Indian Military

This morning, the representatives of GE and Eurojet were informed in Bangalore that GE Aviation was the lowest bidder in the LCA engine competition. The DRDO press release that followed is pasted below.
More on this in tomorrow's Business Standard. Will post in the morning. Stay tuned.
GE Aviation lowest bidder for LCA Mk-2 Alternate Engine
The Price Negotiating Committee for the Alternate Engine for LCA Mk-2 has finalised the Comparative Statement of Tenders. The committee Chaired by Dr Prahlada, DS & CCR&D (Ae&SI) had its representatives from Ministry of Defence, Defence Finance, ADA, DRDO, HAL, Indian Air Force, and Indian Navy. After evaluation and acceptance of the Technical offer provided by both Eurojet and GE Aviation, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE Aviation was declared as the lowest bidder. Further price negotiations and contract finalization will follow.

A US Navy F/A-18 at an base in Virginia. The F-414 engines that power this aircraft, as well as the Swedish Gripen, has been selected by India's MoD for its Tejas Light Combat Aircraft
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 1st Oct 10
In a last-minute twist, General Electric of the US has bagged the hotly contested $800-million tender to supply 99 engines for India’s Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). After both engines in the contest — GE’s F-414 and Eurojet’s EJ-200 — were found technically suitable, the F-414 has been declared the cheaper option.
The choice of the GE-414 engine boosts the chances of America’s F/A-18 fighter and the Swedish Gripen NG in the $11-billion tender for an Indian Air Force medium fighter. Conversely, it is a blow to the Eurofighter, which is powered by twin EJ-200 engines.

[Stratpost]

India has settled on the GE-414 engine to power the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk-2. The Price Negotiating Committee for the Alternate Engine of the LCA Mk-2 issued a statement on Thursday, saying that it had finalized the Comparative Statement of Tenders. “After evaluation and acceptance of the Technical offer provided by both Eurojet and GE Aviation, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE Aviation was declared as the lowest bidder,” said the statement.

The statement was issued two days after Defense Minister Arackaparambil Kurian Antony’s visit to the United State, where he held meetings with US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Admiral Mike Mullen. It also came on a fairly heavy news day, with the country’s complete attention focused on a verdict of the Allahabad High Court on the highly contentious issue of the disputed ownership of a property where a mosque was demolished in 1992, itself alleged to have been been built on the site of the birthplace of the Hindu God Ram.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter, pictured here, will be developed into the Indo-Russian Gen-5 fighter. It will be fed military data live from Russian GLONASS satellite network
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 26th Oct 10
The Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), already planned to be loaded with top-end combat features like advanced stealth and super-cruise capability, could also be plugged, uniquely, into a network of satellites. With Moscow willing to grant India unprecedented access to military signals from Russia’s constellation of GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) satellites, the FGFA could access real-time details of its own and enemy positions, terrain information, and have the ability to communicate with Indian forces anywhere on the globe.
A senior Russian diplomat, speaking anonymously to Business Standard, reveals that after extended negotiations with India, Moscow has okayed the provision of military data from GLONASS, in the form of digitized signals.

The Sukhoi T-50 fighter, pictured here, will be developed into the Indo-Russian Gen-5 fighter. It will be fed military data live from Russian GLONASS satellite network
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 26th Oct 10
The Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), already planned to be loaded with top-end combat features like advanced stealth and super-cruise capability, could also be plugged, uniquely, into a network of satellites. With Moscow willing to grant India unprecedented access to military signals from Russia’s constellation of GLONASS (GLObal NAvigation Satellite System) satellites, the FGFA could access real-time details of its own and enemy positions, terrain information, and have the ability to communicate with Indian forces anywhere on the globe.
A senior Russian diplomat, speaking anonymously to Business Standard, reveals that after extended negotiations with India, Moscow has okayed the provision of military data from GLONASS, in the form of digitized signals.

[Stratpost]

Swedish defense major Saab is planning to get three Gripen NG aircraft to Aero India, the air show in Bangalore due to be held next month. Inderjit Sial, head of Saab in India told StratPost that while two of the aircraft would conduct flight displays, the third would be on static display. The aircraft is in the race to win the Indian Air Force (IAF) tender for 126 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA).

The company is also flying in two other aircraft, the Saab 2000, which it is pitching in response to the Indian Navy’s Request for Information (RFI) for Medium Range Maritime Reconnaissance (MRMR) aircraft, as well as the Saab 340, a 34-seater aircraft in which the company hopes to interest the Indian Coast Guard in association with the Indian company, Punj Lloyd. The Coast Guard is expected to lease a total of 12 aircraft for maritime patrol.

Saab will also display its RBS-15 Anti-Ship Missile and its Giraffe MB radar which it hopes to offer the Indian Navy as part of a network of coastal defense batteries, as well as its RBS-70 MANPADS missile system and HARD radar, which it is pitching to the Indian armed forces.

A new report by Ashley Tellis on India's decision-making on the medium fighter praises the IAF's impartial evaluation but points out that it will now be a political decision
by Ajai ShuklaBusiness Standard, 29th Jan 11
With two US fighters--- Lockheed Martin’s F-16IN Super Viper; and Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet --- apparently trailing in the six-way, US $10 billion race to sell India 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA), a new report by a top US-based analyst suggests that India buys the MMRCA as an economical, stop-gap measure, before buying a cutting-edge, fifth generation, US-built stealth fighter for the Indian Air Force.
Recommending that the IAF buys “the least expensive, mature, combat-proven fourth-generation fighter… as a bridge toward procuring more advanced stealth aircraft in the future”, the report urges Washington to “assure India access to fifth-generation US combat aircraft, and provide strong support for India’s strategic ambitions”.

[Stratpost]

India’s air show in Bangalore next week will be the largest ever with 29 countries bringing their aerospace products, including fighter jets and transport aircraft, for showcasing at the five-day event.

The biennial Aero India 2011 will for the first time witness the civil aviation sector overtaking military aviation. The air show will see 54 percent of the aircraft, helicopters and aerospace systems from the civilian sector compared to 46 percent from the military sector.

“This year’s air show will surpass all previous figures in terms of participating countries, companies, space and business. All inputs show a healthy growth than the previous edition of Aero India. Civil aviation sector at 54 percent will overtake military aviation content at 46 percent in this year’s show,” Secretary of Defense Production Raj Kumar Singh told reporters here on Tuesday.

To be held at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, this year’s show has been oversubscribed in terms of exhibition space and the Defense Exhibition Organization has had to refuse further bookings, he said.

This new HAL production line expects to build 8 Tejas fighters per year at about Rs 180 crore apiece
By Ajai ShuklaHAL, BangaloreBusiness Standard, 5th Feb 11
India’s home-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) is poised to grab a large share of the limelight at the five-day Aero India 2011 air show in Bangalore on 9th Feb. For the first time ever, a formation of five Tejas fighters will roar past the spectators during the inaugural fly-past. And, jostling with the world’s premier fighters, two Tejas prototypes will perform aerobatics displays that the pilots describe as, “well beyond anything that we have ever displayed before”.
Besides the seven Tejas in the skies, a fully built fighter will also be displayed on the ground. This will be the latest Tejas, built to the specifications that won it last month a landmark Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for entering service with the Indian Air Force.

New Delhi — The prestigious $10.2 billion contract to sell India 126 medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) will undoubtedly heat up during the forthcoming Aero-India Show 2011 in Bangalore. The main contenders for the MMRCA race will be highlighting the salient features of their aircraft in full-flight displays at the show during the second week of February.

While the main MMRCA contenders have confirmed their participation at the Aero-India show, only the Russian MiG-35 which is in the MMRCA race will not be showcasing its fighter craft. The Indian defence ministry is currently persuading the Russian contender to make its presence felt at the airshow. While the MiG-35 may not make it to the airshow, a Russian delegation is surely expected in India for Aero-India 2011.

The other five contenders for the MMRCA include Boeing’s F/A-18 Super Hornet, Lockheed Martin’s F-16 Super Viper, Eurofighter’s Typhoon, Dassault Aviation’s Rafale and Saab’s Gripen. Barring Russia, each contender is bringing in two to three aircraft along with elaborate teams and flight simulators for displays since India will make a choice in July this year.