Skip to main content

IAF cut orders for 5th Gen FGFA by Half, down to only 65 aircrafts



Looking to cut costs and prune military imports, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has halved its demand for Russian-built fifth generation fighter aircraft (FGFA).It now wants just three squadrons of the fighter jets which are to be inducted into the Russian Air Force in 2016.

Sources say the IAF has scaled down its needs and now indicated that just three squadrons (around 18 planes in each), besides a few more for training of the pilots, will be enough for now. This works out to be 65 planes, almost half from the earlier projection of 127 FGFAs to be jointly designed and produced by India and Russia.The T-50 has been built for the Russians under the PAK-FA (Prospective Airborne Complex of Frontline Aviation) programme for the fifth generation fighter aircraft.

A plane will cost $100 million (Rs 650 crore). Three squadrons are the projection of an off-the-shelf deal India is pressing its military ally for immediate delivery of the planes.New Delhi has suggested to Moscow that the T-50 fighter jet can be supplied to the IAF, while the research to improve upon the aircraft can carry on simultaneously. The Tribune had first reported about India’s offer on February 24 this year.

Simultaneously, the IAF is also working on a $11 billion R&D contract for long-term development of the jet. It is pending ratification since 2013. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on August 4, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said the preliminary design stage of the fifth generation fighter aircraft programme completed in June 2013.

“The expenditure incurred so far is Rs 1,483.15 crore,” Parrikar said. The next stage of development of the fifth generation fighter aircraft will commence after signing of the R&D contract.The problem is in case India opts for the R&D contract route, the deliveries are envisaged to commence 94 months – eight years. The next best option is to go for an immediate off-the-shelf purchase and in case the research-and-development contract works out, more jets can be produced here.

With a dwindling fleet of fighter jets, this wait is not an option for the IAF, said sources. By the end of this year, the IAF would be at its lowest combat strength in more than a decade. It will be down to 32 squadrons by the end of this year and in the middle of a predicted shortage.

In a nutshell, the IAF with 576 fighter jets will be well short of the 750-strong fighter jet fleet mandated by a government sanction to wage a simultaneous two-front war with Pakistan and China.The pruning down of numbers has been done as the IAF is backing its own options of getting French-origin Rafale jets and the remaining batch of 72 Sukhoi-30 MKI jets from Russia, sources say.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to France in April this year announced the intent to get 36 Rafale jets. A cost negotiation committee is in talks with the French company and the numbers could go beyond the announced 36 as the IAF has projected a demand for 80 Rafale-type planes.


                                                                  SOURCE: Tribune News Service

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LCA-Tejas : Cleared for Export, DRDO and IAF to Work together in exploring possibilities

After been Cleared for Export by Ministry of Defence with firm backing of Indian air force which too has given its blessing, DRDO is working on exploring possibilities to hard sell its indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas to prospective buyers from overseas in 2016 on wards. Sources close to the programme told idrw.org that after formal list of defence items which can be exported has been endorsed by the ministry of defence, which also included LCA-Tejas, DRDO and IAF are working on plans to work together in exploring potential buyers for the aircraft. DRDO believes that long-delayed LCA-Tejas project which is finally inching towards its final FOC Certification and at the price point of around 30 $ million equipped with Modern Radar, digital fly-by-wire system, flight control systems and open architecture computer, LCA-Tejas can be easily termed among best aircraft currently in its type. Earlier in Aero India 20015  held in India many Prospective buyers...
2 comments
Read more

Boeing’s F-18 Super Hornets ‘Super Confident’ Of Beating French Rafale Jets To Grab Indian Navy’s Fighter Jet Deal

Rafale-M F-18 Super Hornets US aerospace giant Boeing seems confident about F-18 Super Hornets winning the Indian Navy’s carrier-borne fighter jet contract, outpacing the French Dassault Rafale fighter jets, according to the latest reports. In January 2017, the Indian Navy issued an RFI (Request for Interest) to acquire 57 multi-role carrier-borne fighters, after long delays and technical glitches in building the indigenous HAL-Tejas for the Navy. Among the four contenders in the race, the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet and Dassault Rafale navy-variant are head-to-head in winning the ₹24,000 crore deal, given the Indian Navy’s twin-engine preference. The other two are Sweden’s SAAB and Rosoboronexport of Russia. Both Dassault and Boeing are marketing their fighters as suitable for the Indian Navy, claiming their respective aircraft can be easily integrated with India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-1), named Vikrant, set to be commissioned in 2022-23.         ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Fifth test of China's WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle conducted

China successfully carried out the fifth test of its WU-14 hypersonic glide vehicle from the Wuzhai missile test range in northern China’s Shanxi province on Aug. 19, reports the Washington Free Beacon. Pentagon officials said the WU-14 — as it has been designated by the Pentagon — not only traveled along the edge of the atmosphere but also demonstrated evasive maneuvers during the latest test, the report said. This information indicates that the hypersonic glide vehicle was designed particularly for a potential war with the United States, the report said. US missile defense systems are developed to intercept missiles that follow predictable flight paths. They are unable to counter maneuvering warheads and glide vehicles, said the report. A defense official said the WU-14 is viewed as a serious emerging strategic threat that could complicate US nuclear deterrent efforts. Richard Fisher of the International Assessment and Strategy Center said that the best defensive response ...
Post a Comment
Read more