Dassault Rafale, tender | News & Discussions

[ahussains]

Are Indians making the correct decision by Taking F-16I and frogeting the Russians ..?

 

[Keysersoze]

Are Indians making the correct decision by Taking F-16I and frogeting the Russians ..?

They have not yet awarded the contract.... the F-16I is very similar to the BLk-52 so I doubt they will go for it.

 

[Adux]

Boeing Dual-Cockpit Cueing System Introduced to U.S. Navy Squadron

ST. LOUIS, May 18, 2007 -- The first Boeing [NYSE: BA] F/A-18F Super Hornet retrofitted with an aft cockpit Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) has arrived at Strike Fighter Squadron 213 (VFA-213), the first U.S. Navy fleet squadron to fly the aircraft with the dual-cockpit system.

The "Blacklions" of VFA-213, based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., will use the cueing system to significantly enhance in-flight crew coordination.

The JHMCS gives flight crew members the ability to rapidly acquire and designate a target simply by looking at it. The two-seat version of the system places a JHMCS helmet on both crew members, giving each the capability to aim weapons and sensors as well as a visual indication of where each crew member is looking.

"The Navy received its first JHMCS production systems five years ago and continues to be a strong supporter of this capability," said Phil King, Boeing JHMCS program manager. "Warfighters praise JHMCS for its enhanced situational awareness and mission effectiveness."

The Navy awarded Boeing a $4.4 million contract in November 2005 to provide aft cockpit helmets in F/A-18F and EA-18G aircraft scheduled for delivery beginning this October. Thirty-four U.S. Air Force and Navy squadrons worldwide currently use the JHMCS.

Warfighters used JHMCS operationally for the first time during Operation Iraqi Freedom. By placing an aiming cross, projected on the helmet visor, over the desired target and pressing a button, pilots can quickly and easily aim weapons and sensors to designate and attack airborne or ground targets. JHMCS also displays aircraft altitude, airspeed, attitude and tactical information on the visor to increase situational awareness.

 

[BATMAN]

^I see no relevance to MRCA. Have you gone

 

[Neo]

He'll be back in 5 days.

 

[BATMAN]

I hope not. Honestly, I just read it. I assumed it is a dead thread.

 

[Adux]

IAF to float global tender for combat jets very soon`

Ghaziabad,June 16: The Indian Air Force (IAF) will "very soon" float a long-delayed global tender for 126 multi-role combat jets in a deal estimated to be valued at around $9 billion (Rs 370 billion).

"It will go out very soon. The outer limit is two to three months," Defence Minister AK Antony said on the sidelines of a function in this suburban town where he opened a new research laboratory established by state-owned Bharat Electronics.

While Antony did not specify the reasons for the delay, an official said "certain procedural issues" needed to be resolved before a request for proposal (RFP) is issued for the aircraft.

The "issues" relate to areas like calculating life-cycle costs, the manner in which the offsets policy governing defence purchases will be implemented, and transfer of technology (TOT).

Under the offsets policy laid down in the Defence Procurement Procedure-2006 (DPP-2006), 30 percent of all military deals worth more than Rs.3 billion has to be reinvested in India.

Calculating life-cycle costs is another challenge for India's defence planners since this aspect had never been factored in while concluding military hardware deals in the past. Seventy percent of the equipment in the armed forces' inventory is of Soviet or Russian origin.

As for TOT, India has not insisted on technology transfers in the past, but this has now been made mandatory.

The IAF desperately needs new aircraft to ramp up its depleting fleet of Soviet-era MiG-21, MiG-23 and MiG-27 aircraft. The MiG-21 has undergone a mid-life upgrade to increase its service life. The MiG-23 has already been retired, while the MiG-27 is being gradually phased out.

This apart, the indigenously developed Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) that was to replace these jets has suffered huge cost and time overruns and is now unlikely to be inducted before 2012.

Thus, there are also indications that the defence ministry could fast track the process by issuing a RFQ (request for quotation) instead of a RFP. "This will enable us quicken the process but a view on this is yet to be taken," the official stated.

However, regardless of whether a RFP or a RFQ is floated, it could be at least five years before price negotiations with the selected manufacturer or manufacturers is concluded and another five years before the first of the new aircraft start arriving, the official added.

By that time, the IAF force levels would have further plummeted from their current all-time low of 30 squadrons and thus, the actual requirement could be for some 200 aircraft, a defence analyst pointed out.

The IAF was operating 39 1/2 squadrons against a sanctioned strength of 45 when a request for information (RFI) was sent out in 2001.

The race for the IAF order is believed to have narrowed down to five aircraft: the US F-16 and F/A-18 Super Hornet, the Swedish JAS-39 Grippen, the French Rafale, and the Russian Mig-29OVT.

The RFI had been sent out to the manufacturers of the F-16, the Gripen, the MiG-29, and the French Mirage-2000-5. In addition, the manufacturers of the F/A-18, the Rafale, and the four-nation European Typhoon also sent in their offers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, during his visit here in January, had plugged for the MiG-35, essentially a re-engineered version of the MiG-29.

Officials are tight-lipped about the selection process beyond saying the race seems to have narrowed down to five aircraft.

Bureau Report

Yawn!!!!!

Friggin babu's

 

[Neo]

Didn't France pull out the Rafale from the competition?

 

[Contrarian]

What? When did that happen?

 

[Neo]

It was reported in some other forum, don't have the official report to support it.

 

[Contrarian]

which forum exactly?

 

[Neo]

Doesn't matter, I couldn't find anything on google so the claim is probably false.

 

[Contrarian]

I think its Typhoon/Shornet thats been left out. Still, it remains to be seen.

 

[Adux]

Malay,

They are talking on the basis of the last official release by the MoD which is Mirage 2005 Gripen etc.

Now,

I believe Shornet, Rafale, Gripen, Typhoon and MiG-35

Of which I believe Gripen, F-16 will be dropped. There is a good chance of MiG-35 being dropped with recent excess in arm procurement deals, as well not be over-dependent on Russia.

 

[Adux]

Defence Acquisition Committee To Issue RFP For Air Force MRCA Deal Within 15 Days
Dated 18/6/2007
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The Defence Acquisition Committee (DAC) will meet in a fortnight to decide on the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the acquisition of 126 jet fighters by the Indian Air Force, Defence Minister A K Antony said today.

"The DAC will be meeting within a fortnight and decide on the RFP. All negotiations are over and now it is a question of formalities," he told reporters when asked about the delay in issuing the RFP document for the multi-million dollar acquisition programme.

He said the RFP was likely to be issued within "one or two months". Earlier too, Antony has maintained that the RFP would be issued within two months.

Asked whether the Defence Ministry was "worried" about the acquisition of airpower by the LTTE, he said "we are watching that. We are not worried, but are concerned. A terrorist organisation gaining this kind of capability is a matter of concern".

On Sri Lanka, he said India had the "most cordial relations with the country. We are committed to its sovereignty, unity and integrity".

To Colombo's request for the supply of radars and other equipment to help them in their fight against LTTE, he said "We will support them in whatever help they need". He also pointed out that the ultimate solution to the ethnic problem was not military but a political solution.

Asked why the budgetary resources of the Ministry remained unspent in the last fiscal, Antony said the Defence Procurement Policy was approved in September 2006, bringing in new procedures and rules. "There was a certain delay, but we will fulfil the targets this year," he asserted.

http://www.india-defence.com/reports-3324