Austrian Alouette-III
(click to view full)

In 2003, India issued an RFP for 197 light helicopters to replace its Army’s aging fleet of Chetaks (Aerospatiale SA316 Alouette III) and Cheetahs (SE316B Alouette II). These helicopters are old designs, but they have consistently proven themselves in high altitude operations, and remain useful as long as their airframe’s remain safe. The problem is, at their age that isn’t a very long time. India’s Army Aviation Corps needs replacements, and wants new helicopters with better performance and support characteristics. These new machines will perform a variety of armed light utility tasks, including ferrying loads of up to 75 kg to troops based at 23,000 feet above sea level in Kashmir, the Siachen Glacier, etc. Operation at these altitudes has traditionally been very challenging for helicopters, owing to reduced rotor lift in the thinning air.

Indian officials were discussing a deal worth between $500-$600 million to buy 60 helicopters outright, with the remaining 137 being built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Eurocopter’s AS550 C3 Fennec and Bell Textron’s 407 competed in the second and final round of summer trials, and as 2007 ticked toward a close, it looked like we had a winner. As often happens in India, however, the process ended up completely derailed. There’s a new RFP out – but inside lobbying from HAL has backed India off of its initial goal of 312 foreign helicopters.

Bell Helicopter’s withdrawal from the v2.0 RFP made this a smaller competition. Now there are reports that dithering by India’s procurement bureaucracy will make it a late one…

• The Contenders
• Milestones & Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Adm. Gorshkov: Before.
(click to view full)

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article offers an in-depth look at India’s troubled attempt to convert and field a full-size aircraft carrier, before time and wear force it to retire its existing naval aviation and ships.

Right now, there are 2 major concerns in India. One is slipping timelines. INS Viraat was scheduled to retire in 2009. It’s only semi-operational, and nearing the limits of its mechanical life, even as shortages of flyable Sea Harrier fighters are creating issues of their own. Meanwhile, the delivery date for India’s locally-built 37,000t escort carrier project appears to be slipping to 2015 or so. This leaves India’s Navy with a serious scheduling problem, and no significant carrier force.

The other concern involves Vikramaditya’s 3-fold cost increase, including worries that Russia will raise it rates yet again once India is deeper into the commitment trap. The carrier purchase has now become the subject of high level diplomacy, involving a shipyard that can’t even execute on commercial contracts. An agreement in principle reportedly exists, but negotiations that began in 2007 have yet to lead to a revised contract.

Recent Russian demands have continued to raise the price, even as advance work related to India’s new MiG-29K naval fighters continues. The latest news is no news, as an expected agreement during an official Indian visit to Moscow remained elusive…

• Waiting for Gorshkov – A History
• Gorshkov-Vikramaditya: Aerial Complement
• INS Vikramaditya: Updates & Contracts [updated]
• Appendix A: Additional Readings – Equipment Profiles
• Appendix B: Additional Readings – Related Developments
  
  Continue Reading… »

Malaysian SU-30MKM
(click to view larger)

On May 24/07, a rollout and demonstration ceremony was held for the first 2 Su-30MKM fighters for the Royal Malaysan Airforce (RMAF) at Russia’s Irkutsk Aviation plant. Malaysia flies the F/A-18D Hornet, and was offered Boeing’s F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet, but chose the SU-30MKM instead. Their fighter fleet will now consist of R/F-5E/F Tiger IIs (to be phased out), F/A-18D Hornets, MiG-29 Fulcrums (until 2010), and SU-30MKMs. The results from their internal training air combat exercises would be interesting, to say the least.

The original $900 million contract was signed with Irkut Corp. in August 2003, and involves 18 SU-30MKMs. Canards, stabilizers and fins will be manufactured by India’s HAL Nasik under a $25-30 million value subcontract. According to the contracts in place, Irkut was to deliver all aircraft by the end of 2008, but that hasn’t happened yet. Delivery of the final batch is ongoing.

The SU-30MKM is an advanced variant, whose performance involves considerable improvements over SU-30MK/MKK fighters. Malaysia also hopes its maintenance will be an improvement over the MiG-29Ns it has to phase out, as a possible new fighter competition brews…

• The SU-30MKM
• The Malaysia Deal: Offsets & Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

P-8A Poseidon
(click to view full)

The P-8A emerged from the ashes of the P-7 Long Range Air ASW Capable Aircraft program that was begun in 1988. That program originally envisaged an improved P-3 Orion design, but cost overruns, slow progress, and interest in opening the competition to commercial designs led to cancellation for default in 1990. The successor MMA program was begun in March 2000, and Boeing beat Lockheed’s “Orion 21” for the contract with a design based on the ubiquitous 737 passenger jet.

This is DID’s FOCUS Article concerning the P-8A Poseidon Multi-mission Maritime Aircraft, and it will be updated as events and contracts are announced. Filling the P-3 Orion’s shoes is certainly no easy task. What missions will the new P-8A Poseidon face? What do we know about the platform, the project team, and ongoing developments? Will the P-3’s level of global customer coverage give its successor a comparable level of export opportunities? Australia and India have already signed on, but has the larger market shifted in the interim?

In the latest news, Saudi Arabia is looking to add itself as an export customer…

• The Controversy: Turboprop, or Turbofan Jet?
• P-8A Poseidon: Platform & Capabilities
• The P-8’s BAMS Companion: Kicking It Up a Notch
• P-8A Poseidon: History, Program, and Industrial Players
• P-8A Poseidon: Contracts & Events [updated]
• News & Analysis: India’s Interest, and Broader Export Potential
• Additional Readings & Sources: Platforms & Program Background
• Additional Readings & Sources: News & Updates
  
  Continue Reading… »

PAF F-16A drops Mk.82s
(click to view full)

On June 28/06, the US DSCA notified Congress via a series of releases of its intention to provide Pakistan with a $5.1 billion Foreign Military Sales package to upgrade the F-16s that serve as the PAF’s top of the line fighters. Some of these items had been put on hold following the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan & Kashmir, but the request for 36 new F-16 Block 50/52s is now going ahead following the required 30-day review period, along with new weapons, engine modifications, 60 F-16 upgrade kits that would cover Pakistan’s older F-16 A/Bs plus other aircraft it might buy second-hand, and related equipment.

These items are detailed below, along with controversies the proposed sales have created, and some of the conditions attached to the sale by the US government. By the end of July 2008, Pakistan was expected to have its first 10 planes. The first new-build F-16, on the other hand, just had its acceptance ceremony this month…

• Item 1: 36 New F-16 Block 50/52s – $3 billion
• Item 2: Weapons for the New F-16s – $650 Million
• Item 3: F-16A/B Mid-Life Update Modification Kits – $1.3 billion
• Item 4: F-16A/B Engine Modifications & UP/STAR – $151 Million
• Deal Updates and Progress [updated]
• Potential Controversies (July 5, 2006)
  
  Continue Reading… »

(click to view full)

Northrop Grumman’s E-2C Hawkeye serves as the US Navy and French Navy’s carrier-capable “mini-AWACS” aircraft. Its primary role is advance warning of incoming aerial threats; ship-based radars are far larger and more powerful, but cannot scan below the angle of the horizon. Secondary roles include strike command and control, land and maritime surveillance, search and rescue, communications relay, and even civil air traffic control during emergencies. E-2C Hawkeyes began replacing previous Hawkeye versions in 1973; they also fly from land bases in the militaries of Egypt, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, and Taiwan; and are flown by the US Naval Reserve in a drug interdiction role. Over 200 Hawkeyes have been produced.

The $17.5 billion E-2D Advanced Hawkeye program aims to build 75 new aircraft with significant radar, engine, and electronics upgrades in order to deal with a world of stealthier cruise missiles, saturation attacks, and a growing need for ground surveillance as well as aerial scans. It looks a lot like the last generation E-2C Hawkeye 2000 upgrade on the outside – but inside, and even outside to some extent, it’s a whole new aircraft.

DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This DID FOCUS Article covers the E-2D program, from the new platform and its capabilities to the budgets, contracts, and companies making it all fly. The latest news involves Voice of America reports of a sale to India – which are premature…

• From E-2A Hawkeye to the E-2D
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: Program
• E-2D Advanced Hawkeye: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

IAF MiG-29B on afterburners
(click to view full)

The Indian Air force is dealing with the same fighter modernization numbers crisis that affects a number of air forces around the world. Its MiG-21s are retiring fast, and so are the subsequent generation of MiG-23/27 and MiG-25 aircraft. At the same time, India’s locally-developed Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas) program has been beset by numerous problems and ongoing delays, raising questions concerning its readiness and ability to begin filling some of that void in time. India’s MMRCA light-medium fighter competition will fill other gaps with 126 imported fighters, but it has yet to produce a winner, let alone a delivery date.

As the timelines for replacements stretch, India’s defense planners are concluding that more upgrades will be necessary in order to keep their existing fleet viable. February 2006 reports discussed a decision to upgrade India’s existing fleet of MiG-29B, MiG-29S, and two-seat MiG-29UB “Baaz” (Falcon) aircraft as well, in order to give them multi-role capabilities and improve their ability to carry advanced weapons. December 2006 reports from MosNews et. al. indicated that a contract has been signed, but it wasn’t until March 2008 that a deal was finalized.

Despite reports that the IAF’s own failure to deliver key specifications may be about to create a serious delay, IAF officials are still predicting mid-2010 arrival – at the entire MiG-29 fleet’s air base in the Punjab region, overlooking Pakistan and Kashmir…

• The Numbers Problem
• Wanting a New Baaz: The Upgrades
• A Better Baaz: Program Updates [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

Tejas LCA
(click to view full)

India’s fighter strength has been declining in recent years, as the MiG-21s that form the largest component of its fleet are lost in crashes, or retired due to age and wear. Some MiG-21s are being modernized to MiG-21 ‘Bison’ configuration, while other current fighter types are undergoing modernization programs in order to maintain the fighter force until replacements can arrive. On which note, an ongoing tender has Russian, French, American, Swedish and European manufacturers dueling for the MMRCA, a multi-billion dollar, 126+ plane light-medium fighter sale.

This still leaves India without a low-end solution to the twin problems besetting its overall fleet: numbers, and age. The MiG-21bis program adds years of life to those airframes, but that extended lifespan is still quite finite; by 2020, it is very unlikely that any MiG-21s will remain. MMRCA may replace some of India’s mid-range fighters, but that still leaves replacement of the MiG-21 fleet. Hence the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project’s importance to the Indian Air Force’s future prospects. Choices made in the LCA’s design will also affect the lightweight fighter’s export potential, which feeds back into the overall program’s lifetime costs and viability.

As time presses, India’s rigid policies are gradually being relaxed, in order to field an operational and competitive aircraft. Locally-designed engine and radar projects have been shelved in favor of popular foreign alternatives. One immediate payoff is renewed interest and funding for a naval variant – but the American government’s red tape may be about to cost Lockheed Martin a related contract…

• LCA Tejas: India’s Lightweight Fighter
• LCA Tejas: Program Future and Prospects
• Updates and Events [updated]
• Appendix A: DID Analysis & Op/Ed (2006)
• Appendix B: The Kaveri Engine: Keystone, or Killer?
• Appendix C: Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

SSK Dolphin Class
(click to view full)

In November 2005, reports surfaced that that Germany would sell Israel 2 AIP-equipped SSK Dolphin Class submarines. In 2006, the deal was finalized at a total of $1.27 billion, with the German government picking up 1/3 of the cost. The new boats were built at the Howaldtswerke-Deutche Werft AG (HDW) shipyard, in the Baltic Sea coastal city of Kiel.

Now, reports indicate that both submarines have been delivered early…

Continue Reading… »

IAF: Jaguar, Mirage 2000
SU-30K, MiG-27, MiG-21BiS
(click to view full)

“It’s the biggest fighter aircraft deal since the early 1990s,” said Boeing’s Mark Kronenberg, who runs the company’s Asia/Pacific business. DID has offered ongoing coverage of India’s planned multi-billion dollar jet fighter buy, from its early days as a contest between Dassault, Saab, and MiG for a 126 plane order to the entry of American competitors and even EADS’ Eurofighter.

What began as a lightweight fighter competition to replace India’s shrinking MiG-21 interceptor fleet appears to have bifurcated into 2 categories now, and 2 expense tiers. What’s going on? In a word, lots. The participants changed, India’s view of its own needs is changing, and the nature of the order may be changing as well – but with the release of the official $10 billion RFP, the competition can begin at last. DID offers an in-depth look at the MRCA/MMRCA competition’s changes, the RFP, and the competitors; and also offers an updated timeline regarding competitive moves since this article was published in March 2006.

The RFP responses were submitted in April 2008, and the IAF is beginning the competitive fly-off. France’s Rafale has climbed back into the race, even as Russia promises a new radar for the MiG-35 – and the USA uses strongarm tactics to block Israeli help for Saab’s bid…

• India’s MRCA (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft): Changes (i.e. “Continue reading…”)
• MMRCA: The RFP, Please…
• The Competitors: Analysis
• MMRCA: Updates and Developments [updated]
• Appendix A – MMRCA: The Naval Angle
• Appendix B – Dassault’s Move: Au Revoir, Mirage
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »