If the F/A 18 Super Hornet Wins the MMRCA

[Chanakyaa]

As the Results of the Final Victor is yet to be announced ( and we are atleast an Year away before we Know the Ultimate Winner ) , The Semifinals Have been Played and Won... and Surprisingly by Boeing !

The Selection of GE 414 as the Engine Powering LCA MK II has a great perspective on the Final Selection.

The News was Already in Circles :::

This deal has high stakes as it will be closely linked to the USD 11 billion Indian Air Force Medium Multi-role Combat Aircraft deal, say industry experts. The contenders the Eurofighter has twin EJ-200 engines, while GE F-414 engines power the US-built F/A-18 and Swedish Gripen NG fighters.

Says Air Vice Marshall (Retd) Kapil Kak of the Centre for Air Power Studies, the IAF’s official think tank, “It is as clear as daylight. Selecting the EJ200 for the Tejas would boost the Eurofighter’s prospects in the MMRCA contest. ... Its engines, which form about 15-20 per cent of the cost of a modern fighter, would be already manufactured in India for the Tejas. For the same reason, rejecting the GE F-414 would diminish the chances of the two fighters that fly with that engine,” he added.

In its tender for the Tejas engine, the defence ministry has specified that only ten engines could be built abroad. All subsequent engines must be built in India, with the vendor transferring technology for their manufacture. If the EJ200 were built in India for the Tejas, Eurofighter would benefit from a fully amortized engine line and also be entitled to offset credits for the ‘made-in-India’ Eurofighter EJ200 engines.

This would lower the price of the Eurofighter — a huge advantage for an aircraft regarded as high performance, but expensive. Logistically, too, the IAF would prefer an MMRCA with engines that were already in its inventory.

Selection of the GE F-414 engine, on the other hand, would provide all these advantages to the vendors of the F/A-18 and the Gripen NG fighters. This is a key reason why Eurojet and GE have conducted their Tejas engine campaign so competitively.

NOW CONSIDER THIS : Super Hornet Gets Selected for MMRCA ... What will be the IMPACT ?

#1. The Strength : IAF vs PAF & IAF vs PLAAF
#2. The Edge : INDIA vs PAKISTAN
#3. The Relations of : Pakistan ( Getting F16s ) & USA ( Supplying F18s to INDIA )
#4. The Asian Power Projection
#5. INDO - US Relations
#6. INDIA - Russa, France and EU Relations.

Lets Share our Views on the Above Points.
Comments Most Welcome.

 

[marcos98]

the thread should have been :
feel the impact ........lol
anyways i always wanted rafale to win, but guessed shornet will win this one, yanks are going after it with full force.
more than shornet tself, i reckon if growlers will be available to us, because we'll way ahead of the league if we get those badboys.....

 

[Chanakyaa]

Marcos its the Same....
Rafale is My Fav too ... But whats the point to discuss it... ...

I personally feel... This Defence Deal is Going to be a Real Pain for PAF and PLAAF !!!
More over the Defence Cooperation Between US and Pakistan will be surely Affected.

Its Like Hittng Two Birds with One Stone.

 

[indushek]

While i am not a defence expert so i will not at all comment on that angle. However on the strategic front i think that this signals only one thing. India is aligning itself in to the American hemisphere. While this has trade offs in the long run this could hurt us very much. My reasons are as below:

Regarding China they already view us with suspicion and this will make them more anti to us. Having such a big neighbour who is unfriendly and is touted to be the next mega power is not good.

Regarding Russia while this relationship is a matured one, one cannot say that this will prove to be a difficult thing to be explained.

Finally the technology agreements required for transfer of sensitive technology is another angle which i am uncomfortable with.

India has to balance these issues firmly. If not we will become a Nato ally in South Asia !!!!!!!!!

 

[Parashuram1]

I never knew you Indians were comfortable with buying American primary defence products at such a significant level, considering your refusal to sign a host of committments the Americans expect from their client country(S).

 

[Pinaka87]

CONGRTAS WE ARE OFFICIALLY NOW THE 52nd STATE OF UNITED STATE OF AMERICA BROS .......BUT I STILL HOPE EF WINS MRCA AND RAFALE SHOULD BE CONSIDER FOR STRATEGIC FORCE REQUIREMENT...WIN WIN SITUATION FOR EVERYONE isn't?

 

[siegecrossbow]

CONGRTAS WE ARE OFFICIALLY NOW THE 52nd STATE OF UNITED STATE OF AMERICA BROS .......BUT I STILL HOPE EF WINS MRCA AND RAFALE SHOULD BE CONSIDER FOR STRATEGIC FORCE REQUIREMENT...WIN WIN SITUATION FOR EVERYONE isn't?

Who is the 51st state?

 

[marcos98]

Marcos its the Same....
Rafale is My Fav too ... But whats the point to discuss it... ...

I personally feel... This Defence Deal is Going to be a Real Pain for PAF and PLAAF !!!
More over the Defence Cooperation Between US and Pakistan will be surely Affected.

Its Like Hittng Two Birds with One Stone.

yes buddy,

but we still have to persevere and reallly hope mod goes for eurocanards, since its not official yet that shornet has made the cut( maybe it has failed all those tests )....
but even practically thinking ,dealing with the US and starting a millitary alliance with them was long overdue.
if it wasn't for cismoa et al bs, shornet perfectly fits the bill for MMRCA....

 

[Pinaka87]

Who is the 51st state?

EUBRO lol

 

[SpArK]

I dont consider buying a fighter plane as alignment or a shift of focus.

We have been buying US weaponry for a long time and even bigger deals like Globemaster has been finalized.

Its an alignment with Boeing as far as i can see.

Strength of 2 airforces has been discussed earlier with MRCA, but the edge is clearly with us and was always like that.

France & Russian defence relations will be strong enough.. Dassault will be busy with Mirage 2000 dash upgrades,scorpenes etc russia with further order of sukhoi's and FGFA and lots of other goodies.

Withe the best of US, RUSSIAN and FRENCH fighters.. we will be positioned just under US in airforce power.

And i still havent lost the idea of a split MRCA..
F-18 and Gripen looks to suit my theory now..

 

[karan.1970]

Diversification my friends. We always look at example of Pakistan and how it suffered from US sanctions. There is a key difference.. On defence we deal with the Russians, French, Israelis and now even US. Its always the risk reward ratio that needs to be looked at. US is a little unreliable as a defence supplier, but hey, its not the only supplier we are dependent on. We have our bets hedged unlike Pakistan in 1980's . So dont worry and hopefully we will see some major tangible Political gains coming our way. And I dont mean Pakistan..

 

[Chanakyaa]

Lets discuss the impact....
Rest we hv already discussed so many times in other threads...

As for f18 , i feel the price males it a better choice than rafale had it not been american...

 

[Mirza Jatt]

IAF has already told that it might go for two different fighters,on in large nos. andother in small.....thus I have a strong feeling that India would go for super hornet ,probably in small nos. we simply cant ignore the strong lobbying by USA ever since the MRCA competition started..secondly its undoubtedly one of the best planes in the competition.

 

[SpArK]

Diversification my friends. We always look at example of Pakistan and how it suffered from US sanctions. There is a key difference.. On defence we deal with the Russians, French, Israelis and now even US. Its always the risk reward ratio that needs to be looked at. US is a little unreliable as a defence supplier, but hey, its not the only supplier we are dependent on. We have our bets hedged unlike Pakistan in 1980's . So dont worry and hopefully we will see some major tangible Political gains coming our way. And I dont mean Pakistan..

Look around,.... the signs have already started to emerge.. I know u know what i mean by that for sure!!!

 

[Chanakyaa]

Benny....

F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet (Boeing, USA). Highly upgraded version of the F/A-18 A-D Hornet, enlarged and given new engines and avionics. Commonality between the Hornet and Super Hornet is only about 25%.

Strengths include its powerful AN/APG-79 AESA radar, which has drawn significant interest from India.

This radar could allow Super Hornets to play a unique role in India’s fighter fleet as versatile “quarterbacks” (or better yet, “cricket captains&#8221 due to their radar’s performance and information sharing abilities.

Other advantages include carrier capability, a very wide range of integrated weapons, a design that is proven in service and in combat, F414 engines that may also serve as the base for LCA Tejas Mk2; and complete assurance in its future upgrade spiral, given the US Navy’s commitment to it.

The existence of a dedicated electronic warfare variant as of 2009 in the EA-18G Growler may also be a potent motivator, as the growth of sophisticated air defense systems will place a growing premium on this unique capability. Last but certainly not least, this choice offers an opportunity to create an early “win” which would strengthen India’s new alliance with the USA and prove its new status in the world. After all, when clearance for the aircraft was given, no other nation had even been offered the F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet.

Since then, of course, close American ally Australia has bought 24 F/A-18F Block IIs in a controversial A$ 6 billion purchase, and even taken steps to modify 12 aircraft toward EA-18G Growler status. Australia’s deployment of Super Hornets gives the platform an additional selling point in the “allied commonality” department, and Boeing’s planned $1.5 billion investment in India’s aerospace market may help deal with defense industrial offset issues. The Super Hornet’s Boeing connection adds many industrial options in the civil aircraft market as well.

Weaknesses of the Super Hornet platform include deep distrust of America’s reliability as an arms supplier, technology transfer concerns, and the aircraft’s expense.

Given the costs to other customers so far, it seems unlikely that Boeing can deliver 126 fully-equipped F/A-18 E/F Block II aircraft for just $10.2 billion, let alone aircraft plus lifetime support. The Super Hornet also offers poorer aerodynamic performance than the Eurofighter or Rafale, due to inherent airframe limitations. Finally, it’s a new aircraft type for the IAF, so the entire support infrastructure would have to be developed from the ground up.

The Fact is With Russian PAK FA Joining in 2020 and US' Hornets in 2014 ... It will be IAF and IAF all the Way in ASIAN Skies !!!!