Finally, Indian Govt Clears $2.4-bil Mirage Upgrade Deal

[Firemaster]

who told you that J10B only cost $30million each

J-10B itself

 

[INDIAN SOLDIER]

I doubt they are going to go with two vendors.

So, lets say 200 EF + 52 (Upgradation in France) + Next Gen Submarines (France)... total $31 bn(approx)

Won't it be too costly?????

 

[kish]

Generally refer to Russian standards of fighters designed between late 80's to 2000's as 4th gen and specs of F-35 and FGFA as fifth gen. Anything in between can be categorized as 4.xx generation. All a matter of reference, no official source to be honest.

I know this . . But What's the sense of saying 4.75 or 4.8 . . . . Why not just 4++
One is saying 4.75 or 4.8 . . Another will say 4.2 4.35 4.95 . . . . Its useless . . .

 

[rajusri]

It took them 5 years to finalize the deal.

 

[sudhir007]

Costliest fighter upgrade | idrw.org

The government today approved the costliest military aircraft upgrade programme yet, gifting to France a deal that will see the Indian air Force’s 25-year-old Mirage fighter planes being dressed up for more than Rs 200 crore a piece.

The cabinet committee on security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning put its seal of approval on the Mirage 2000 modernisation package that will cost $2.4 billion.

The IAF inducted 51 Mirage 2000 aircraft, made by Dassault Aviation of France, from 1985 to 1988. Over the years, the IAF has lost four such aircraft in crashes or in other damage.

Indian and French negotiators toiled over the proposal for nearly five years because of the high price that, critics said, would buy new aircraft. That is not entirely true. The kind of new combat aircraft that the IAF is currently evaluating would come, at a conservative estimate, for $80 million (over Rs 360 crore) each.

The total upgrade programme for the Mirage aircraft could top $4 billion. The proposal cleared does not include about $900 million for new weapons (possibly MBDA-made Mica air-to-air missiles) that will re-arm the aircraft and another $500 million for new facilities at Hindustan Aeronautics’s Bangalore establishment.

The Mirage 2000 aircraft of the IAF are based in Gwalior. The multi-role aircraft are also assigned a nuclear strike role. The upgrade programme envisages a new radar, new avionics, an electronic warfare suite and counter-measures.

Dassault Aviation shut down its Mirage 2000 assembly line in France in 2007. But before that it introduced a variant known as the Mirage 2000-V (called “dash five&#8221. In the upgrade, the IAF’s Mirages are to be brought up to the dash-five standard.

India is currently in the process of acquiring 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft that could cost $12 billion. The French aircraft Rafale, also made by Dassault, and the Eurofighter Typhoon, are the only two in the race for the order from a field of six.

The Mirage 2000 upgrade will be mostly done by French firm Thales, in which Dassault has a significant stake.

Thales is also the major beneficiary of the Indian Navy’s Scorpene submarine acquisition programme.

Two Mirage 2000 aircraft will be flown to France for the modernisation package. Two will be upgraded in India with assistance from the French firms and the rest will be refitted by Hindustan Aeronautics.

Israel had also made a bid to modernise the IAF’s Mirage aircraft for half the cost that the French have charged. But the IAF did not find the Israeli package suitable.

 

[INDIAISM]

we are not going to see much criticsm from media against this costly deal...why.... because they have sold themselves to west...i mean they had problem when Russia asked for 100 million$ for su 30mki but here they don't have any problem ....

 

[SEAL]

Its a good decision to upgrade old mirages instead of buying more Rafales or Typhoons.

 

[sancho]

And another media report about the upgrade, that add more stuff for speculation:

India approves long awaited Mirage 2000H upgrade

India will upgrade its Dassault Mirage 2000H strike aircraft after the Cabinet Committee on Security approved the long-anticipated programme.

The Indian air force confirmed widespread reports in the Indian media that the deal has been finalised, but declined to provide specific details on the exact cost or contents of the deal.

The contract is likely to cover upgrades to engines, avionics, navigation systems, mission computers, electronic warfare equipment and the Thales RDY-2 fire control radar...

...Indian media has consistently pegged the value of the upgrade at $2.2 billion, or roughly $43 million per aircraft. Reports suggest that this figure does not include new weapons, such as the MBDA Mica short-range air-to-air missile. Some estimates put the cost of the weapons package, which the Indian cabinet needs to approve separately, at $700 million...

India approves long awaited Mirage 2000H upgrade

So nobody really knows what the upgrade includes, what it costs, or when it will be finished, but as long as the media has something sensational to write, they can spread anything they want.

 

[Asian.Century]

India approves $2.4 billion French Mirage jet upgrade

NEW DELHI - India has approved a $2.4-billion deal for French defence groups to upgrade 51 ageing Mirage fighter jets, officials said Thursday, as the country takes further steps to boost its military capacity.

The long-delayed deal is part of a major modernisation programme being undertaken by India, which has become the biggest importer of military hardware among emerging nations as it enjoys rapid economic development. "The defence secretary has agreed to the proposal put forward by French defence majors Dassault and Thales and (European group) MBDA for the Mirage-2000 retrofit," a source in the Indian Air Force (IAF) told AFP.

The upgrade of the French-built Mirage jets is expected to include advanced navigation systems, mission computers, electronic warfare systems and radar. The process is likely to take nine years and will see two of the jets being re-fitted in France, said the source who declined to be named.

Other aircraft will be upgraded at the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics base in Bangalore. No confirmation of the deal was released by the Indian government, but a defence ministry official told AFP that the decision was cleared by the cabinet committee on security on Wednesday.

Pakistan Today

 

[GORKHALI]

India approves $2.4 billion French Mirage jet upgrade

NEW DELHI - India has approved a $2.4-billion deal for French defence groups to upgrade 51 ageing Mirage fighter jets, officials said Thursday, as the country takes further steps to boost its military capacity.

The long-delayed deal is part of a major modernisation programme being undertaken by India, which has become the biggest importer of military hardware among emerging nations as it enjoys rapid economic development. "The defence secretary has agreed to the proposal put forward by French defence majors Dassault and Thales and (European group) MBDA for the Mirage-2000 retrofit," a source in the Indian Air Force (IAF) told AFP.

The upgrade of the French-built Mirage jets is expected to include advanced navigation systems, mission computers, electronic warfare systems and radar. The process is likely to take nine years and will see two of the jets being re-fitted in France, said the source who declined to be named.

Other aircraft will be upgraded at the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics base in Bangalore. No confirmation of the deal was released by the Indian government, but a defence ministry official told AFP that the decision was cleared by the cabinet committee on security on Wednesday.

Pakistan Today

And the point is by highlighting in bold is ??Even a 1mouth old kid is ageing.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

we could have just let Israel upgrade them for way less seriously what the hell????????? ~4 BILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE 51 JETS FROM THE 80'S? (includes weapons and infrastructure support) thats almost 80 million per aircraft we could have just bought off the shelf proven platforms like super hornets or SU-35s or...

we could have just bought and extra 2-4 squadrons of Rafale or EFT or if IAF really wanted to upgrade them have IAI do the upgrades for 1.2 billion like they said

 

[Patrician]

Such a waste of money.

We could have so much else for the same amount.

 

[IND151]

Such a waste of money.

We could have so much else for the same amount.

this upgrade must include ultra high tech stuff.

i dont think MOD will spend so much money for ordinary up gradation.

 

[MrIndianSikh]

this upgrade must include ultra high tech stuff.

i dont think MOD will spend so much money for ordinary up gradation.

yeah but we could have gotten the same hi tech technology in a upgrade with Israel for way less and IMO Elta IAI and Rafael would have given the same capable if not better weapons, radar, avionics, and other modern upgrades to make the Mirage 2000 a 4++ gen aircraft

 

[fast]

we could have just let Israel upgrade them for way less seriously what the hell????????? ~4 BILLION DOLLARS TO UPGRADE 51 JETS FROM THE 80'S? (includes weapons and infrastructure support) thats almost 80 million per aircraft we could have just bought off the shelf proven platforms like super hornets or SU-35s or...

The price is about right. 10 million per jet for the upgrade. 30 million for the French profit. 40 millions to pay off the Indian officials, which barely covers everyone in the approval process. Thank you for your hard work in paying taxes to support your country. Now stopping browsing the web and go back to work. The next upgrade project is coming up...