Dassault Rafale, tender | News & Discussions

[GORKHALI]

 

[GORKHALI]

 

[sancho]

The text you google translated from French to English means both the laser designator and propulsion kit were used to target loyalist forces and assets...

..."Guided by laser" obviously means the AASM was 'laser spot tracking'.

Wrong, because it don't say guided by laser, but guided by a laser designation system = LDP! And what did you said about geo-pointing?

...geo-pointing is the use of laser to obtain the GPS co-ordinates of a laser spot.

Now compare your own words, with what the Rafale newsblog said ( which I show you for the 3rd time):

the LDP is used to feed the AASM with GPS coordinates (especially for opportunity targets).

You even confirm what they said and still refuese the obvious with your speculations and wrong claims!
For the last time, the article says nothing about a laser AASM like you first claimed, neither that the AASM was guided by a laser, but that they used an LDP and a propulsion kit for the strike!

 

[sancho]

A2A config comparisons of MMRCA (or IAF) related fighters over Libya:


UAE airfoce Mirage 2000-5 and F16 Block 60 - each with 2 x SR and 4 x MR missiles

Swedish airforce Gripen C/D - with 2 x SR and 2 x MR missiles

French airforce Rafale F3 - with 2 x SR and 4 x MR missiles

Royal airforce Eurofighter T2 - with 4 x SR and 4 x MR missiles

Spanish airforce F18 Hornet - with 2 x SR and 2 x MR missiles

Note, the UAE fighter pics were taken when they arrived at the bases in Italy, in the air policing roles they will use less fuel tanks. The Rafales are flying from air bases in France and has still 2 wingstations left for missiles, depending on customer requirements (UAE wants to add them).
The Gripen C/D is fully loaded and shows the load difference of light fighters with less weapon stations (which is similar to LCA) and medium class fighters. Gripen E/F that is offered in the MMRCA instead, will be able to carry 2 more missiles on the new centerline stations and has a higher internal fuel load to equal the lack of a fuel tank.
The EF is flying with the highest missile load, but still has 2 wingstations for weapons and the centerline stations for a fuel tank left if needed.

It's also interesting that the F16 and the Gripen carries LDPs, although their governments did not allowed to use them in strike missions. Which hints that they also will search for ground targets and transfer the coordinates to other fighters, or do the damage assessment after strikes.

Edit: The F18 Hornets are also flying with an LDP!

 

[SpArK]

Indian Navy officers check out Hornet landing on USS Ron Reagan

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 8, 2011) Rear Adm. Robert Girrier, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 7, observes flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) with Indian naval officers of the Eastern Fleet. Ronald Reagan is participating in Exercise Malabar, a bi-lateral coordination with the Indian navy and is operating in the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin B. Gray/Released)​

 

[Abingdonboy]

Indian Navy officers check out Hornet landing on USS Ron Reagan

PACIFIC OCEAN (April 8, 2011) Rear Adm. Robert Girrier, commander of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 7, observes flight operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) with Indian naval officers of the Eastern Fleet. Ronald Reagan is participating in Exercise Malabar, a bi-lateral coordination with the Indian navy and is operating in the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin B. Gray/Released)​

I suppose this will have more of an affect on the N-MMRCA more than the IAF MMRCA.

It's a good opportunity for IN to keep pace with current/future ACC ops given they are going to a major operator in this field in the not to distant future. Reminds me of an article by " " I read comparing IN and PLA-N future ACC capabilities and it gave India the edge as they already have extensive experience of operating an ACC for nearly 50 yrs and have world class naval fighter training incorporating the latest tech/training from abroad and domestic.

 

[PRACTICAL PATRIOT]

i m becoming gripen fan day by day

 

[SpArK]

The MMRCA According To Admiral Arun Prakash

 

[SpArK]

 

[SpArK]

 

[SpArK]

Australia plans to buy more Super Hornets: report
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CANBERRA (BNS): As the much-touted Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme gets delayed, Australia may consider buying more F/A-18F Super Hornet fighters for its air force.

Australian defence officials are set to visit the US this week for an update from Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of the JSF F-35 Lightening II, about the delivery schedule of the jets, The Australian reported Monday.

The country plans to buy up to 100 F-35 fighters and has placed an initial order for 14. The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was expected to induct the first batch of F-35 advanced stealth fighters by 2018.

However, the US Air Force too is buying the same variant of the Joint Strike Fighter as the RAAF and has pushed back the dates by which it expects to have its first squadrons operational from mid-2016 to 2017 -- and possibly now to mid-2018, the news report said.

Despite assurances from Lockheed that the first 14 fighters will be delivered to it on time, Australian defence officials believe that deployment of the new generation fighters in the RAAF would not happen before 2020 or even later.

As the RAAF's aging classic 'Hornets' would be nearing the end of their life span by that time, to bridge the gap in its air defence, Australia is weighing the option to buy 18 more Super Hornets at a cost of $800 million each, the newspaper said.

The Australian Government had signed a $6 billion deal with the US in 2007 to acquire 24 F/A-18F Super Hornets. All the fighters have been delivered to the country.

Buying additional Super Hornets would make economic sense, because the $6bn purchase price for the first 24 Super Hornets included the infrastructure to support them and that can be used for the additional aircraft, the news report said.


Australia plans to buy more Super Hornets: report - Brahmand.com

 

[SpArK]

Press Release - Eurofighter Typhoon successfully adds more air-to-ground capabilities
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Monday, 11. April 2011

The Eurofighter’s air-to-ground capabilities were further improved last week when partner company Cassidian Spain achieved the first EGBU-16 precision guided munition avionic release.

This success comes immediately after the first successful Paveway IV release carried out during February in the UK. These trials saw both bomb types being successfully released from Eurofighter aircraft and focused on the functional integration into the weapon system.

The EGBU-16 is the selected dual mode precision guided munition for Germany, Spain and Italy whereas the Paveway IV precision guided bomb is the choice for the UK. Included in the broad-ranging Phase 1 Enhancement (P1E) programme, both weapons improve the all weather precision attack capability on the Typhoon.


The Typhoon aircraft has been autonomously air-to-ground capable since 2008 when the RAF successfully integrated the Paveway laser guided bombs with the Litening III laser designation pod on to its Typhoon fleet. Demonstrating an unrivalled precision, the combination of weapons has been tested during several exercises both in the UK and abroad, confirming the built-in multi-role capability of the Typhoon.


Eurofighter:  News Detail

 

[SpArK]

Latest video of Gripen with heavy load
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[Abingdonboy]

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).

 

[SpArK]

Another Saab Released video