Bharat Rakshak

So not much future for EADS.

EADS is the parent of Airbus, so they will still be in the aircraft business.

Future European Aircraft : Dassault and BAE

According to french financial newspaper Les Echos, France and UK will sign on friday a letter of intend to launch the future european combat aircraft. It is a bilateral negociation involving only Dassault and BAE and it is clearly mentioned that it will replace both Rafale and Typhoon. EADS is out of the game.

India’s Air Chief Marshal N.A.K. Browne confirmed to AIN here at the Singapore Airshow that the country’s resolve to select the lowest bidder for the contract for 126 medium multirole combat aircraft remains in place. The contract negotiation committee (CNC) opened Dassault Aviation’s bid proposing its Rafale on February 13 and identified the French OEM as the lowest bidder. The decision to involve another manufacturer is “procedurally untenable,” said Browne. “We have a procedure as per the defense procurement policy that stipulates the contract goes to the lowest bidder.”

The CNC, which gets into action once the lowest bidder has been identified, is scheduled to start price negotiations with Dassault from March 5. Discussions will be held on electronics, radar, transfer of technology and offsets. Asked if he was satisfied with the Rafale selection, Browne said it was, “Brilliant! We got it at the best cost possible. The decision was based on performance and Rafale passed all qualifications.” However, Browne said the requirement for the fighters was “as of yesterday,” meaning that, in reality, he expects the process to be completed by the end of the year. The air force plans to start pilot training soon, he added. Browne also said Brazil has asked India to share its acquisition process, including evaluation and lifecycle costs.

Jodhpur - hmph! ... should have been hashimara + guwahati. 66% china: 33% pakis...

Per Dassault, only four C-130's (not the extended J's, mind you) need undertake but one flight each to transport all equipment and spares necessary to operate a squadron of 20 Rafales for 30 days. Rafales will fly to where they are needed, whenever they are needed.

Source please.

sounds a bit too good to be true... engines must be super reliable...

In an effort to reduce costs of ownership, the M88 has been designed with ease of maintenance in mind. The engine comprises 21 modules, interchangeable without a need for balancing and re-calibration. Some of these modules can even be changed without removing the engine from the airframe, and a M88 can be replaced in less than an hour. After maintenance, there is no need to check the turbofan in a test bench before it is installed back on the aircraft. M88 reliability is such that, even for sustained combat operations, only limited quantities of spare parts and spare engines are required.

"When introducing into service such an advanced engine, you have to be very cautious at first", explains Jacques Desclaux. "For the M88, we have selected new technologies such as powder metallurgy, and we want to be certain that problems do not appear. This is why the engine initially had to be inspected every 150 hours, but in January 2001 this interval was raised to 500 hours, corresponding to roughly two/three years of operational use. As experience builds up, it will be progressively extended to 800 hours or 1,000 hours, depending on the components. In comparison with the Rafale, when the Mirage 2000 entered service, the M53 had to be checked every 75 hours."

and a good way to improve local e-con-mi. New and improved bases would bring lot of new jobs and employment for the locals.

Answer is Ambala, Jodhpur and Hasimara. Yes, a lot of bases will have some level of infrastructure to support all types in the IAF service. However, only the main operating bases will have the full infrastructure (as pointed out in the article you are refering) to support a specific type, such as the Rafale or Su-30MKI. When the IAF deploys a fighter type to other bases for short durations, it will use its transport planes to also move the necessary support equipment/parts and personnel for that fighter type to support operations for that deployment duration.

IAF has already identified Ambala and Jodhpur airbases in the western sector, followed by Hashimara in the eastern sector, to house the first MMRCA squadrons.
...

I think i would have gone for only 2-seaters for the first batch of 18 fly-away a/c, in order to train as max pilots as we can, the sooner as possible.

btw was this interview posted??

http://www.surlering.com/article/articl ... -de-rafale

That is a M4000. Tail fin is curved at the root and also there are canards.

France's Dassault Aviation announced late last month that it had won a bid to supply India with 126 Rafale fighters over the next decade. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has recently taken a series of steps to upgrade and improve its capabilities. However, until it resolves a number of underlying issues, the IAF will continue to face significant limitations.In addition to the MMRCA competition, the IAF has launched the "Super 30" program, which will see the upgrading of 40 Su-30MKI fighters with new radars, electronic warfare systems and BrahMos missiles. The IAF has also invested almost a billion dollars in modernizing its MiG-29s to the multi-role MiG-29UPG variant. Furthermore, the IAF finalized a deal in July 2010 to upgrade its French Mirage-2000 aircraft to the Mirage-2000-5 Mk2 variant, and in January 2012 it decided to purchase 490 MICA air-to-air missiles for the Mirages.Beginning in 2020, the IAF plans to induct 250-300 PAK-FA stealth fifth-generation fighter aircraft, which are currently being jointly developed with Russia, but remain in a very preliminary stage of development. At a cost of around $35 billion dollars, the project is expected to be India's most expensive defense project ever. With these future purchases, the IAF is expected to grow to 42 squadrons by 2022, about 10 more squadrons than are currently in the IAF. By comparison, Pakistan is believed to have fewer than 20 fixed-wing combat squadrons.In addition to the modernization and improvement of its fixed-wing fighter fleet, the IAF is also seeking to improve its transport and aerial-refueling tanker force. As of February 2011, the IAF operated six IL-78MKI tankers, but with its growing number of squadrons and force projection needs, the IAF in 2010 initiated the Multi-Role Tanker Transport competition for an approximately $2 billion contract to provide the IAF with another six tankers. The IAF is also improving its transport fleet, with a $4.1 billion deal signed in June 2011 for 10 American C-17 Globemaster IIIs. The IAF had signed an approximately $1 billion deal for six C-130J transports in 2008, and it is currently seeking to purchase six more aircraft of the same type.An even more serious development is that, due to the shortage of trainer aircraft, the IAF has cut down flying time for new pilots to one-third of the usual rate (25 flight hours of basic training instead of the usual 75). By comparison, the U.S. Air Force offers more than 100 flight hours of basic training to its cadets. The number of basic training hours had reportedly dwindled even lower over the past two years but has now been stabilized thanks to better management of resources. One of the ways the IAF has sought to maximize its training fleet is to train some of its pilots on MiG-21 trainer variants

jodhpur is a huge shakina kind of base. hashimara is not big enough to scare nepal even.
someone needs a huge dose of civil construction.

Jodhpur apparently, has no less than 7 IAF squadrons deployed there including 4 fighter squadrons (3 Mig-27 and 1 Bison). Perhaps the IAF is planning to convert one of the Mig-27 squadrons to the Rafale when it starts coming in.

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I though the Gwalior was decided as one of the bases.

I think Jodhpur has / will get SU 30MKI. I would not like to put both the frontline aircraft on a single base

K

I was hoping my last name would be Rothschild...

^ Change it to Gandhi trust me it works in desh.

Rajive Gandhi....Rahul Gandhi.....Rakesh Gandhi....

It's got a nice ring to it.

^ Change it to Gandhi trust me it works in desh.