India May Expand Su-30MKI Order Beyond 272

[shree835]

545 is a nice number.

In the IAF point of view to strengthen IAF none of the higher number is bad...

 

[greatone]

I read MKI plant will keep churning out MKIs until FGFA is ready for induction at which point it will be converted to FGFA manufacturing plant.
This is to ensure that the expertise gained by MKI ToT foes not atrophy during the lag period between end of MKI manufacture and induction of FGFA.

It means it is a given that total MKI number will be more than 272.

 

[Harisudan]

The only Area where, Rafale Betters SU 30 is the Gadgets and Low RCS..With Indian Mission computers, MFDs, HMDs EWsuites, IR POds, Jamming Pods MKI is at par with French in all those areas..Also in the RCS reduction brainstorming sessions already concluded and the recommendations are being carried out in IRKUT manufactured airframes now and will soon be passed on to HAL.
Hence, IAF is too optimistic on MKIs and any BC ing by dassault systems annoys them..This is the actual scenario..
The major reason for IAF sticking to the French was that, they were ready for TOT of crucial technologies such as SCB and AESA and seeker head development for long range active radar guided missiles..Though we have reached certain level of achievement in that area of seeker heads, French assistance was thought to be crucial in terms of the ongoing Astra MK2 project to enhance its range by 120-140 kms..
If French keep continuing this mindset, they may very well find the MMRCA deal down the drains, because to the amazement of IAF, LCA's recent performances were more than expected..Hence IAF is finally pushing things to get the FOC by the end of this year or by first quarter of next year, within which another two or three LCAs can be manufactured and the first Sqn could be raised by the second quarter of next year..But considering track record, there may be a delay in FOC resulting in delay of raising the LCA sqns..But one things is for sure, IAF has found answers for many of its questions and that too without depending much on foreign sources..The recent cancellation of MAITRI SR SAM is an Example, since IAF wanted More Akash instead of MAITRI development with French, they were looking for LR- SAM development with ISrael..

 

[IND151]

The only Area where, Rafale Betters SU 30 is the Gadgets and Low RCS..With Indian Mission computers, MFDs, HMDs EWsuites, IR POds, Jamming Pods MKI is at par with French in all those areas..Also in the RCS reduction brainstorming sessions already concluded and the recommendations are being carried out in IRKUT manufactured airframes now and will soon be passed on to HAL.
Hence, IAF is too optimistic on MKIs and any BC ing by dassault systems annoys them..This is the actual scenario..
The major reason for IAF sticking to the French was that, they were ready for TOT of crucial technologies such as SCB and AESA and seeker head development for long range active radar guided missiles..Though we have reached certain level of achievement in that area of seeker heads, French assistance was thought to be crucial in terms of the ongoing Astra MK2 project to enhance its range by 120-140 kms..
If French keep continuing this mindset, they may very well find the MMRCA deal down the drains, because to the amazement of IAF, LCA's recent performances were more than expected..Hence IAF is finally pushing things to get the FOC by the end of this year or by first quarter of next year, within which another two or three LCAs can be manufactured and the first Sqn could be raised by the second quarter of next year..But considering track record, there may be a delay in FOC resulting in delay of raising the LCA sqns..But one things is for sure, IAF has found answers for many of its questions and that too without depending much on foreign sources..The recent cancellation of MAITRI SR SAM is an Example, since IAF wanted More Akash instead of MAITRI development with French, they were looking for LR- SAM development with ISrael..

I beleive LR SAM will be developed by India, but with consultancy in some areas by IMI.

 

[Harisudan]

Ts

Having more MKIs in these economic conditions is going to be quite expensive. What we need is a single engine modern multirole jet that can take on the mission at half the operating and maintenance cost. Tejas is what fits the bill but HAL is as usual screwing it up with their 9-5 work.

Sukhois are awesome... but we must also realize that we need more hours on these with pilots than more jets lying on the tarmac half the time.

If we desire to have a 450 Flanker fleet, then we need an economy that can take such a strain. Simply rampant ordering of MKIs to fill babu pockets won't do.

Also, MiG-21 cannot be replaced with MKIs. That's the point of spending millions on Tejas.

Tshering, your point is a valid one...
The MKI sortie hours have tremendously increased than what it was five years back..
MKIs per unit cost is not more than what we are going to pay for Rafale..Apart from that MKI is already half Indian considering the amount of Inductions of our systems and sub systems we produce..Also, MKI at any day, can do the roles of all the fighters of IAF today put together, so we can have the reliability, versatility as well homogeneity to operate..That is why IAF is working more and more on bringing down the drawbacks and investing more on MKIs..
But yes, to complement it LCA is also getting ready..The last two trials and the engine performance during the High altitude trials gave IAF good hope on LCAs and IAF is buckling up to induct them ASAP..

 

[Juggernautjatt]

IAF is already facing some engine Issues with SU-30 mki and operational ability of the fleet is quite low now.Rather than buying more we should concentrate on upgrading the current fleet.

 

[Echo_419]

I beleive LR SAM will be developed by India, but with consultancy in some areas by IMI.

Looks like we are doing good in Missiles & Related stuff,DRDO should also focus on developing Key technologies like the US Dapra does

 

[rcrmj]

PAK-FA Isn't 4.5 gen ... stop overestimating your self ... J -20 isn't rolled out yet... Russians got decades of experience in making jets.. don't forget most of your jets copied version of Russian's. ..

no matter how hard you want to divert the topic, MKI is the best option for IA for at least a decade to come...

and the best 5th gen option would be F-35, which will be delivered on time just like C-17 (American creditability and efficiency), meanwhile russians are still struggling with its own, the delivery of Pak-fa will be more 'painful' than the hoax of INS Vikramaditya

 

[danger007]

no matter how hard you want to divert the topic, MKI is the best option for IA for at least a decade to come...

and the best 5th gen option would be F-35, which will be delivered on time just like C-17 (American creditability and efficiency), meanwhile russians are still struggling with its own, the delivery of Pak-fa will be more 'painful' than the hoax of INS Vikramaditya

Vicki is fine .. it got Migs on its deck unlike your empty carrier..

 

[trident2010]

We need Tejas in numbers.