IAF Upgrade Plans Delaying Due To Price Concerns

The Indian Air Force (IAF) will have to wait a little longer before its Mirage 2000 fighter fleet is upgraded or shortage of transporters is met as the two key deals have got delayed over the price rows with the vendors.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) had hoped to wrap up these two contracts, which have been under discussion for long, by the end of financial year on March 31.
Despite frantic efforts, the Mirage 2000 upgrade contract, estimated to be nearly $2.2 billion and purchase of super heavy transporter C-17s, pegged at $4 billion couldn’t be clinched. It has come as a set back for the IAF’s modernisation plan, but officials said the price issues were critical even though political considerations would also play a significant role.
The IAF is looking to upgrade its 50 Mirage fighters, a key arsenal in its kitty procured in the 1980s, to prolong its life and turning the machine into a modern combat platform keeping pace with changing technology.
The aircraft will have new cockpit equipment with the most modern avionics. France is keen to have the deal signed and made several representations at the political level.
Sweetening the offer, France has even linked it to the new fighters the IAF is looking to buy. France’s latest combat Rafale is one of the contenders for the contract.

The IAF is a bit of urgency as key components of its fighter fleet needs urgent upgradation. Apart from Mirage 2000s, the deep strike aircraft Jaguars need to be powered by the new engines.
Rolls Royce has walked out of the deal, closing options for the IAF and delaying the project. The other contract the IAF was keen to finish by March 31 was for C-17 Globemaster super heavy transporters from the US company Boeing. The two sides were confident that commercial negotiations were completed and it was on the verge of being signed. But fresh questions raised by the ministry of defence has delayed the process. Defence Minister A K Antony has made it clear that his ministry would not compromise on the price aspect and has successfully resisted political pressure, particularly from the US.
The C-17 deal is being estimated to be the biggest one signed with the US till date. The US officials admit in private that dealing with Antony had become difficult as the minister wants to downplay any contact with Washington.
Despite frantic efforts, the Mirage 2000 upgrade contract couldn’t be clinched as price rows with vendors got delayed.

Comments

Pakistani JF-17 A Thunder OR A Blunder

Pakistan has witnessed new defense acquisitions in this decade than any other, and in the center of it all is the new fighter which was designed by China with partial funding from Pakistan. It is formally known as JF-17 Thunder. When the fighter was in development, Pakistani online communities were jumping with excitement comparing it with its arch rival India’s modern combatants Su-30MKI, Mig-29S & Mirage-2000H. There were claims of it featuring western Radars and long range missiles, & Chinese ordering some due to its superior capabilities. But the reality is far from it. China having spent significant amount of money into a fighter which it is never going to use, most probably forced Pakistan to accept its avionics to offset some its development costs. Chinese who are known for their self reliance first and quality next, are further downgrading JF-17s capabilities with their poorly copy-pirated avionics. Along with their dubious weapons, any chance of JF...

India Planned Attack On Pak Navy Mehran Base To Kill Chinese Engineers

The terrorist attack on Karachi's Mehran Naval Station on May 22 was conceived and launched by India with the primary objective of killing the Chinese engineers present there, a Pakistani newspaper has claimed, citing 'informed sources'. Four to six Taliban terrorists had entered PNS Mehran on May 22, destroying two maritime surveillance aircraft and killing ten military personnel during their 17-hour siege of the naval air base. "India is the only country in the region that feels troubled by the Pakistan Navy, which had awfully beaten the Indian Navy in Operation Dwarka of 1965. Since then, it has been an earnest desire of India to harm the Pakistan Navy but it was perhaps not possible on the battle front, hence it struck the PNS Mehran," The News quoted sources as saying.

Pakistani F-16s Shoot Down RAF Eurofighter Typhoons During Air Combat Exercises In Turkey

Pakistani pilots flying modernised versions of the 1970s-vintage F-16 Falcon fighter have beaten the RAF's brand-new Eurofighter Typhoon superfighters during air combat exercises in Turkey, according to a Pakistani officer. Analysis: The RAF Typhoon, formerly known as the Eurofighter, should nonetheless have been vastly superior in air-to-air combat whether BVR or close in within visual range (WVR). The cripplingly expensive, long-delayed Eurofighter was specifically designed to address the defects of its predecessor the Tornado F3 – famously almost useless in close-in, dogfighting-style air combat. The Typhoon was meant to see off such deadly in-close threats as Soviet "Fulcrums" and "Flankers" using short-range missiles fired using helmet-mounted sight systems: such planes were thought well able to beat not just Tornados but F-16s in close fighting, and this expectation was borne out after the Cold War when the Luftwaffe inherite...

ASIAN DEFENCE

Search This Blog