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The ACM himself said that PAF would choose Block-60 or another F-16 variant over Eurofighter and Rafale.
Other than the AESA, what else is unique about the F-16IN compared to the block 52+?
There are multiple 'improvements & upgrades' in the F-16IN compared to Block-52+...that is based off a source of mine in the defence industry. Northrop Grumman and other firms involved have initiated projects to produce Super Falcons (Block-60, IN, Block-70, etc) to compete with Boeing. If the first PAF Block-52+ is inducted, I guarantee you the PAF would look at the next phase of F-16. The idea is to take on the Super Hornet, Rafale, Eurofighter, Gripen-NG, MiG-35 and latest Sukhoi-27/30 variants on the market.
Nonetheless any decent AF releasing a tender for a 4.5 generation fighter, LM will send them an offer based on F-16. PAF never released a tender for such requirements...hence why would LM pour in money to draw up a new F-16 without a reason?
IAF issued the MRCA requirements, and LM recognized a new market - the same market Boeing was trying to capture...4.5 generation fighters. It is not India or MRCA which LM is centering its next F-16-series on...it IS Pakistan, Morocco, Turkey, Oman, Bahrain, etc. These countries are in the mud for the next phase of F-16s...they got the basic airframe, and are not in a position to go Eurofighter/Rafale.
Yeah...but LM made it clear that it'd be willing if someone was willing to pay for the development. Besides that though...I think there are subsystems from the companies involved with LM - i.e. Northrop, the ECM/EW firms - that are developing new systems for F-16. Got to consider that countries like Turkey, Greece, Morocco, Israel, Pakistan, Oman, etc, will still use their Block-52+ frames for a long while. Northrop and Selex are already competing for the AESA segment with SABR and Vixen-750, respectively.Mark,
Mark my words (now this sounds funny ), the F-16IN will not be anything vastly different than whats coming down the assembly line. F-16 blk 60 was an effort funded by the UAEAF to go beyond the then envelope of performance being offered by LM on the F-16. The UAE dumped quite a bit of money into the program to make it happen. LM would not have gone it alone because of the JSF coming down the pike.
For LM to start up the F-16 development again is not happening from a realistic point of view. They have too much invested in the JSF and have quite a bit to lose if they start researching and developing a new version of the F-16 beyond the blk-60. Just the development cost of something would take the price in the Rafale to Typhoon range and if there are no buyers aside from India, don't expect the costs of the development to be eaten up by LM.
What I can tell is on offer is a customized and bastardized version of a blk-60 with India specific upgrades/additions/deletions from the options list. There is nothing "next generational" on this aircraft aside from a slightly tweaked AESA of the blk 60, improved EW suite....the weapons are the same as those available on blk 52/60.
Anything more customized would result in the F-16 losing its competitive value as the most appropriately priced aircraft offering the biggest bang for the buck in this IAF MMRCA deal.
Get ready for a media blitz by LM when it unveils its next-gen F-16 for India.. All the focus will be on the packaging of this solution.
If the F-16IN doesn't hold a certain level of variation and/or technical superiority over the blk52+ or blk60, the IAF is unlikely to pick it. This would give either Boeing or Dassault a better chance of pushing their product through.
If the French can guarantee full ToT and prove all the claims they make about the rafale by pitting it against the MKI, then rafale has a good chance to win.
The MiG-35 has one major problem: its not being inducted into the Russian air force. as such, the russians wont be very keen to develop upgrades for it, and their general enthusiasm for the project will be low, resulting in the same situation like Gorshkov. This is not something India wants.
If the French can guarantee full ToT and prove all the claims they make about the rafale by pitting it against the MKI, then rafale has a good chance to win.
Full ToT like Mig-21?, Which fell of like coffins once Soviet ceased!! or all the knowledge material created by Dassualt investing some $20Billion.
Also Rafale has to prove to MKI, by beating **** out of it like Eurofighter did???