean-sheet design powerplant is currently under development. The aircraft is expected to have a service life of up to 35 years.

India Accelerates Russian Fighter Deal as French Rival Argues Over Price

India’s frustration over a stalled $20 billion fighter jet deal with France has prompted New Delhi to accelerate plans with Russia to begin co-production of another, more advanced fighter jet, an Indian newspaper reported Monday.India and Russia are in the final stages of negotiating a contract for the delivery a brand-new stealth fighter designed in tandem under the leadership of Russia’s Sukhoi design bureau.

The original plan stipulated that the fighter be built in India, with the first deliveries taking place 94 months after the contract was signed. The total cost of the contract is reported to be over $25 billion for 127 new fighters.

But now New Delhi has told Russia it is willing to drop demands for localized production of the new aircraft, known as the PAK FA, if they can promise deliveries beginning 36 months after the contract is signed, according to unidentified Indian military sources quoted by the Times of India.

“We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the [PAK FA] being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer,” the source told the paper.

India in 2012 awarded France’s Dassault Aviation with a multibillion-dollar contract for 126 of its Rafale fighter jets in what was called one of the largest aviation contracts of all time. The deal stipulated that most of the fighters would be built by Hindustan Aeronautics in India, making it a large technology transfer deal. But three years on, the two sides are still locked in a price dispute, with Dassault saying localization will cost more than it anticipated. India has said it will not pay above the contract price agreed in 2012, and suggested it will pursue alternatives if Dassault does not come around.

India Accelerates Russian Fighter Deal as French Rival Argues Over Price

India’s frustration over a stalled $20 billion fighter jet deal with France has prompted New Delhi to accelerate plans with Russia to begin co-production of another, more advanced fighter jet, an Indian newspaper reported Monday.India and Russia are in the final stages of negotiating a contract for the delivery a brand-new stealth fighter designed in tandem under the leadership of Russia’s Sukhoi design bureau.

The original plan stipulated that the fighter be built in India, with the first deliveries taking place 94 months after the contract was signed. The total cost of the contract is reported to be over $25 billion for 127 new fighters.

But now New Delhi has told Russia it is willing to drop demands for localized production of the new aircraft, known as the PAK FA, if they can promise deliveries beginning 36 months after the contract is signed, according to unidentified Indian military sources quoted by the Times of India.

“We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the [PAK FA] being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer,” the source told the paper.

India in 2012 awarded France’s Dassault Aviation with a multibillion-dollar contract for 126 of its Rafale fighter jets in what was called one of the largest aviation contracts of all time. The deal stipulated that most of the fighters would be built by Hindustan Aeronautics in India, making it a large technology transfer deal. But three years on, the two sides are still locked in a price dispute, with Dassault saying localization will cost more than it anticipated. India has said it will not pay above the contract price agreed in 2012, and suggested it will pursue alternatives if Dassault does not come around.

Rafale deadlock gives thrust to Russian 5th-gen jet project

Faced with continuing deadlock in the mega deal to acquire 126 French Rafale fighters, India is now pressing the throttle to seal the even bigger project with Russia for the stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).

India has told Russia it wants deliveries of the FGFA to begin in 36 months after the main contract is inkedThe final FGFA design contract has been hanging fire since India and Russia completed their initial work under the $295 million preliminary design contract signed in December 2010. India will overall spend around $25 billion on the FGFA project if it goes ahead with its plan to induct 127 such fighters, as earlier reported by TOI.

All this has gained urgency since India feels French aviation major Dassault is being needlessly intransigent over the pricing mechanism in the final negotiations for the over $20 billion MMRCA (medium multi-role combat aircraft) project. Under it, the first 18 Rafale fighters were to be delivered off-the-shelf, with the remaining 108 being produced in India.

“But Dassault’s costing for the 108 Rafales to be built by HAL has undergone a major hike. It amounts to changing the price line that led to Rafale’s selection over Eurofighter Typhoon as the L-1 (lowest bidder) in the MMRCA competition,” said the source.

“The MoD simply cannot sign the contract if the L-1 price is altered. Dassault should relent and stick to its commercial bid submitted in response to the original RFP (request for proposal),” he added.

Both sides are furiously working to break the deadlock since India wants to take a final call on the MMRCA project before Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits France in early-April, as earlier reported by TOI., instead of the 94 months envisaged earlier, top defence sources said.

With this “accelerated delivery timeframe” becoming the main objective, India is ready to forego the earlier plan for a 50:50 design and work-share agreement with Russia on its under-development FGFA called PAK-FA or Sukhoi T-50.

India is also no longer insisting that all the single-seat stealth fighters required by IAF be built in India by defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics at its Ozar facility. “We have agreed to a lesser work-share for a realistic contract, with the initial lot of the FGFA being imported and the rest being made here under technology transfer,” said a source.

“Like for the Russian Sukhoi-30MKI fighters (majority of the 272 Sukhois contracted for $12 billion are being made by HAL), the curve in technology absorption will also be steep in the FGFA project,” he added.

Faced with a sharp decline in the number of fighter squadrons in IAF, India wants to fast-track the FGFA project under which its “perspective multi-role fighter” will be based on PAK-FA but tweaked to its requirements.

                                                                    SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

5th-generation Su-35S for India ??

According to report prepared by Pierre Tran and Vivek Raghuvanshi for defensenews.com, claims that India and Russia have agreed to work on 5th-generation fighter aircraft based on Su-35, new aircraft which both countries have agreed on will be a reconfigured as Su-35 dubbed as Su-35S and have termed it as 5th generation fighter jet.

Su-35 is classified as 4++ Generation fighter jet, Class which comes close to a 5th-generation fighter aircraft, minus Internal weapons bay and Special Stealth Coating for minimum radar cross section (RCS) and next generation Avionics and weapons systems.

Article was seen quoting Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov but report does not mention what will happen to FGFA 5th-generation fighter aircraft Project which India and Russia were in talks to be developed from Russian variant of Pak-FA aircraft developed by Sukhoi Bureau , nor mentions if it will replace MMRCA or FGFA Program.

Article also fails to highlight if India and Russia have agreed to develop low cost low level Stealthy  Su-35 which will use fifth-generation fighter technologies to reduce its radar cross-section (RCS) to achieve level of stealth and will have conformal weapons bays (CWB) on similar line of to Boeing’s F-15SE Silent Eagle program or will be a proper 5th generation fighter aircraft incorporating all stealth features of  5th generation fighter technologies seen in Proper 5th generation fighter aircrafts like F-35 and F-22.

Report also says that Russia already has made the presentation to Indian officials who have agreed to be on board new aircraft project making India first country who has agreed to purchase new aircraft which will be manufactured in India. idrw.org does not possess any information from its sources to confirm or deny such news report, we will report back after we get some information on it.

                                                                     SOURCE  : http://idrw.org/

India Pushing Russia For Faster Development For Stealth Aircraft As Rafale Deal Stuck

Faced with delays over its biggest airforce deal, a worried Indian government has asked Russia to expedite production of the planned fifth-generation fighter aircraft and given up its earlier condition that it should be a 50-50 joint venture, a report says.

The deal for buying 126 Rafale fighter aircraft from France’s Dassault has been delayed over negotiations over the $11 billion price tag and guarantees over quality. This has delayed India’s plans to expand its airforce at a time it is underprepared.

The government has asked Russia to speed up the development process of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft, Su-35S, and has agreed to drop some crucial conditions in return. For instance, India is no longer insisting that all aircraft be built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics. According to a source quoted in the report, India has agreed to the existing practice of importing the initial lot of the fighter aircrafts and manufacturing the rest here under technology transfer programme. In return, India wants the first models to start arriving in 36 months, instead of the earlier eight years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pushing for higher manufacturing in India under the ‘Make in India’ initiative, and this move would go contrary to that. Given that the airforce wants to upgrade its squadrons urgently, this is not a surprising move. But the new timeframe that the report quotes is ambitious, given that the technology is the most complex in defence aviation.

Fifth-generation aircrafts have stealth, or the ability to avoid being detected by radars. Currently, the United States is the only country to possess such a combat aircraft, the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The Indian airforce has been struggling to build enough airforce squadrons to counter dual threats from China and Pakistan. India requires at least 45 squadrons to repel a joint attack by both countries but has only 25 active squadrons. 14 of those have old jets that are set to be taken out of service this year. The Rafale deal involves sale of 126 fighter fighter aircraft to help bridge the shortfall.

The airforce cannot afford to cancel the Rafale deal and go back to square one. “The air force can’t go through the process of selecting another aircraft,” said Manmohan Bahadur, a distinguished fellow at the New Delhi-based Centre for Air Power Studies and a retired air vice marshal. “That would delay induction plans.”

Nor can the Rafale be replaced with the Russian combat aircraft because the airforce needs both. “MMRCA and Sukhoi-30, the requirements are slightly different. And they have their own capabilities. They complement each other but do not replace each other,” said Arup Raha, Air Chief Marshal, in this interview. MMRCA (Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft) refers to Rafale. Sukhoi-30 is the fifth generation aircraft that Russia is building.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is due to visit Paris in April, where this deal could come up for discussion. This was also one of the main points of discussionduring French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Drian’s recent visit to India and meetings with his Indian counterpart Manohar Parrikar. But a clear timeline could not be established.

While Pakistan’s airforce is still smaller than India’s, China has raced ahead. It has built the world’s third-largest airforce with about 1,900 fighter aircraft including its indigenously-developed J-31 fifth generation stealth model, which was unveiled last November.


                                                               SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

PLA official confirms 2nd aircraft carrier under construction

A People’s Liberation Army Navy official has confirmed for the first time that China is building its second aircraft carrier, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Ding Haichun, a deputy political commissar of the PLA Navy, acknowledged during an interview with Hong Kong media on March 8 that China’s second aircraft carrier is currently under construction and will be more advanced than the country’s first carrier, the Liaoning, which was retrofitted from the Soviet-era carrier Varyag and commissioned in September 2012.

Once the industrial manufacturing department has completed construction, the carrier will be handed over to the PLA Navy to commence training, Ding said.

Naval power and electrical engineering specialist Ma Weiming added that China’s catapult launch technology has absolutely no problems and can compete with that of the United States.

When questioned by reporters, former PLA Navy political commissar Liu Xiaojiang refused to confirm media speculation that the second aircraft carrier would commcence sea trials as early as this year, noting that the manufacturing process and schedule is highly complex.

Liu admitted he is uncertain just how many aircraft carriers the country intends to build. While some have claimed as many as six carriers are needed to safeguard China’s territorial sovereignty and interests abroad, Liu said the answer will ultimately lie in how much research and development funding is available.

                                                                    SOURCE : http://idrw.org/

Terminate the Rafale Deal

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has repeatedly and publicly declared “there’s no Plan B”, that in effect it is Rafale or nothing with respect to the Indian Air Force’s dubious Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirement. It merits his dismissal from service, because these words denote gross incompetence, failure to anticipate the unexpected and prepare for it—axiomatic in all military planning and, hence, of leadership. For every plan there is always an alternative plan of action in case things don’t work out as envisaged.
The absence of a fallback scheme is, of course, a ruse by Raha to pressurise the government into acceding to IAF’s wishes for the Rafale, despite defence minister Manohar Parrikar spelling out an alternative—the cost-effective, Nasik-produced Su-30MKI, which won’t require multi-billion dollar investment in another production facility and beats the French combat aircraft by any performance standard.

The prohibitive cost and questionable fighting qualities of the Rafale apart, the unwillingness of the French consortium headed by Dassault to guarantee the aircraft licence manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), and to fully meet transfer of technology (TOT) obligations involving Indian public and private sector entities directly or by way of offsets, too, are factors of serious concern. Source codes, flight control laws, and “black box” technologies, including all aspects of the engine, advanced sensors and avionics are likely to be left out of any TOT agreement or worse, paid for but not delivered, if previous defence deals are any guide. Dassault plans on supplying critical components and technologies for the entire production run of the “Indian-made” Rafale to ensure massive recurring profits, whence its insistence that its novice Indian partner, Reliance Aerospace, be part of the local production cycle. One other aspect is equally worrying. HAL assembling Rafale may face the kind of troubles Mazgaon Dockyard Ltd. is experiencing with the French Scorpene submarine where French vendors are delaying the supply of material and hence delaying induction and raising the direct and indirect costs.

The Price Negotiation Committees (PNCs) instituted by the defence ministry to hammer out contracts with foreign firms are to blame for such flawed transactions. Voluminous contracts are drawn up—the Rafale document reportedly exceeds 1,500 pages—but the use of indistinct language deliberately leaves large enough loopholes for even middling technologies, what to speak of the more sensitive “know why” knowledge, to be legitimately denied even as the suppliers pocket the monies the defence ministry is quick to disburse in full at the start. The PNCs need investigating, particularly for the vast leakage of the national wealth through this route.

A recent visit to HAL facilities by Dassault officials is a pointer to things to come. They complained to the US-based Defense News about the low productivity of HAL workforce and lack of economies of scale to argue that Indian-built Rafales will be costlier. Besides indicating that defence PSUs are not proficient in even the low-end screwdriver technology, the French hinted at further escalation of realistic cost beyond the presently estimated $30-$35 billion!

Flawed contracts drafted by PNCs that do not insist on penalties for time and cost overruns, and on staggered payments to fit delivery schedules, moreover, substantiate the fear repeatedly voiced by this analyst, of manipulation of assembly kits and spares supply, for foreign/economic policy reasons by France to ground the IAF squadrons at any time, is real. Such apprehensions are sought to be doused by Paris claiming that owing to TOT India will achieve “industrial autonomy”. But considering the guaranteed high level of French content in the supposedly “indigenous” Rafales, this is a laughable claim.

There are operational reasons as well why Rafale will be a liability. The IAF has always been wary of buying foreign aircraft accessible to its Pakistani counterpart. This was a reason for the rejection of F-16s as MMRCA given that they outfit the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) strike squadrons. Now consider this: Dassault is cock-a-hoop about the likely purchase by Qatar of some 66 Rafales. The Qatari Air Force (QAF) has traditionally been run by PAF pilots, with the understanding that these squadrons will switch to PAF use in any conflict with India. So, IAF Rafales will go up against Pakistani-flown Qatari Rafales that potentially will be better equipped and periodically upgraded with more sophisticated sensors, avionics, and weapons that Saudi Arabia will happily finance, as it did the $500 million deal for PAF’s F-16s and Pakistan’s acquisition of nuclear weapons and missile technologies from China. The Gulf regimes, after all, consider the Pakistan military their palace guard.

And, Rafales cannot be effectively used against China either. Why? Because, firstly, it will not survive sophisticated Chinese air defence; secondly, Dassault won’t allow the indigenous Brahmos supersonic cruise missile to take out targets inside China from standoff range to be integrated with it; and thirdly, because the Rafale is a compromised system for another reason. Pakistan is the prime conduit for Western military, especially aerospace, technologies to China. A Qatari Rafale will be disassembled in Pakistan for Chinese engineers to scrutinise, or wing its way to a Chengdu Aircraft Industry Groupsite for its best features and technologies to be reverse-engineered and incorporated in Chinese combat aircraft, and otherwise permit the Chinese military to familiarise itself with its technical weaknesses and configure appropriate counter-measures and counter-tactics.

Every demerit attends on the Rafale aircraft deal, including its outrageous cost and negligible effects in growing a self-sufficient Indian defence industry. It should be terminated also because of the country’s meagre resources—the capital defence budget of `94,588 crore for 2015-16 remains unchanged from last year, and careful inter se choices will have to be made from among myriad military procurement programmes. In the competition for the defence rupee, the Rafale is eminently expendable. It is time Parrikar told IAF, using the words of former US defence secretary Robert Gates, that “there’s no endless money”. If a Rafale deal is still signed to crown Narendra Modi’s April 10 visit to France, the government will have much to answer for.

Enhancing potentiality: Super Sukhoi to add punch to IAF

The Sukhoi-30 MKI which is the main stay of IAF fighter fleets will have to undergo upgradation to remain relevant to future air warfare. Although the software is wearing out too fast, the fighter remains a potent combat machine. The IAF’s SU-30 MKIs which look similar to many Sukhoi fighters is significantly different from other SU-30s in terms of capabilities. This time IAF should clearly spell out what it needs in SU-30MKIs by 2020. Often, the upgradation cost of a jet comes pretty close to buying a new one.

 Indian Air Force would be significantly enhancing its combat capabilities by upgrading its most formidable SU-30MKI fighters to the approaching level of Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, which India plans to develop jointly with the Russian Sukhoi company.

 The FGFA and Super Sukhoi would thus form a ferocious combination of multi-role aircraft, which can dominate the skies over the neighboring countries and the entire Indian Ocean area. The FGFA is likely to be inducted in the IAF from 2018 and the Super Sukhois would also begin joining the fleet around same time.

 The IAF would have almost 270 Sukhoi-30MKIs by 2017 and the IAF Headquarters plans all them to be upgraded to the near fifth generation level and the IAF has decided to name them as Super Sukhoi.

 At present, the IAF has a fleet of five squadrons of SU-30MKIs and the rest are being license produced in Indian HAL, almost 10 per year. This will be for the first time that while an aircraft which is still under induction phase will be undergoing significant upgradation in combat capabilities.

 The Super-Sukhois would be maximally close to FGFA claimed Alexei I Fedorov who is President and Chairman of the Board of Irkut Corporation, a Russian Joint Stock Company.

 In Moscow during the MAKS-2011 Fedorov talked extensively about the modernization of Sukhoi-30 MKI. According to Fedorov, “our cooperation with India is going on very well. We have very good industrial cooperation with HAL.”

 “We began our cooperation with MiG-27. Together with HAL we have supplied IAF 165 MIG-27s.As far as Sukhoi-30 MKI is concerned 15 years ago we launched cooperation with HAL under SU-30MKI project. In the beginning it was delivery of aircraft, and then in cooperation with HAL we together started license manufacture. India remains our largest and biggest partner,” he said.

 He added if we speak about product line among SU-30MKI family we began the production of combat trainer Yak-130. Now we are developing many large projects of medium range airliner.

The modernization program

 At this stage Irkut is presenting cabin mockup, power plant and the wind box. The wing of this aircraft will be made of carbon fibres. According to Fedorov, India will remain Irkut’s largest and biggest partner in future as well.

 This is the first such in Russia and not many foreign countries produce such aircrafts. Irkut is the largest flier of aircraft and aviation products in the market.

 In response to questions, Fedorov informed that “as far as SU-30MKI is concerned, we have two modernization programs. First is the modernization where the cockpit and all systems would be improved. We are moving in the stage of negotiating technical part.”

He hopes that during this financial year Irkut will conclude the project. It is very large program which is several billion dollars. The second part would be the modernization of the aircraft together with Brahmos air-to-ground supersonic cruise missile program.

 Now together with Indian Ministry of Defence we are working out how to share work under the modernization program. What will be done in Russia and in India will be finalized. Fedorov hoped, “this year we will come to conclusion.”

Asked what systems are being proposed, Fedorov declined to give details. But said that we are in negotiation for the upgrading of the entire Sukhoi-30 MKI USD 12 billion project for which the cost has gone up by USD 4 billion.

 Under our signed contract, escalation of prices has been included, which is changing. Next year we plan to finalize the development work. After the development work we hope that two year time will be required to finish.

 Fedorov revealed that the IAF wants that the new upgraded SU-30 MKIs should be called as Super Sukhoi fighter. Irkut is negotiating to incorporate the AESA radar in the Sukhoi-30MKIs.

 Our idea is to modernize the SU-30 MKI to bring it to near 5th generation aircraft capability. At present, we are negotiating the upgradation. He asserted, “we are trying to get SU-30MKI maximally to FGFA.”

First of all, Irkut is modernizing the cockpit for pilots. This is so designed that it will be easier for the pilots to shift to Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft being developed jointly by India and Russia.

 The upgraded Super Sukhoi would also have advanced stealth characteristics. The Super Sukhoi can also be equipped with other long range missiles like R-27P (AA-10 D) infrared homing extended range version of 120 km distance.

 Besides medium range missiles like R-77 (AA-12) with active radar homing medium range 100 km along with other 80 km medium range missiles can also be added.

 At present, the current fleet of Sukhoi-30MKIs in IAF will be upgraded to Super Sukhoi. He expressed confidence that the first Super Sukhoi aircraft will be ready by 2015. First the conversion of initial fleets inducted in the early years of last decade will be undertaken for conversion to Super Sukhoi.

 As soon as all the testing is completed the older ones will start getting upgraded. But he refused to answer queries on the costs. But said, “total value will be of several billion dollars. It is difficult to tell you about exact price. SU-30 has good market in South East Asia.”

Export plans

 Irkut now plans to export to Malaysia and Indonesia and Algerian Air Forces which will enlarge the order book. Fedorov thus asserted that India will have no role in exporting the SU-30MK aircraft to third country.

 In response to a question, Fedorov said that Sukhoi-30 and MiG-35 (offered under MMRCA contract for the IAF) are different aircrafts. SU-30 is a heavy multi role fighter but MiG-35 is a medium fighter.

 That is why SU-30 can carry more arms, although technologically they have lot of similarities. In Super Sukhoi, the electronics will be upgraded heavily and the Super Sukhois will carry more weapon loads.

 Asked if China has sought the upgradation of the SU-30MKK, Fedorov said that first of all there are basic differences between Indian and Chinese SU-30s as the Power plants do not match. On other counts also the Indian and Chinese SU-30s do not match.

 Fedorov revealed that the Super Sukhoi will have same engine as in FGFA. It will enhance the life cycle of SU-30MKIs. However, first aircraft will be upgraded in two years time.

 After the contract is signed prototype will be made in Russia after the finalisation of the technical design. When asked if all the 270 SU-30 to be inducted in IAF in the coming years would be upgraded, Fedorov said that, “as far as we know IAF would like to upgrade most of the fleet. Customers want like that.”

Asked about the recent crash of the Sukhoi-30MKI, Fedorov revealed that it was due to pilot error.

 Russia would thus be getting another multi billion dollar contract after the almost 30-35 billion dollar deal for the next 20 years from the FGFA project.

 Fedorov said that Super Sukhoi program would not be covered under the offset rules of the Indian MoD’s Defence Procurement Procedure, as the upgradation project would be done under an extension of the previous Sukhoi-30 MKI agreement.