Irrespective of the situation, the Relationship status quo and other critical parameters that pushes this deal forward, the bitter truth is that, India was added into the project to merely share the cost of funding the project only..This is what the Russians kept in house for us right from the beginning..
T-50 Project started way ahead of Indian Intervention into it and it all came down to this level now where the IAF wanted a decent amount of workshare in it right form the drawing board stage just as it entered into the project when the first prototype was already ready for taxi trials with all specs according to the Russian requirement and threat perception..
There is no such thing called as FGFA here..May be a T-50 Indian version with twin seat and few Indian Avionics and Mission computer..Just like the MKI deal, that is the bitter truth...
Where the IAF made themselves a bigger fools of them is that, Atleast for the MKI deal, we just bought the planes and upgraded it here with lower cost incurring, we never funded for building the Technology, failures in it, Trial runs etc, but with the FGFA deal the Russians made us do all that and yet they share close to 18% of workshare in the project but 50% cost share..??
I would like to share something here which I have came across somewhere,
Quote:
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"New Delhi is particularly miffed with the fact that despite being an equal partner in the FGFA project in terms of financial contribution, Moscow is not keen to share technical details about its next generation stealth fighter PAK-FA, on which the Indian version of the combat jet will be based.
...
But much to the surprise of an Indian team present at the site, they were not allowed anywhere near the aircraft. India wanted to know the reasons for the fire but details were never shared, said sources. India has paid $295 million (Rs.1,785.19 crore) for the preliminary design, which was finalised last year, and it is only logical that Indian officials feel concerned about the status of the PAK-FA programme. The Indian side was not satisfied with the preliminary design and raised questions about maintenance issues, the engine, stealth features, weapon carriage system, safety and reliability. Sources said there could not be any progress until these issues were resolved.
But the queries remain unanswered even after a round of discussions between the two sides this month. The Russian side's common response to New Delhi's concerns has been:
"Don't get emotional." Any further push on these issues results in talk of price escalation, sources said. For instance, the Indian Air Force had made it clear last year that it was not satisfied with the engine of the new fighter, which was based on the power plant for the Sukhoi-30. A change has been promised at an additional cost.
No Indian expert or pilot has had a long hard look at the PAK-FA jet to date. The Russians are not allowing Indian pilots to fly the aircraft, claiming foreign pilots are barred from flying in their airspace.."
Now I don't know whether to laugh or cry looking at the history of Mistakes committed By IAF be it LCA, be it MARUT, be it MMRCA, be it Mirage 2000 Upgrade, be it FGFA..
I'm speechless on looking at how these central auditing bodies such as CAG are letting go of this useless organisation called IAF...
I'm out of here.......