One serious risk for the Tejas program seems to be the breakup of the numbers of Mk.1 and Mk.2 planned for induction in the services. IAF is planning 40 Mk.1 and remaining all has to be in Mk.2 config. and Navy has plans for only Mk.2 . By 2015 probably we have FOC for Mk.1 but with the current trend there seems to be a high possibility of Mk.2 not being available even by 2022 in the best case and Tejas production line remaining idle in between .
The reason being the following :
- Considering Gripen E as benchmark, the first demonstrator flight happened in 2008 and full development started ~2012 and planned induction is by 2018. Even after deciding on the purchase in 2013, still 5 year time for induction. Is it possible that we take less than the time Saab took ?
http://www.business-standard.com/articl ... 035_1.html
it was mentioned
The Tejas Mark-II, to be developed by 2014 and roll off production lines by 2018, will perform 40 per cent better than the current fighter
Meanwhile, ADA designers are working on the Tejas Mark-II, which Subramanyam says will fly by 2014, enter production by 2016, and obtain FOC by 2018. “Besides re-designing the airframe to accommodate the GE-414 engine, ADA will also grab the opportunity to upgrade key electronics, especially the flight control computer and some avionics, so that the Mark-II is a cutting-edge fighter when it enters service,” says the ADA chief.
So no roll-out by 2014 and no announcement yet, and considering the above as an over optimistic timeline , the revised timeline could probably go to 2022+ for rolling out from production line.
Further the concern about budget support the very same article mentions
As Business Standard reported earlier, Rs 10,397 crore have been sanctioned for developing the Tejas Mark-II for the IAF; and another Rs 3,650 crore for the naval Tejas, which would operate off aircraft carriers.
Compare it to the Gripen E development cost, the amount seems comparable or even higher
http://www.flightglobal.com/news/articl ... nt-383850/
Saab has received a major contract to complete development work on its next-generation Gripen E multirole combat aircraft, with the new Swedish commitment worth SKr10.7 billion ($1.64 billion).
Finally even on arrival by 2022, how well it will compare against the Gripen E ? Please understand this is not a complain but a question
aviationweek.com/blog/thats-what-i-call-confidence
gallium-nitride (GaN) active electronically scanned array technology
aviationweek.com/awin/new-gripen-aims-low-cost-high-capability
The JAS 39E will be able to engage stealth targets with a fused, multispectral sensor suite
It will be able to cruise at Mach 1.25 without using afterburner, and will enter service in 2018 with a full suite of weapons including the MBDA Meteor ramjet-powered air-to-air missile
the development contract stipulates a significantly lower radar cross-section (RCS) than the JAS 39C. In conjunction with the all-new Saab-developed electronic warfare system, which uses gallium nitride antenna technology and is described as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sensor in its own right, and the new Selex-ES Brite Cloud expendable active decoy, the reduced RCS is expected to allow the fighter to survive against advanced threats
and “double-digit” surface-to-air missiles, while avoiding the cost and risk of an F-35-type stealth configuration
Hope ADA + HAL brings out something better and in a quick time