naraswami wrote:Good catch - Rakeshji. The article just says that
a) broad scope of upgrades include "add new weapons, avionics and sensors and engines"
b) the in-india phase of the upgrades is being accelerated (quote "major part") - and this will "do basic mission capabilities, fly by wire and flight controls among others"
nowhere specific that the phase coming up includes the engines. perhaps there is another legit source he/she refers to that you've seen ?
The news article from The Hindu is where Wolfpack is getting his info from. Wolfpack tweets sentences from articles without due credit. AFAIK, there is no other source. The problem with the sentence in The Hindu that, "
....the IAF is looking to add new weapons, avionics and sensors and engines..." is that it is very vague.
As per HAL Test Pilot, Group Captain HV Thakur (retd) there is no engine change for the Su-30MKI on the horizon. That was a few years ago.
The issue with the AL-31FP turbofan is this ---> will it be able to handle the new AESA radars, sensors and weaponry that are coming on the Super Sukhoi upgrade? We don't know. The IAF certainly will. The SS upgrade feasibility study is being worked on and perhaps the AL-31FP will suffice. If it will not, then a new turbofan will have to be looked at. That new turbofan will likely be Saturn's AL-41. It is the logical choice. It will be a multi-billion dollar venture and will not be easy, but that is the route available. Info --->
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturn_AL-41
But there is no need for the IAF to share info about an engine swap in the public domain. So for all sense and purposes, we have to stick with the notion that the AL-31FP will remain the turbofan of choice. The Rambha fleet has only completed 20 years of service (see my post above). She has another three decades of service to go. Other fighters who are nearing the five decade mark, will retire with their original turbofans. The MiG-29UPG and Mirage 2000I/TI are good examples of that. Only the Jaguar swapped out her turbofans, but that was very early on at induction.
The war in Ukraine has stretched Russia thin. Would it make sense to invest in a new turbofan, from Russia, when HAL knows the quirks of the AL-31FP in and out? Could the sentence "
....the IAF is looking to add new engines...." not imply improving the performance and overhaul times of the AL-31FP via more reliable engine components? It very well could. Perhaps that what the article means, when they say new engines. As of now, nobody really knows and so the public is left to guess
An Indian AESA radar with Indian weaponry and sensors + overhauled turbofans (or possibly new) will make the Rambha truly a force to reckon with. It will be more than sufficient to handle anything the PLAAF can throw at us and that includes their J-20. I am happy that the SS upgrade is finally underway. It is a far better investment of meagre financial resources than 114 MRFA. This upgrade will also eliminate the need for the only serious competitor to the Rafale in the MRFA contest. And that is the F-15EX Eagle II. From that angle too, the Super Sukhoi upgrade is worth its geopolitical weight in gold.
naraswami wrote:Otherwise, it seems that this Twitter handle seems to have a habit of doing 2+2 = 22 ! You'll recall him claiming the ex-Chief was acknowledging the Tu-160 idea.
The Tu-160 died a natural death. The Air Chief himself killed the idea. Again, Wolfpack tweets sentences from articles without due credit. That was from a seminar which an ex-Air Chief mentioned that Air HQ was examining the need for a strategic bomber. Bharat Karnad took that one sentence and created a fantasy spin of his own. No point in rehashing the same.