Owais
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Oct 3, 2005
- Messages
- 4,512
- Reaction score
- 0
Target locked: IAF aims for Mirage 4000
Kolkata, December 02, 2005, Drimi Chaudhuri (HT)
The Defence Ministry might be on the lookout for a new Air Superiority Fighter (ASF) aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) but it is not going to be the US F-16. According to a senior official in the ministry, the government has zeroed in on Mirage 4000, manufactured by Dassault Bréguet of France.
Sources said that senior officials from both the Defence Ministry and the IAF had already checked out Mirage 4000 and had expressed satisfaction on its performance and the features provided by the French manufacturer. "A suitable quotation has been received from Dassault Bréguet and since the IAF has already used Mirage 2000, the latest from the Mirage stable is gaining over F-16," sources added.
The ASFs being considered are Mirage 4000 and Saab Gripen from Sweden apart from Sukhoi-30 and the upgraded version of MiG-29 from Russia. "Mirage, however, is providing added features," sources said.
All this was happening even in March this year when Lockheed Martin from the US, the maker of F-16, was busy making presentations to senior IAF officials, and in November when COPE-India 2005, the Indo-US joint military exercises, was on at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station. Sources, however, said that despite PowerPoint presentations and speculations from various quarters, the Government is not keen on buying F-16s because the aircraft is familiar to Pakistanââ¬â¢s. "Chances of F-16 bagging the deal are not much because the IAF plans to buy an aircraft which Pakistan and other neighbours have not used," said a defence expert.
Although India is satisfied with its arsenal of MiG-29 and Sukhoi-30, it wants an alternative to Russia-developed aircraft in case there are problems in acquiring spare hardware. "India does not want to suffer like it did with the MiG after the end of the Soviet era. It difficult to buy spares since most of its earlier defence deals were with the USSR and not with individual firms.
Kolkata, December 02, 2005, Drimi Chaudhuri (HT)
The Defence Ministry might be on the lookout for a new Air Superiority Fighter (ASF) aircraft for the Indian Air Force (IAF) but it is not going to be the US F-16. According to a senior official in the ministry, the government has zeroed in on Mirage 4000, manufactured by Dassault Bréguet of France.
Sources said that senior officials from both the Defence Ministry and the IAF had already checked out Mirage 4000 and had expressed satisfaction on its performance and the features provided by the French manufacturer. "A suitable quotation has been received from Dassault Bréguet and since the IAF has already used Mirage 2000, the latest from the Mirage stable is gaining over F-16," sources added.
The ASFs being considered are Mirage 4000 and Saab Gripen from Sweden apart from Sukhoi-30 and the upgraded version of MiG-29 from Russia. "Mirage, however, is providing added features," sources said.
All this was happening even in March this year when Lockheed Martin from the US, the maker of F-16, was busy making presentations to senior IAF officials, and in November when COPE-India 2005, the Indo-US joint military exercises, was on at the Kalaikunda Air Force Station. Sources, however, said that despite PowerPoint presentations and speculations from various quarters, the Government is not keen on buying F-16s because the aircraft is familiar to Pakistanââ¬â¢s. "Chances of F-16 bagging the deal are not much because the IAF plans to buy an aircraft which Pakistan and other neighbours have not used," said a defence expert.
Although India is satisfied with its arsenal of MiG-29 and Sukhoi-30, it wants an alternative to Russia-developed aircraft in case there are problems in acquiring spare hardware. "India does not want to suffer like it did with the MiG after the end of the Soviet era. It difficult to buy spares since most of its earlier defence deals were with the USSR and not with individual firms.
