Parijat Gaur wrote:Mayuresh wrote:
On a more serious note, I also read that an ex-IAF officer recommended that we start the fishbed assembly line again and churn out bisons by the ton ... overwhelm the enemy by sheer numbers... especially since the marginal cost of manufacturing an extra bison is quite low
I am almost blinded by this dazzling display of wit! No doubt there are thousands of SDRE pilots shoving each other from the queue in front of suicide mission registration office.
I would really like to read this excellent article by an "ex-IAF" officer. I would like to meet this person and witness the awe inspiring splendour of his wit.
PS: I really doubt that such article exists. Surely no one could be brilliant enough to write such a thing, leave alone a SDRE EX-IAF.
Looks like I make stupid statements all the while... My bad again ... I read too much into the quote by the Air Commodore, I guess...
My statement "churn out bisons by the ton ... overwhelm the enemy by sheer numbers... especially since the marginal cost of manufacturing an extra bison is quite low" - this probably is putting words into the commodore's mouth. I am sure the commodore did not want our pilots to be cannon fodder. But he still recommended opeining the mig-21 assembly line again (he recommended it in 2001) to build ~250 aircraft and upgrade the already existing ones.
Anyways, here is the news item I was refering to. Appeared in 2001 in the Tribune, quotes Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (retd), Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2001/20010115/nation.htm#10
‘Open’ MiG-21 assembly line to fight shortage
NEW DELHI, Jan 14 (PTI) — By the time the newly tested indigenous light combat aircraft (LCA) is inducted into the IAF over the coming decade, the IAF would already be facing a shortage of nearly 250 fighter aircraft, which can be made good by reopening the assembly line of MiG-21s in addition to their upgradation, which is already underway, says Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (retd), Director of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses.
“Considering the losses and ageing of the aircraft, we would require at least 35 new aircraft every year over the next 10 years, to maintain a fully fit and fighting fleet at current strength,” notes Air Commodore Singh taking into account the 40 Sukhois we’ll be getting in the near future as well as the licensed manufacture of 140 more over a period of 17 years.
Given that the first manufacture of Su-30s, subsequent to the October, 2000, deal, is still three years away and on an average around 10 to 11 aircraft would be produced in a year, then by 2010 the IAF would have just about added 70-odd Su-30s to its then existing fleet of 40, says the Defence analyst, adding that it would still leave a wide gap or requirement of 240 in 2010.
Despite the reports of buying around 10 Mirages and 8 — 10 Jaguars, that would just be enough to make up the existing wastage, meaning no real net gain to the country’s air force,” says Air Commodore Jasjit Singh.
The quickest and most cost-effective way of making good this perceived deficit would be to reopen the assembly line of MiG-21s, and go in for immediate purchase of 96 MiG-29s available with the Russians and get these upgraded to the required specifications, says the IDSA Director.
“We could negotiate with the Russians for the purchase of these aircraft, which are not likely to cost more than $ 20 million a piece,” he says.
“Even more cost effective,” he argues, “would be reopening the assembly line of MiG-21s, which when we closed manufacturing in the 80s used to cost $ 1 million a piece. Today, it would cost around $ 4 million (the upgraded versions) and another $ 2 million if the cost escalation is taken into account.
The upgrade package of MiG, which incorporates advanced avionics and features like target acquisition, was jointly developed and certified by the IAF, and Russia's Sokol Nizhny Novograd aircraft building plant and the state-owned avionics testing and integration establishment, according to information at the website of the IAF.
Having been flown by nearly all pilots, from the Air Chief to the youngest of them, MiG-21s still remain the best bet, as its maintenance too is not going to be too problematic given that nearly all stations in the country are familiar with it, he says.
Rebutting the popular perception that the aircraft are flying coffins, the defence analyst, who has also served as Director of Flight Safety during service, says that the aircraft still is one of the best designed.
Agreeing with him, another senior retired IAF official, says “the accident rate of MiGs is more visible because of a variety of reasons, mainly because of the size of the fleet, the amount the aircraft flies and the fact that it is also used for training.”
Nonetheless, both experts point that, the plane has its own limitations, in that being driven by a single engine, in case of a bird hit, it leads to the loss of the engine, and even the pilot sometimes. Yet another limitation, prior to upgradation, is that the aircraft has no cooling system for pilots, which is strenuous on the pilot flying it in the summer.
) LCA Mk2 is expected to be ready for production (2013-14)
