Lockheed May Pitch F-35 to Rejoin $11 Billion India Jet Contest

[SpArK]

Why not they give it for free?

We promise we will use it only against terrorists..

 

[Jon Snow]

no tech transfer(probably), no assembly line in india as required by mmrca (definitely),timeframe of induction gets pushed by a few years, maintenance of this one will definitely be higher than eft/rafale, strings attached........

Yet despite all this , a very attractive option

 

[tvsram1992]

MRCA restriction is TOT . US knew that . But will JSF partners remain silent?
May be we will get a customised version if at all we are getting it.

 

[jha]

no tech transfer(probably), no assembly line in india as required by mmrca (definitely),timeframe of induction gets pushed by a few years, maintenance of this one will definitely be higher than eft/rafale, strings attached........

Yet despite all this , a very attractive option

And a clear threat to RAFALE.. It will have to face 2 technologically superior Planes in competition..

 

[Jon Snow]

well come to think of it......if they do offer it then no matter which aircraft we chose the induction date will definitely be pushed back by a couple of years as iaf will want it to undergo all the tests(hot weather,altitude etc) they did for the others, so the whole process gets delayed



why dont they just offer it to the navy and we can cancel order of n-lca (order not development) and place those of f 35 instead

 

[Paan Singh]

 

[tvsram1992]

no tech transfer(probably), no assembly line in india as required by mmrca (definitely),timeframe of induction gets pushed by a few years, maintenance of this one will definitely be higher than eft/rafale, strings attached........

Yet despite all this , a very attractive option

If we promise them to station F-35 at chinese borders, US may lift off sanctions and give us TOT.

 

[prabhu]

If we promise them to station F-35 at chinese borders, US may lift off sanctions and give us TOT.

haha thats an offer they cant refuse

 

[Mo12]

Maybe adding F-35 back to the contest, could make Rafale and EF give more perks to India and more ToT, as they will feel threaten by the superior jet.

 

[Jon Snow]

If we promise them to station F-35 at chinese borders, US may lift off sanctions and give us TOT.

basically thats a nice way of saying that the us decides how and where its used in the iaf

 

[The_Sidewinder]

In my opinion. We should order 100 f35 but deal should be apart from MMRCA. Those 100 should be split between navy and air force. With AMCA, fgfa and f35 we will have a kick combination.

 

[mirage 5000]

this will make mmrca start 2020 heheheheheh its almost 10 years now IAF ask gov for emergancy need of new jets.

 

[jha]

If we promise them to station F-35 at chinese borders, US may lift off sanctions and give us TOT.

If we really end up buying this.. We will have tough time finding place for Su-30 and LCAs...FGFA +AMCA+F-35 will become frontline fighters..
While MKI will complement them ..

 

[tvsram1992]

this will make mmrca start 2020 heheheheheh its almost 10 years now IAF ask gov for emergancy need of new jets.

No problem, we will buy Growler/Mig35/Gripen/Su35 to fill the gap.

 

[Dharmachakra]

It will be such a bad choice if IAF goes for F-35 now.
1) It pushes the induction back to 2018
2) Will make AMCA redundant( and will make GOI think on issueing funds for AMCA)
3)It makes IAF all high end fighters( No AF certainly wants this to happen. and the reasons are many)
4) No TOT on this from USA
5)MEans no helping of local industry
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There are many disadvantages than compared to the gains.
If IAF really want to get thier hands on medium sized 5th gen a/c it can wait for another 5 years 2022-2025 to induct AMCA in huge numbers.
The relation ship with US has always been a rollercoaster ride. If its me, I wouldnt put my high valuable items purchase on such a buddy.

There is a reason why f-18 got eliminated and MOD is only interested in buying transport a/c instead.
In case of a war,even if US gives a big had in supporting the transport fleet with spares, IAF can still manage with domestic cargo carriers.But same cant be done away with firghter aircraft.

An F-35 in IAF will make only LCA-MKII a 4+ gen fighter by 2020.It put a high operational costs.Remember we are not a super duper rich nation like UAE or saudi to spit money every where.
Every AF all over the world supports the idea of having a high-low mix.Even when replacing absolete a/c with new in a phased manner, they still have the same high-low mix. This gives operational flexibility as well as cost benifit.

Best option is go with the previous planning of inducting MRCA. And have a high mix of FGFA-AMCA with MKI-MRCA as a intermdeiate and LCA at the low. This mix also provides the comfortability of making our own spares and having a turn up rate of a/c. This makes upto 250+250+280+200+220=1200 above 4+ gen and fight gen a/c by 2030.Which is a pretty decent and power projecting strength and is what IAF wants in terms of 60 sqads for 2 front war during a hypothertical scenario.

An F-35 now, will push everything backwards. Given yankees are known for doing things like this,I would say Ignore it.