Aerospace Diary

Russia Pitches MiG-35 to India as FGFA Project Falters by  Neelam Mathews  - September 7, 2017, 7:56 AM As the contest to supply a new fighter aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) heats up, the MiG-35 has emerged as a viable candidate. India is supposedly seeking about 220 single-engine fighters to replace 11 squadrons of MiG-21/27s that entered service in the 1990s. Rosoboronexport is believed to have offered a licensed production deal for the twin-engine MiG-35 that would compensate for the IAF’s reluctance to proceed with the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA) project. At the MAKS 2017 airshow in July, Ilya Tarasenko, director general of Russian Aircraft Corporation MiG, said: “We are actively working with the IAF in order to win the tender.” Russia has committed to a 40-year maintenance and upgrade contract to preclude the support issues that have arisen in the past with Russian aircraft in service wit...

Neelam Mathews and Chris Pocock Sept 23 2016 French Defence Minister Yves Le Drian (left) signed the inter-governmental agreement on the Rafale with Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar. More than four years after the Dassault Rafale  was chosen  for its Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) requirement, India has signed an inter-governmental agreement with France worth €7.87 billion for 36 aircraft. The deal was inked in Delhi today by the defense ministers of both countries. It specifies details of the contract, including timelines. However, the support, logistics and 50 percent offsets package will be signed in a few months, a senior MoD official told  AIN . While the agreement has an option clause for 18 more Rafales, it is unclear whether more of the French jets will eventually be manufactured or assembled in the country, under the terms of the “Make In India” policy. The  original  MMRCA  requirement ...

by Neelam Mathews  - October 15, 2015, 11:16 AM Indian air force chief of air staff AM Arup Raha reviews engine component production at HAL’s Koraput factory. (Photo: Indian MoD) The Indian Air Force continues to mull alternative plans for its future combat aircraft fleet. But despite a recent call by chief of staff   AM   Arup Raha to speed up production of the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ), a senior MoD official has told   AIN   that India will exercise its option for 36 more Rafales in a year’s time. The contract for the first 36 is expected to be signed shortly. Despite years of development, the   IAF   has received only one   LCA   from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd ( HAL ), for weapons integration and testing. Another three are due to be delivered by mid-2016, and   HAL   has said it can produce up to eight   LCA s annually, after investment in jigs, tools and fixtures. The   IAF   place...

by  Chris Pocock  and Neelam Mathews  - April 15, 2015, 4:45 PM This model of the Rafale in Indian Air Force markings was displayed at the last Aero-India show. (Photo: Neelam Mathews) The new Indian government’s decision ‘in principle’ to  buy 36 Rafale combat aircraft  direct from the Dassault production line in France, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 10, appears to spell the end of the medium multi-role combat aircraft ( MMRCA ) acquisition process. Speaking on Indian television two days later, defense minister Manohar Parrikar acknowledged that the protracted delay in closing the  MMRCA  deal, caused largely by difficulty in agreeing terms and conditions for licensed production of the Rafale in India, had not served India well. Under the  MMRCA  plan, the Indian Air Force ( IAF ) would have received its first squadron of 18 Rafales from France, 12 single- and six twin-seaters. A further 108 woul...

Neelam Mathews April 16, 2015 Following India’s delayed decision on the Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), a process initiated in 2000, the announcement by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the first day of his trip to France on Apr 13, for an ‘in principle’ clearance for the outright purchase of 36 Rafales in flyaway condition, is being seen as a game changer in the way defense procurement will now be done in India. The buy includes life cycle support and 50% offsets, AerospaceDiary learns While India is expected to exercise its option clause for 18 Rafales in future for outright buys that will take its Rafale squadrons to three, in a recent interview by IBN7 with Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar clearly indicated a desire to produce a single-engine fighter on Make in India basis. According to Parrikar the original deal for 126 is valued at approximately $14.50 billion, which leaves a large amount of money to consider the single-engine fighter. We are guessing it wi...

PARIS AIR SHOW  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS HAL’s Light Combat Aircraft, a Mach 1.8, multi-role fighter that first flew last year, is scheduled to undergo carrier compatibility tests before year-end. June 17, 2013, 5:15 AM A target for criticism over delays in projects in the past, India’s largest defense manufacturer, government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. ( HAL ) is undergoing a transformation of its human resource through training and  innovative programs . This is focusing on two urgent requirements–the overdue Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ); and the Intermediate Jet Trainer ( IJT ).  HAL  (Chalet A 124) has confirmed that the projects will go into production in the next five years. Even as India opens up to procuring more Western military aircraft and its civil fleet grows,  HAL ’s inclination to establish partnerships is becoming increasingly apparent. For example drawing on its inherent str...

AIN NEWS LIVE FROM AEROINDIA  »  2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Hindustran Aeronautics's weaponized Rudra advanced light helicopter has received initial operational clearance. February 4, 2013, 12:13 PM Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. ( HAL ) is expected to unveil an armed variant of its Rudra advanced light helicopter ( ALH ) at the Aero India show this week. The helicopter will be in the flying display along with the  HAL  Light Combat Helicopter. Meanwhile, scale models of the Light Utility Helicopter, Hawk, Light Combat Aircraft ( LCA ) and Su-30 aircraft in which the Indian group is involved on partnership terms will be on display at the company’s stand (Hall E, Stand E2.6). “For the first time, we will present to the world glimpses of prospective multirole fighter ( PMF ), also known as Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft ( FGFA ), under co-development with the Russians,” said  R.K.  Tyagi, chairman of...

  Indian Air Force Chief Outlines Fighter Jet Plans AIN DEFENSE PERSPECTIVE  »  SEPTEMBER 21, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS The second prototype of the Sukhoi T-50 PAK FA lands at Zhukovsky airbase during the recent Russian Air Force 100th anniversary airshow. India is negotiating development of its own version, the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. (Photo: Chris Pocock) September 21, 2012, 11:40 AM An Indian negotiating team is heading for Russia to finalize details of the country’s participation in development of the Sukhoi T-50, also known by the Russian acronym  PAK   FA  and by India as the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft ( FGFA ). India is providing half of the expected $11 billion cost to develop the aircraft, and earlier  signed a preliminary design contract worth $295 million . The Indian development contract is expected to take six months to conclude,  AIN  has learned.. In an ex...