Dassault Rafale, tender | News & Discussions

[Bang Galore]

Australia plans to buy more Super Hornets: report
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, Australia is weighing the option to buy 18 more Super Hornets at a cost of $800 million each, the newspaper said.
]

What rubbish ! Must be $800 million for 18 planes.

 

[SpArK]

What rubbish ! Must be $800 million for 18 planes.

Thats a bundle offer ....

 

[SpArK]

Livefist: Eurofighter Announces Incremental Strike Capability


Live Fist is slower than me.

 

[Bang Galore]

The more you read into this the more you see how little chance the MiG-35 has in winning. Maybe back in 2005-6 when the initial RFIs were issued but alot has changed and now its chances are close to 0%. I mean its not enough that the Indian armed forces have had problems in the past of spares and maintenance but then there is news that the IN's MiG-29k, the version the Mig-35 is based, has trouble with spares?? I mean just what are the Russians thinking they can treat such essential customers like this? I'm sure this news rung quite loudly in the ears of the IAF's MMRCA selection team and those in the MoD attached to this deal. It could be argued this may have worked in the past when India had no alternatives but now it does and in this case (MMRCA) there are 5 other very capable contenders. If anyone has lost this bid for the Russians it is themselves- they have thrown away BILLIONS of dollars (which they badly need) in not just this deal but many other future deals.

+ I'm sorry but I just can't see the Gripen being selected purely because it is TOO much trodding on the LCA's toes and would just be a duplication of services. If DRDO + ADRE are to be believed future versions (Mk.2) of thr LCA are to be as good if not better than the Gripen. Even if it's not true it seems the Gripen doesn't fit into the IAF's inventory (filling the gap between the heavy air superiority fighters- FGFA/PAK-FA/MKI ad the light LCA). As the days pass it seems one of the Euro birds is going to take home the gold- and why not the US has already recieved BILLIONS (P-8i, C-130-30j, possibly C-17) so spreading the suppliers is a VERY good idea both geo-politically (buys alot of friends around the world) and strategically (makes India almost sanction proof).

Mig 35 was out before it even came in. The European planes are good but frightfully expensive; the EF almost double the cost of the SH. The EF might be better than the SH but is it twice as better to pay so much. The Gripen actually is the one plane that fits the original requirement of the MRCA contract which was to replace single engined Mig-21's. The Rafale would cost an arm & a leg considering that no one else is planning on buying it & India (if it buys) would end up funding any & all development of the platform. The EF has received a bit of bad press recently with the Brits slamming it for its lack of A2G capabilities. Would prefer a split order since that would probably lead to faster induction into the IAF & my choice would be the Gripen & the SH unless the EF countries offered a real sweet deal.

 

[Markus]

What rubbish ! Must be $800 million for 18 planes.

Or may be they meant $80 million per plane.

The printer put an additional zero to 80.

 

[Archie]

What rubbish ! Must be $800 million for 18 planes.

Naah
That translate into 44 million per aircraft which is too low for Super Hornet
More likely , it is 80 Million USD per Aircraft

 

[jha]

Naah
That translate into 44 million per aircraft which is too low for Super Hornet
More likely , it is 80 Million USD per Aircraft

Seems too less..They had bought 24 SH in 6 bill..

 

[Archie]

Seems too less..They had bought 24 SH in 6 bill..

Yeah but that included Cost of setting training and maintenance infrastructure , as well as adequate spares and weapon's package

 

[sancho]

The more you read into this the more you see how little chance the MiG-35 has in winning. Maybe back in 2005-6 when the initial RFIs were issued but alot has changed and now its chances are close to 0%. I mean its not enough that the Indian armed forces have had problems in the past of spares and maintenance but then there is news that the IN's MiG-29k, the version the Mig-35 is based, has trouble with spares?? I mean just what are the Russians thinking they can treat such essential customers like this?...

I think there are 2 problems, once that Mig (as a company) obviously is not as good in terms of quality and reliability like Sukhoi although they are merged now.
Secondly the fact that not even Russia will order Mig 35 (and IN is also the biggest customer of Mig 29Ks), makes Mig dependent on fundings from us to survive, or even to develop modifications and techs. We saw the same problem with the production of Zhuk ME radars that run into problems, because they couldn't pay their workers. That makes it so difficult and risky for Indian forces, because there is no future for the fighter and the cost increase for upgrades and maintenace is foreseeable.

Russia has simply not the financial capabilities that they had in the Soviet times, that's why they have to build new structures and modernise their own industry. That's also why they open themself for European arms and techs, instead of develop anything on their own (Mistral class LHD, APCs...). For Mig the MMRCA offer is a desperate attempt to remain an important manfacturer, instead of just beeing a minor part of the new merged company (UAC United Aircraft Corporation).

 

[sudhir007]

Livefist: Eurofighter Announces Incremental Strike Capability

PRESS STATEMENT: "Eurofighter successfully added more air-to-ground capabilites last week when partner company Cassidian Spain achieved the first EGBU-16 precision guided munition avionic release. This accomplishment comes immediately after the first Paveway IV release carried out during February in the UK. Both reinforce the un-matched growth potential of the Eurofighter Typhoon and confirm the built-in multi-role capability of the aircraft."

 

[SpArK]

M-MRCA Competition: The Final Faceoff
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Prasun K. Sengupta <----

The Indian Air Force (IAF) earlier this month completed Phase 6 of the eight-phase process of acquiring some 220 medium multi-role combat aircraft (M-MRCA) when it submitted its comprehensive technical evaluation report on the six M-MRCA contenders to India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD). All that is now left to be done is completion of the price evaluation report—inclusive of the direct/indirect industrial offsets offers proposed by the manufacturers of all six M-MRCA contenders—by a joint team comprising members from the IAF, the MoD and the Union Ministry of Finance, following which the Cabinet Committee on National Security (CCNS) and the Defence Acquisitions Council (DAC) will make the formal selection of the winner by this September. While the initial contract will be for procuring 126 M-MRCAs, there will definitely be a follow-on contract inked by 2016 for procuring an additional 94 M-MRCAs. This would mean that all 220 M-MRCAs will be delivered between the 2013-2024 period, and would remain in service till 2060 at least.

Contrary to popular belief, the IAF’s technical evaluations committee (TEC) has not devised any kind of pecking order for the various M-MRCA contenders. Instead, based on the universal practice of impartially analysing the merits and demerits of each offer—characteristic of a competitive bidding process—the TEC has concluded that only two of the six contenders—Boeing Defense & Aerospace Group’s tandem-seat F/A-18IN Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation’s tandem-seat Rafale B—come closest to meeting or exceeding the IAF’s operational requirements. These are followed by the single-engined F-16IN from Lockheed Martin, Eurofighter GmbH’s EF-2000, and the JAS-39 Gripen IN from Saab Aircraft BV. The MiG-35 from Russia’s United Aircraft Corp was never a serious contender as it exists only on paper till this day. So what were the parameters that have tilted the balance in favour of the F/A-18IN and Rafale? And what will be the parameters that will play the decisive roles in favour of the winning bid?--Prasun K. Sengupta
(to be concluded)



TRISHUL: M-MRCA Competition: The Final Faceoff

 

[casual]

ima call it now. india is going for F/A-18

 

[luckyyy]

ima call it now. india is going for F/A-18

these reports are mere speculations only ....

 

[SpArK]

A careful reading of the RFP’s introductory section reveals what exactly the IAF desires from an operational perspective.


1) The M-MRCA on offer has to be a fully functional and mature system, with all its listed capabilities already in operational service and not requiring any further fine-tuning or R & D work.


2) The M-MRCA on offer has to deliver a payload capacity that is much greater than that of the envisaged Tejas Mk2 MRCA, but no more than what the Su-30MKI is already certified to carry.


3) The M-MRCA on offer has to come equipped with an infra-red search-and-track system optimised for air superiority operations, as well as a fully certified active phased-array multi-mode radar (AESA-MMR) capable of waging all-weather and network-centric knowledge-based air-to-air and air-to-surface warfare, and must come armed with standoff precision-guided munitions for both land-attack and maritime strike.


4) The M-MRCA on offer must have sufficient future growth capability to ensure that during its envisaged 40-year service life, it can be subjected to at least two major upgrade programmes aimed at enhancing the aircraft’s operational performance parameters.


5) For ensuring total operational sovereignty over the M-MRCA on offer, the aircraft must be accompanied by a through-life product support package that includes the establishment of all four levels of maintenance within India through the creation of a dedicated IAF base repair depot, plus through private sector/public sector product support joint ventures in which the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of foreign origin (for the airframe, avionics, instrumentation, engine and accessories) and its Indian counterpart will be the principal business stakeholders, this being in consonance with the MoD’s direct industrial offsets guidelines (amounting to 50% of the total contract value) that are laid down by the MoD’s Defence Procurement Policy.


6) The M-MRCA on offer must be accompanied by the availability and delivery of fully certified training aids that should include the following:

A) Full-flight (or full-motion) simulator (FFS), which recreates sounds, motion, visual scenes, instrument presentations and all other systems in order to create a realistic flight training environment. The pilot will be able to train for landing, takeoff, weapons delivery, night flight, formation flight and cockpit familiarisation in normal, adverse and emergency situations. The handling characteristics of the FFS represent actual aircraft characteristics based on available flight data and input from experienced pilots.
B) Flight training device (FTD), which can be used to off-load some of the training tasks from the FFS. The FTD is a fixed-base trainer that typically does not include a visual system, but uses the same flight management and control systems as a FFS, making it the ideal for instrument familiarisation and other standard flight operations.
C) Cockpit procedures trainer (CPT), which assists pilots in learning the layout of the cockpit, the location of switches, lights, circuit breakers, instruments, and other functions. The CPT increases efficiency in the FFS and the actual aircraft by having the aircrew already familiarised with their surroundings.
D) Part-task trainer (PTT), which is a training device that is designed to train a member of the aircrew or maintenance staff on a particular task associated with the aircraft. PTTs exist for a range of tasks including: avionics systems, systems familiarisation, weapons delivery, aerial refuelling, and a variety of complex tasks specific to a particular aircraft.
E) Integrated procedures trainer (IPT), which can be used for mission rehearsals or to teach and practice any in-flight or on-ground procedures in a crew cockpit environment. It is a high-fidelity, low-cost training solution based on the same software used on the FFS. The IPT uses touch-screen monitors to display the cockpit and captures pilot inputs. The pilots can thus maintain their qualification on certain tasks without having to fly the FFS or the real aircraft. In addition to procedures training, especially for cockpit emergencies, the addition of a visual and tactical environment can give pilots the ability to practice the mission before operational deployment using the mission rehearsal station. This unit can be set-up and dismantled in one or two hours and handled and transported easily without the use of special tools or equipment.
F) Computer-based training tools required for all four levels of maintenance.


7) Lastly, the M-MRCA on offer has to be delivered—through both off-the-shelf purchases as well as through in-country licenced-assembly—at a rate of no less than 20 aircraft per annum so that the IAF’s objective of fielding 42 combat squadrons is realised by 2022.

 

[kingdurgaking]

^^^^^ if the above thing is real then American birds have the edge.. to some extent Dassault too comes into the vicious circle