Indian Air Force News & Discussions

[Lord Of Gondor]

MRF Tyres stand at Aero India 2021 is lit!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1356480858706894849

Still remember how we had to import Dunlop Tyres for the Tejas, had this link bookmarked:

Desi tyres on Sukhois a runway hit | Tejas, Dhruv, LCH, MiG-29 K line up to script a gripping story

By Dr. Ananth Krishnan(2014!)

 

[MirageBlue]

Apparently, the IAF is going to order the recently revealed 'Rampage' missile from Israel's Elbit Systems. Not sure which fighters it'll be integrated with but my guess is Rafale, Mirage-2000 and Su-30MKI due to it's size.

Twitter link

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

And here is the first image of a DARIN-III Jaguar with the overwing AIM-132 ASRAAM!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1356916517028438017

 

[MirageBlue]

HAL receives RFP from IAF for 70 HTT-40 (firm orders + 38 options)

Twitter link

 

[Gomig-21]

The Su carries IIRC 8T of payload, the Eagle carries around 13.5T.
The permutations and combinations are also better thanks to the superb packaging.
The airframe is rated for 20000 hours for the Eagle EX which is just nuts!
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...tentially-replacing-the-f-15e-with-the-f-15ex
The only real advantage,IMO (Aircraft vs. aircraft) the Su-35 enjoys... is lower acquisition costs.



Yes, US deals are over complicated during the best of times.
Now with CAATSA....

I actually looked it up right after that reply to your post and saw that 20,000 hours service life, that's more than 3 times the 6000 hrs for the Su-35S loool. I think Boeing might be over-extending itself a little with that LOL! I could be wrong but history doesn't really support them with that aspect when the entire fleet had to be grounded a while back because of serious metal fatigue and cracks in several airframes they found and suddenly their alloys are rated for 20K hours? Anyway, don't forget that the heavier the load is, the more compromised the aircraft is. While it might carry that much because its pylons are adapted to triple racks so each pylon can carry more than 1 munition, eventually that weight affects you in other ways also.

When you get a chance, check out this video below, it mentions that detail but it appears India is looking again for a medium weight fighter and not really a heavy. So it's weird that both of these are being offered.

Frankly, the Su-35S will not make it to the MRFA trials at all. the IAF is almost 100% sure to ask for AESA as a mandatory requirement of all the fighters participating in the MRFA tender. Even if we assume that Sukhoi offers the Su-35S with the Su-57's AESA or some other AESA radar, it is likely to be very immature, having not being integrated till now. Irbis will not interest the IAF when comparing with the AESA radars that all other MRFA candidates bring to the table. Even for the Su-30MKI upgrade program, talk is now that the indigenous Uttam AESA will form the baseline on which an indigenous AESA radar will be offered to the IAF..reportedly the IAF wasn't too keen on going with the Irbis in place of the Bars on the Su-30MKI.

F-15EX with a GaN AESA radar and GaN EW suite is possibly the best of the lot on offer. And as Lord Of Gondor already mentioned, the 20,000 hour service life is truly insane. But it'll also be the most expensive one overall perhaps. The likely acquisition cost of a F-15EX would be in the range of $90-100 million flyaway or possibly even more. With all the ground infrastructure, spares, logistics, etc. that need to be set up for a fleet as large as 114 fighters, it'll be the costliest fighter in the competition.

Another big thing is the fact that with 260 Su-30MKIs and 59 MiG-29UPGs, plus 12 more Su-30MKIs and 21 MiG-29UPGs on the verge of being ordered, a very large part of the IAF's fleet is of Russian origin. IAF may not want to order what may well be it's last large import, with the Russians.

Price wise, the Russians win on acquisition cost but with life cycle costs, they almost even out or end up being costlier.

AIM-120C7 or AIM-120D may well be excellent BVRAAM missiles, but with Meteor coming with Rafales, Astra Mk1 having entered service and Astra Mk2 about to enter trials this year and SFDR based BVRAAM after that, getting the latest AMRAAM variant isn't the big carrot it once would've been. AIM-260, yes now that would interest the IAF.

The best option remains to go with 2-3 more squadrons of Rafales and end this MRFA contest once and for all. 4-5 squadrons of Rafales with large stocks of Meteors, Scalps and integration of indigenous weapons such as the Astra Mk1/Mk2 and SFDR will give the IAF more than adequate breathing room while Tejas Mk2 and AMCA are developed. Hopefully the IAF can then go with the ORCA derivative of the TEDBF naval fighter for the Indian Navy.

Indigenous upgrade program for the Su-30MKI proposed by HAL

I think a lot of Indian fans have Russian burn-out. There's no doubt about that and you're probably right that more Rafales will end up winning the contest simply because it's a terrific fighter and I think India is looking for a medium weight fighter and not a heavy in the F-15EX or Su-35S. While you might prefer the former, the latter would be much easier integrated into the IAF for many reasons and as far as missiles, I don't think there is anything out there that competes with the R37 ATM. I wouldn't easily discount the IRBIS-E especially when it's part of the entire package with the AESA wing radars and the IRST. The IRBIS-E PESA is also a frequency-hoping radar with a tremendous range. In many ways it operates like an AESA. But check out this video when you have 8 minutes or so to spare, it's really revealing.

 

[Gomig-21]

Saw this pic today thought it was pretty cool. The INS Vikramaditya with what appears to be a Harrier coming in on the side.

 

[Gomig-21]

Saw this pic today thought it was pretty cool. The INS Vikramaditya with what appears to be a Harrier coming in on the side.

Nice I posted that picture in the nice pics I'lllink it for you I thought it was pretty cool with the Harrier coming in one landing,

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1362387483950944261

The Air Officer Commanding In Chief, Eastern Air Command on his visit to the beautiful state of Sikkim:

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

Superb albeit low res image of the Jags over a Glacial Lake(Tso Moriri @ 14000Ft+?)

Another lovely shot, they mostly took off from an airbase in the plains, tanked up en route.
Flying a dozen feet off the ground into hostile territory is what they specialize in.Superb Nav system, now enhanced and aided by a detailed SAR image produced by the EL/M 2052. The Harpoons/CBU-105/AIM-132 will just make the jet that much more lethal.

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

The Massive CH-47F(I) Heptrs in UK

The Dhruv Mark-III(workhorse of the fleet in Hi Alt Ops)

(One with Skids and other with the heavy wheels)

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria flying solo on a Mirage-2000I during the commemorative event

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365654669234606084

The SPICE PGMs seem to be fully integrated with the upgraded Mirages as well.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1365654739745001476

Some great footage shared by the IAF.

 

[VkdIndian]

Hats off to ACM Bhadauria for flying a fighter solo at this seniority. That’s called leading by example. Even the previous Chief used to fly a MiG21 solo on a regular basis. True leadership.

 

[Lord Of Gondor]

Support capability of the Indian Civilian Airline Industry for any future rapid mobilization, being the third biggest on the planet, cannot be understated.
Gulf War 1990:
more than 1 lakh Indians were brought back from the Gulf over 63 days and via 488 Air India flights when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990. This has been the single largest incident of civilian air lift in world history until now.
Will be a big factor for enemy/own war plans going forward if suitably utilized.

 

[Last starfighter]

Lipton tea.
The tea is FANTASTIC

 

[MirageBlue]

Hats off to ACM Bhadauria for flying a fighter solo at this seniority. That’s called leading by example. Even the previous Chief used to fly a MiG21 solo on a regular basis. True leadership.

He's done it before. ACM Bhadauria also flew a Tejas Mk1 single seater solo during the induction ceremony for No.18 Squadron 'Flying Bullets'. He's a superb flier and noted Test pilot.