The Fighter Gap

[Cheetah786]

Defence cooperation with Russia will continue for the atleast the next fifteen years. There are several projects in the pipeline. The Surya ICBM, further versions of Brahmos, PAK-FA, etc. Russian collaboration exists in most defence projects like the IGMDP, Arjun, ATV, ADS, LCA, MCA, etc. Russian aircraft Su-30MKI, MiG35, and subs AkulaII are to be acquired or inducted. Cooperation with the US is hardly anything if you compare it with the Russia.
Russia and India are going to stay close for the near future atleast.

Time will tell i guess.

 

[Munir]

One point is surely taken. India shops everywhere. Arjun had several nations in it. LCA has several nations in it and MKI is nothing different...

 

[circuitbaba]

Some body mentioned the range of F-16
and how its gonna hit..Flanker even if it hits
Block 52 will carry AIm-120C5 for PAF
60 nm...convert it to km its 111.8 km
Flankers primary BVR is

R-77RVV-AE has a range of 100km ....(Check ur site Bharat Rakshak)
oR
R-27RE1/TE1 with a range of 70 km....(Check ur site Bharat Rakshak)

APG-68 (V9) radar picks up a 3m square target at 120km ....while Su-30 has a a RCS of 5m square....No.BARS radar abroad...ur Flanker....has range of 120km wit a F-16's RCS

so man i think both will see each other but F-16 will have first shot due to its C5

 

[ejaz007]

One thing not discussed is that incase India chooses non Russian fighter for its MRCA than Pakistan shall have an opportunity to knock at Russian door for possible fighter sale. Even if it is not an SU-30 or Mig-29 PAF can surely select a fighter better than their A-5, F-7 or Mirage fighters perhaps an SU-27.
So alot might be at stake than just a fighter selection for IAF. Although I still believe India shall select Mig-35.

 

[ejaz007]

Have a look at this article:

NEW DELHI — After nearly a year of stalemate in Indo-Russian defense deals, the Indian Defence Ministry has cleared a contract to upgrade 67 Indian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets by Russian Aircraft Corp. (RSK) MiG.
Final approval will be given by the Cabinet Committee on Security at its next meeting, sources said.
Sources reported that India had agreed to pay about 10 percent more than RSK’s original bid of $800 million, but a senior Defence Ministry official declined to confirm that.
“The price has been settled to the satisfaction of the Indian Air Force,” the official said.
India denied RSK’s request to be prime contractor, reserving the right to buy the subsystems for the upgrade, which include precision-guided missiles from Israel’s Rafael and may include avionics and electronic-warfare gear from Elbit of Israel and Thales of France.
The upgrade also would include better computers, the Phazotron Zhuk-M radar, and a fire-control radar to guide advanced air-to-surface missiles and laser-guided bombs, the Air Force official said.
The service proposed the upgrade in 2003 after Pakistan obtained beyond-visual-range missiles. The upgrade would extend the life of the fighter aircraft from 25 years (2,500 hours) to 40 years (3,500 hours), an Air Force official said.
In 2004, the Indian Navy ordered 16 MiG-29K aircraft to be mounted on the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refitted for India.
Air Force officials also plan to upgrade their MiG-27s, MiG-21s, and Mirage 2000 Hs, and to buy 126 new combat jets and more Su-30 MKI aircraft.
The Air Force’s 33 squadrons could shrink to as few as 28.5 squadrons in the next few months, thanks to the impending retirement of MiG-23s and MiG-25s and delays in various aircraft procurement efforts, ministry sources said.
If this happens, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) would have numerical superiority over the Indian Air Force for the first time in 60 years. The PAF currently has 30 squadrons and plans to increase the number to 34 this year.
DefenseNews.com - India Puts MiG-29 Upgrade Back on Track to Approval - 02/06/08 18:47

 

[fatman17]

Have a look at this article:

NEW DELHI — After nearly a year of stalemate in Indo-Russian defense deals, the Indian Defence Ministry has cleared a contract to upgrade 67 Indian Air Force MiG-29 fighter jets by Russian Aircraft Corp. (RSK) MiG.
Final approval will be given by the Cabinet Committee on Security at its next meeting, sources said.
Sources reported that India had agreed to pay about 10 percent more than RSK’s original bid of $800 million, but a senior Defence Ministry official declined to confirm that.
“The price has been settled to the satisfaction of the Indian Air Force,” the official said.
India denied RSK’s request to be prime contractor, reserving the right to buy the subsystems for the upgrade, which include precision-guided missiles from Israel’s Rafael and may include avionics and electronic-warfare gear from Elbit of Israel and Thales of France.
The upgrade also would include better computers, the Phazotron Zhuk-M radar, and a fire-control radar to guide advanced air-to-surface missiles and laser-guided bombs, the Air Force official said.
The service proposed the upgrade in 2003 after Pakistan obtained beyond-visual-range missiles. The upgrade would extend the life of the fighter aircraft from 25 years (2,500 hours) to 40 years (3,500 hours), an Air Force official said.
In 2004, the Indian Navy ordered 16 MiG-29K aircraft to be mounted on the decommissioned Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which is being refitted for India.
Air Force officials also plan to upgrade their MiG-27s, MiG-21s, and Mirage 2000 Hs, and to buy 126 new combat jets and more Su-30 MKI aircraft.
The Air Force’s 33 squadrons could shrink to as few as 28.5 squadrons in the next few months, thanks to the impending retirement of MiG-23s and MiG-25s and delays in various aircraft procurement efforts, ministry sources said.
If this happens, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) would have numerical superiority over the Indian Air Force for the first time in 60 years. The PAF currently has 30 squadrons and plans to increase the number to 34 this year.
DefenseNews.com - India Puts MiG-29 Upgrade Back on Track to Approval - 02/06/08 18:47

wrong assessment.
currently PAF has 19 front-line squadrons and with the induction of around 44 F-16C/Ds and re-furbished F-16A/Bs the squadron strength will become 21.5 by end 2009. it is expected that by end 2009, 36 JF-17s (blk-1) will be operational bringing the sqdn strength to 23.5 front-line aircraft. PAF ultimately wants to level-off their front-line sqdns to 26. this will happen by 2012-14 as more JF-17s are inducted and F-7, A-5s and most of the Mirages are retired.

 

[Contrarian]

wrong assessment.
currently PAF has 19 front-line squadrons and with the induction of around 44 F-16C/Ds and re-furbished F-16A/Bs the squadron strength will become 21.5 by end 2009. it is expected that by end 2009, 36 JF-17s (blk-1) will be operational bringing the sqdn strength to 23.5 front-line aircraft. PAF ultimately wants to level-off their front-line sqdns to 26. this will happen by 2012-14 as more JF-17s are inducted and F-7, A-5s and most of the Mirages are retired.

You didnt understand the purpose of that post. This was actually a letter that the CoAS of IAF sent to the MoD that got 'leaked' to the press. It was a pressure tactic to get more funds and planes for the IAF. The scare tactic was that IAF discounted the old planes it was retiring in the future, while for PAF they counted all the planes including the ones about to retire. This way they scared the $hit out of the public and built immense pressure for the MRCA procurement.

Factually, this count of squadrons is wrong, and you know the reason behind it.

 

[fatman17]

You didnt understand the purpose of that post. This was actually a letter that the CoAS of IAF sent to the MoD that got 'leaked' to the press. It was a pressure tactic to get more funds and planes for the IAF. The scare tactic was that IAF discounted the old planes it was retiring in the future, while for PAF they counted all the planes including the ones about to retire. This way they scared the $hit out of the public and built immense pressure for the MRCA procurement.

Factually, this count of squadrons is wrong, and you know the reason behind it.

ok-thx for the clarification.